Writer's Strike

Parent Cafe
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<p>Listen, I’m not opposed to folks earning high wages, but writers are well aware that their industry is not as lucrative as most. Aren’t we all slaves for our employers? What makes the writers any different?</p>

<p>The underpaid employees are the infrastructure of any industry. I am neither poor nor extremely wealthy. I earn good money for a college student. Do I feel like my employer is yielding substantial profits off my work? Yes. Do I want to get paid more? Yes. Have I asked for a raise? Yes. Have I been granted that raise? No. But that’s no reason for me to disrupt society and picket based on my greed. When Americans are preoccupied with this, we forget the real issues.</p>

<p>I have no intentions of offending any writers, but writing isn’t the most lucrative industry, if it’s not enough money, find something else to do, just like everyone else. We are all subjected to corporate propaganda, and our fire-breathing superiors, but why are we always complaining? After the suffering I’ve seen all around the world, it does indeed seem quite foolish for anyone making a good living to sit and complain. I am not targeting writers alone, I feel the same about the MTA union. </p>

<p>If you’re gonna fight do it for a good cause, and help those less fortunate. It is irresponsible of our society to be so selfish, this is why everyone hates us Americans.</p>

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<p>I have no problem with them making 200k. I have a problem with them complaining about it. There are plenty of factory workers, earning minimum wage slaving in manual labor that do not complain. If the industry you DECIDED to be employed by does not offer the monetary benefits you seek maybe that industry is not for you.
What about actors, journalists, cameramen, wardrobe, are they entitled to more money simply because they feel they should be? It is absolutely ridiculous in this day and age, with the economy where it is, to be complaining that your already high salary is not high enough.</p>

<p>Next thing you know the investment bankers are going to say their seven figure incomes are not enough. You choose what you do, it is irresponsible to try to force others into paying more by striking. From an economical standpoint, we can not afford to do this. </p>

<p>Enlighten me as to why writers deserve more money and the rest of us don’t? Why not earn more by writing quality television programming. The nonsense on now fills the children’s heads with useless garbage. Back in the day the programming held some sort of agenda, writers would incorporate the issues into programming, now everyone in the US (including the writers) have gotten lazy and feel as though they are entitled to substantially high pay for minimal effort. Grow up. The world doesn’t owe anyone of us anything. Just like my boss told me - If what you are earning is not enough, go somewhere else.</p>

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<p>It’s time to trot out a Hollywood chestnut of a joke (with apologies for its anachronistic and offensive ethnic stereotyping):</p>

<p>What did the Polish actress do to get a big part? She slept with the writer.</p>

<p>Writers have always been low-people on the Hollywood totem pole, notwithstanding that everyone admits that they are responsible for a lot of what people like about their entertainment. But they are a lot less scarce than people who can be successful producers, directors, or leading actors. And only a handful of screenwriters have ever made it into public consciousness without first crossing over into one of those other categories.</p>

<p>This is collective bargaining, not an exercise in “fairness”. Sure, writers ought to get a bigger piece of the pie, but that’s irrelevant. But it’s also irrelevant that they are striking. They aren’t police officers, firefighters, or teachers; the public interest is not compromised much if Jay Leno goes into reruns for a few weeks, or the seventh season of 24 is delayed. Their industry isn’t in crisis, either. This isn’t the all-too-common situation where unions are willing to sacrifice an entire industry to pick up some dues for a few years. It’s just business. My personal hope is that they get it resolved before Friday Night Lights runs out of scripts, and that the terms don’t induce NBC to stop making the episodes available online when I can actually watch them.</p>

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<p>Go writers.
And then, get back to work. Please.
I need my 30 Rock.</p>

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<p>I say hire new writers who are willing to work for the wage offered. Pretty sure there’s no shortage of them.</p>

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<p>I absolutely support the writers in this. As I understand it, they have been seeking for some time some sort of negotiated rights to any revenue generated through dvd/internet sales and/or viewing of their work. I think that it is absolutely absurd to think the writers do not deserve to receive compensation for these venues, particularly since more and more individuals will be viewing these shows exclusively in these ways! Times are a’ changin’, and the writers just don’t want to be left further and further behind.</p>

<p>And any idea that they should not make more than they already do just because others in the country don’t make what they make is just silly. And the $200 figure that has been quoted as the writers’ “average” salary is from the Aliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers who are, of course, trying to make the writers appear “greedy”.</p>

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<p>Do set designers and wardrobe designers and other ‘creative’ people involved in the industry get residuals and revenue from their work or do they just get a straight salary? If not, why are they treated differently than writers and actors? What about special effects engineers/technicians, location finders, etc. etc.?</p>

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<p>^^^I’m interested to know this too</p>

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<p>^^I don’t know the answer, but it’s a meaningful question in an industry that is built upon an ethic of teamwork, ensemble, and so on.</p>

<p>I’d suggest this: the writer is the first link in a long chain. The writer pitches an idea to a studio, and if it’s accepted for production, then all those others (set designers, and more) would be employed. So perhaps because it’s the imaginative spark, the birth of the whole concept, that the writer deserves some recongition different from those who implement the writer’s vision through stageset, costumes, hair, etc. </p>

<p>Even though all of the artistic contributions of stagecrew are tremendously important for the project to succeed, they wouldn’t even be brought in were it not for the writer inventing the idea.</p>

<p>I’m just carrying out a line of reasoning, based on logic, without benefit of firsthand experience in the industry.</p>

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<p>It looks like the Writer’s Strike is contagious, at least in New York: </p>

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<p>[Bloomberg.com:</a> Muse](<a href=“Bloomberg Politics - Bloomberg”>Bloomberg Politics - Bloomberg)</p>

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<p>I’m glad I didn’t spend a ton of money and several months looking forward to a weekend in NYC with tickets for a couple of Broadway plays.</p>

<p>I don’t know how much stagehands get, but tickets for many hit B’way plays are approaching $200/ticket. Last summer DD and I were in NYC and would have LOVED to see “Wicked,” but it would have cost me $360 for two tickets!</p>

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<p>“Do set designers and wardrobe designers and other ‘creative’ people involved in the industry get residuals and revenue from their work or do they just get a straight salary? If not, why are they treated differently than writers and actors? What about special effects engineers/technicians, location finders, etc. etc.?”</p>

<p>I do not know the answer to your question, but this is how it works in biotech. The fruits of our creativity such as inventions, discoveries of new drugs, etc. belong to our employer, and in return we get our salaries and benefits. Scientists do not get to directly share the royalties from licensed patents or drug sales. However, companies reward their scientific staff with stock options, so they could have a share of those royalties and sales indirectly either through stock price increases and/or dividends. Some companies give these option to all employees, including technicians, research associates, receptionist, secretaries, etc., but usually it is the “creative” employees (at the level of scientist and higher) who have this benefit.</p>

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<p>this is what jenna fischer from the office said on her blog:</p>

<p>Post 1:</p>

<p>The big issue in this negotiation involves the internet. If you go to NBC.com right now, you can watch an episode The Office for free. The network runs advertisements while you’re watching it, which gives them an extra source of revenue. The actors, writers, producers and director, the people who created the content you are watching, are not compensated in any way for this. </p>

<p>The Writer’s Guild has taken the position that the writers should receive residuals if the show re-airs on the internet just like they receive residuals if it re-airs on television since in both cases the studios are making money. The issue is a huge deal, because the internet is clearly where the future of entertainment lies. </p>

<p>Right now, a number of successful shows (like Lost for one) have stopped showing repeat episodes on TV at all, and have replaced them with ad-supported streaming video on their websites. If you’re a Lost writer, or actor, or director, or a teamster that’s no residuals at all for that show, and that’s a big pay cut. We all count on the extra income that residuals provide as it can help us through a slump in our career when we aren’t working as regularly. It is our safety net. In 10 years I may need those residual checks to cover my electric bill. You never know. Hollywood is a fickle town. If in 10 years, everything is rerun on the internet, the current union contracts say the studios don’t have to pay us a dime. And, I’ll be sitting in the dark.</p>

<p>Post 2:</p>

<p>Some people have asked if everyone will benefit from the strike or if only the writers benefit. The Writers Guild only negotiates for writers. However, they are the first union contract to be up with the studios. The Actor’s Guild contract is up in June 2008 and you can bet we will be fighting for the same residuals. It is important to support the writer’s strike because the results of this strike will trickle down to the other union contracts…just like how a court ruling effects future rulings. We are a union show and hire union crew members.</p>

<p>And, as James put it in his blog: “This is for middle-class writers – your regular TV staff writers and people who may have done one or two small feature films. Residuals are a way they can make perhaps a few thousand dollars a year between gigs. This is a way they can put food on the table and pay the rent during downtime – and downtime is something almost all writers (and actors and directors) have.” </p>

<p>Let’s say you write a movie script and you sell it for $100,000…that’s GREAT money! Your movie gets made and yada yada. You start churning away writing more scripts. But it takes you 4 years before you sell your next script. That $100,000 windfall is now stretched to $25,000 a year for 4 years. (And, I’m not even counting the 30% that goes to taxes and 25% to your agent/manager.) If during that 4 years they sell your movie on DVD or run it on Pay-per-view you get little residual checks for $1,000 here or $2,500 there. That money is essential for getting by. This scenerio is what the majority of writers, actors and directors in Hollywood face. You have a few flush years and then a big drought. </p>

<p>The future of media is the internet. In a few years it is more likely that you will download a movie or television show than buy it on DVD. But as it currently stands, those downloads produce no residuals for the creative types that made them. All the profit goes to the studio.</p>

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<p>Thanks, fendergirl, for finding that! I looked a little, but could not find a good explanation.</p>

<p>I support the writers and other “creative” individuals now, more than ever! </p>

<p>And I hope this gets settled in their favor very soon.</p>

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<p>momneedsadvice, Wicked and Young Frankenstein are currently two of the highest price shows on Broadway. Their top regular non-discounted ticket price is $121.25 and $121.50 respectively. No show’s regular price ticket is anywhere near $200. Both shows have premium seats available, as do most shows on Broadway now. However, there are numerous ways to get discounted tickets through playbill.com, broadwaybox.com, Theatre Mania, TDF, rush policies, and, if all else fails the TKTS booth. Next time you go to the city, you should check those out! :)</p>

<p>Stagehands, when they’re working, earn a good living, and although there are many issues involved in the current dispute, I think the strike is a mistake, and I hope that it’s resolved quickly. I feel for the people who have looked forward to seeing shows and who have been disappointed this weekend. The silver lining in all this is the increased attendance at the shows which are not affected, particularly the ones which have been struggling to fill their seats. Of course, people will receive refunds for the tickets unable to be used.</p>

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<p>Fendergirl, thanks for sharing the information!</p>

<p>Someone on this thread mentioned that writers should produce material of better quality, not the “garbage” that’s on TV every night. Here is an observation. From what’s been mentioned on this thread, it seems that parents on CC boards like NBC shows (30Rock, The Office, The Tonight Show, etc.). Parents on CC are educated and intellegent individuals… NBC’s ratings are abysmal. LSAT question: “What can be inferred from the abovementioned facts?” :wink: One possible answer “If you cater to a smart crowd, you lose?”</p>

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<p>Re the stagehand strike. The last crew strike on Broadway was the musicians and it lasted only 4 days. There’s a clear difference in the immediacy of Broadway (live theater) over TV. We could watch I Love Lucy and Dick VanDyke reruns forever (ok, I could :)) </p>

<p>I have tickets for Spring Awakening (on strike) for Dec 2nd, so I hope that strike moves swiftly. I hope the writer’s does as well, but again, the immediacy and urgent nature for the “powers that be” just isn’t there.</p>

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<p>justamom, i’ve been pondering buying the new i love lucy box set for the past week! I’m glad to know there are fellow rerun lovers out there like myself :)</p>

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<p>fendergirl: I DO love Lucy! A one of a kind. Get the box set, you won’t be disappointed. Have you seen any of the re-mastered works on DVD? The quality is amazing. Put t on your holiday wish list.</p>

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<p>Or more likely as may happen in in my son’s case, you option it for $1.00 for three months while the tiny independent film company tries to come up with some money.</p>