Pencils Down: The 2007 Writer's Guild Strike

[Saxon]

I don't know how many of you have been keeping up with the news lately, but recently a strike has been issued by the Writer's Guild of America against the T.V. studios who are underpaying them. As it stands, certain T.V. shows won't be written for until the strike is over. This includes House, Dexter, Heroes, etc. Although I hope this is resolved quickly, I'd hope something like this never comes up again. To see what shows have been affected by this strike, check at the following link. You'd be surprised how bad they've screwed over a lot of the T.V. stations with some of the writers who have joined the cause:

Here (http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2529)

What are your thoughts about this? Do you support the strike or do think we should just get back to good, wholesome television? Voice your opinions here and feel free to vent a bit.

[Elijah_Morendale]

I heard about this at work today from a coworker who is in the local theater. As it stands, I don't watch television at all nowadays (old school radio drama is what you'll find me listening to), so on that note I could care less. But, of course, with some big names going on strike (Heroes, Family Guy, Lost), television is going to suck far more than it did before. Before you know it, we'll be getting Days Of Our Lives marathons and a flux of reality television, causing a total collapse of that media as we know it!

Bwahahahahahahahahah!

*cough* Ahem.

But I think that t.v. deserves whatever they get.

[Max Dirks]

Any group that owns an industry monopoly and strikes is full of whiny little patsies. If I were Seth MacFarlane, I would make fun of myself on Family Guy.

[Reiko]

while I find the blow to TV and movies might be a problem, I kinda think that it was a good idea. The entertainment industry never gave writers the respect that they deserved. The writing is one of the most important part of the entertainment industry and they are pretty much forgotten when it comes to honoring a good movie or show and the big wigs are pretty much just playing dumb on the issue that caused the strike that they're actually deserving a slap in the face.

Now I also kinda find it funny that both sides of this conflict have more balls than the auto industry. The GM strike only went 2 days and the Chrysler strike wasn't even a whole shift. (Of coarse the Japanese are already kicking American auto's butt so a strike wouldn't be good for any American )

[Bloodrose]

Profits from revenue streams outside the normal television spectrum (internet, mobile video, etc) is at the core of the strike, with the Writer's Guild bringing the entire industry to a crawl while they hold out for more money. That said, I don't think they are entirely wrong for wanting to get their fair royalties from these new and developing revenue streams, but the complete irony of the situation is that the key players involved in the push to strike are the writers who already earn annual salaries in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

What you have is a key handful of writers at the top of the pile who are vital to the shows they write for, and are compensated as such. They want more money, because they see the popular shows they bring to life disseminating in new and different markets every day and want in on the action. Meanwhile, all the smaller writers, the hundreds of people who write for a TV episode here, and another episode there, and are absolutely not going to see much profit from these side markets, are out of work and looking to supplement their income while the "Union" is on strike.

Sure, they could cross the picket line, but everyone can understand the stigma of being a "scab".

I give this strike a month, at most, before you see a lot of the lesser known writers crossing the line, or quitting writing all together to take on a new career. Most of these guys don't have the financial security to support themselves during a long strike, and I think it's wrong for the cream at the top of the bucket to hold out while the milk underneath curdles...

EDIT: Just in the news this morning...


LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Striking Hollywood screenwriters must turn in their unfinished projects by Friday so that union officials can ensure they don't secretly work for studios during the walkout, which is expected to be lengthy.

Also sickening is the fact that the Writer's Guild strike puts the jobs of people who have nothing to do with the strike at risk:


Assistants, development executives and production managers will soon be out of work, joining their better-paid bosses who opted to sacrifice paychecks as members of the Writers Guild of America. At some studios, the first wave of letters are going out today, hitting writer-producers whose companies don't currently have shows in production.


The collateral damage is likely to include people such as a 30-year-old assistant at a TV production company who depends on a weekly check of about $600 for food, shelter and gas.

"Everybody's worried," he said. "We live check to check and hope things pan out. None of us want a strike." The assistant, who asked not to be named, works at a company that hasn't been suspended yet because it's still producing a show.

Dawn Parouse, an executive producer of "Prison Break" for Fox, said she assumed she would get a letter ending her production deal after seven years at the studio -- as soon as her company finished shooting the episodes that have been written.

Barring a settlement, her head of development and two assistants also would have to hit the street.