Wga Strike: Make The Call!

and why is everyone assuming that if there is no WGA that things will go to hell....none of us here have witnessed that situation we can only assume what would happen. If I had my way, I would give the writers 30 days to get back to work, if not.....I make an open call to any writers who want to work, maybe I'd find people who would appreciate the opportunity to work in the entertainment industry
 
You guys are pissed now wait till the SAG and DGA do the same thing which if I was a betting man...the public would side with actors and directors in a heart beat:o
 
the public would side with whoever resolved the strike, the public are sheep and demand their entertainment, they really dont care how or why it gets resolved
 
I would just start hiring new writers who aren't part of the WGA.
 
the public would side with whoever resolved the strike, the public are sheep and demand their entertainment, they really dont care how or why it gets resolved

But the public see actors and directors more than they do writers.

Writer= Evil and greed to the general public.


 
some of the daytime soaps have already hired replacement writers....most are working from home and mailing or messengering their work in
 
Even if you do they will have to join the WGA...

Why would they HAVE to join?

I thought Union membership was optional. Though you would get better jobs/pay.

So if the stuidos just screwed the Union and started hiring other people, how could they be stopped?
 
Why would they HAVE to join?

I thought Union membership was optional. Though you would get better jobs/pay.

So if the stuidos just screwed the Union and started hiring other people, how could they be stopped?


Read this...

However, newcomers will essentially write on spec anyway, arriving in L.A. in droves every year, a bucketful of scripts in hand, almost all of them amateurish and lame. If they manage to see an agent and he likes their ideas, some newbies may, in fact, get lucky. Note that when such a script is sold it typically doesn't matter how well it is written. If the idea seems highly commercial, a newbie's screenplay might be bought at scale, and then passed on to other writers for a second draft. (Just for fun, if you can find the original Alien screenplay on the web, you'll be amazed how puerile and laughable it is. It still astounds me that it was ever sold, especially since it was a blatant steal of 1958's It: The Terror from Beyond Space.)

Note that once you sell a script, you must join the WGA immediately, or the sale will be canceled. If you decide to be a "scab" and sell something during a writers' strike, after it's over you will be denied membership in the WGA and, for all intents and purposes, any potential future sales (unless, if memory serves, you pay back what you earned plus an extra 10% – to the WGA, not the producer).
 
and that is garbage....joining the WGA should be optional.....not mandatory. If a writer or group of writers choose to negotiate their own contract for a specific project, then the WGA should not have anything to do with it unless those individuals deem it so
 
and that is garbage....joining the WGA should be optional.....not mandatory. If a writer or group of writers choose to negotiate their own contract for a specific project, then the WGA should not have anything to do with it unless those individuals deem it so

Strength in numbers, I believe:o
 
Nuke Hollywood from orbit... start from scratch.

It's the only way to be sure.
 
and why is everyone assuming that if there is no WGA that things will go to hell....none of us here have witnessed that situation we can only assume what would happen. If I had my way, I would give the writers 30 days to get back to work, if not.....I make an open call to any writers who want to work, maybe I'd find people who would appreciate the opportunity to work in the entertainment industry

The industry would suffer as a whole if that happened. And they appreciate working in Hollywood; they just don't appreciate getting gypped on their work.
 
Read this...

However, newcomers will essentially write on spec anyway, arriving in L.A. in droves every year, a bucketful of scripts in hand, almost all of them amateurish and lame. If they manage to see an agent and he likes their ideas, some newbies may, in fact, get lucky. Note that when such a script is sold it typically doesn't matter how well it is written. If the idea seems highly commercial, a newbie's screenplay might be bought at scale, and then passed on to other writers for a second draft. (Just for fun, if you can find the original Alien screenplay on the web, you'll be amazed how puerile and laughable it is. It still astounds me that it was ever sold, especially since it was a blatant steal of 1958's It: The Terror from Beyond Space.)

Note that once you sell a script, you must join the WGA immediately, or the sale will be canceled. If you decide to be a "scab" and sell something during a writers' strike, after it's over you will be denied membership in the WGA and, for all intents and purposes, any potential future sales (unless, if memory serves, you pay back what you earned plus an extra 10% – to the WGA, not the producer).



the WGA sounds like a cult to me...... but so does the church bake sale my mom is involved in.... :csad:
 
It sounds a little wacky but its really meant to protect writers,even if you aren't part of the guild.
If you just sent off an unregistered script to the writers of "CSI Vatican City" odds are they're just going to yoink your ideas and you'll have little legal recourse.
 
The industry would suffer as a whole if that happened. And they appreciate working in Hollywood; they just don't appreciate getting gypped on their work.

That is pure specuation. Like I have said, I am all for the writers getting their piece of the residuals, but they should be free to negotiate for that themselves, not have the WGA involved.......I feel writers should operate as true independent contractors, negotiate their own pay and royalties......
 
the WGA sounds like a cult to me...... but so does the church bake sale my mom is involved in.... :csad:

at least with a bake sale you get tasty baked goods....with a writers' strike you get no new tv shows for a bit
 
at least with a bake sale you get tasty baked goods....with a writers' strike you get no new tv shows for a bit

Here the thing why do you care? So what if you don't get any new tv shows? I'm glad this is happening I hope it keeps going on and on:o
 
Here the thing why do you care? So what if you don't get any new tv shows? I'm glad this is happening I hope it keeps going on and on:o

i enjoy debating the topic with all the "damn the establishment" types in here....Its intresting to me because its not something that happens all that often and I could care either way, I have plenty of books and my xbox 360 so Im good
 
i enjoy debating the topic with all the "damn the establishment" types in here....Its intresting to me because its not something that happens all that often and I could care either way, I have plenty of books and my xbox 360 so Im good

Oh ok:o
 
From this place.

Talks between Hollywood writers and studios imploded Friday, dashing hopes of an imminent resolution to a five-week-old strike that has upended the entertainment industry.

The impasse is the latest turn in what has become one of the most tumultuous and vitriolic labor disputes in recent Hollywood history. It comes after eight days of contentious negotiations that yielded very little, if any, progress between the parties.

The sides remain deeply divided on how to split up new media revenues as digital technology and the Internet transform the way entertainment is delivered and consumed.

Both sides blamed the other for the breakdown of the talks, which fell apart over disputes about how much writers should be paid for shows distributed online, and whether writers who work in reality TV and feature animation should be covered under the Writer's Guild of America contract.

In a statement, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, said it was "puzzled and disheartened by an ongoing WGA negotiating strategy that seems designed to delay or derail talks rather than facilitate an end to this strike."

Guild officials were not immediately available for comment.The latest setback will have far reaching consequences across Hollywood and for many businesses throughout Southern California that feed off the industry.

It may also foreshadow a new period of labor unrest in Hollywood, which has enjoyed relative peace for most of the last two decades.

A continued walkout won't affect only the 10,500 writers on pickets lines, but also thousands of other workers -- from crew members and actors to talent agents and studio office employees. Already, the strike has taken a heavy toll on so-called below-the-line production workers who work behind the scenes on film and TV shows.

The television industry, which already has been disrupted by the shutdown of more than 50 shows, will be even harder hit. Virtually all scripted television shows are expected to stop production by next week, causing a loss of 15,000 jobs and costing the Los Angeles economy an estimated $21 million a day in direct production spending, according to FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles film permits.

Some economists have predicted that a strike stretching into next year could cost the overall L.A. economy more that $1 billion. The entertainment industry accounts for almost 7% of Los Angeles County's $442-billion economy.

Instead of watching new episodes of their favorite TV shows like "Desperate Housewives," "The Office," and "Cold Case," viewers will see reruns and a plethora of reality, sports and news programs.

With no fresh episodes, networks stand to lose tens of millions in advertising dollars. They could also see a further exodus of younger viewers to the Internet and other forms of entertainment, eroding the networks' market share.

Film studios will also suffer more disruptions. While they have enough movies to fill theaters in 2008, already several productions have been delayed because of the strike. Those include Ron Howard's "Angels & Demons," a sequel to "The Da Vinci Code" and Oliver Stone's "Pinkville." Other films could face similar fates.

Studios plan in the coming weeks to ratchet up the pressure on writers by invoking "force majeure" clauses in employment contracts with producers and others. The provision allows studios in a crisis such as a strike to terminate deals after a period of time, typically four to eight weeks after suspension notices go out. Shortly after the strike began Nov. 5, studios sent out dozens of such suspension letters to writer-producers of shows that shut down.

Most studios have contingency plans to pare overhead after the first of the year that include shedding some production deals and employee layoffs, several studio executive said this week. Talent agencies, which have slashed expenses, plan similar job cuts.

The studios will now try to strike a deal with directors, whose contract expires June 30. The Directors Guild of America, which has struck only once in its 71 years, for five minutes, has a history of negotiating contracts early and has a more cordial relationship with the studios than the writers union does.

Studios are hoping that a deal with directors would set the template for agreements with writers and actors, whose contract also expires June 30.

Such a strategy, however, could harden the resolve of the striking writers, whose guild has often sparred with the directors union on pay issues. It could also drive writers even closer to actors, who share many of the same concerns and who are preparing for equally tough negotiations. Screen Actors Guild leaders have strongly backed writers during the walkout, with a number of their celebrity members walking the picket lines.

Studios have been preparing for months for the prospect of an actors strike by moving up movies' production start dates so they could wrap by the end of June.

A prolonged strike also carries risks for the Writer Guild. Although union members have been strongly united behind their leadership, the solidarity could fracture if the strike drags on, creating severe hardships for many lower- and middle-income writers. Already, a group of top writer-producers known as show runners has expressed concern about how the strike is hurting their own staffs.

With so much at stake for both sides, many question why the parties have so far failed to come to terms on a new, three-year contract.

The parties remain sharply at odds over a host of complex issues, at the heart of which is how writers will be paid as entertainment migrates online.

"The industry is at crossroads," said industry veteran Sidney Sheinberg, former president of Universal Pictures' longtime corporate parent, MCA Inc. "Fear is a great motivator here on both sides."

Writers fear being short-changed as the studios rush to distribute their TV shows and movies on the Web, cellphones, video iPods and other devices. They sharply disagree with studios over how much they should be paid when shows are sold and reused online or created specifically for the Web.

"I'm not going to be the chairman of the negotiating committee that gives away the Internet," said the guild's John F. Bowman. "There's an enormous burden of history here."

The studios, confronted with dwindling profits from DVD sales and rising production and marketing costs, say they are concerned about committing to the guild's new-media pay demands when the economics of the Internet and other digital technologies are still so uncertain.

"They deserve to participate in the growth of the business, but you can't choke a business before it gets started," one top studio executive said of the writers and their demands.

The dispute isn't fueled only by the issues, however. A clash of personalities and styles of the opposing parties -- with the guild's chief negotiator, David Young, and President Patric M. Verrone facing off against the studios' negotiator, Nick Counter. That bad blood exacerbated tensions and caused dysfunctional negotiations.

Young, a veteran labor organizer of garment and construction workers and a newcomer to Hollywood, transformed the guild's culture from a somewhat insular artists group to a more traditional, activist union focused on growing its base. His confrontational tactics, more associated with blue-collar unions, put him sharply at odds with Counter, a veteran and hard-nosed entertainment industry negotiator who publicly blasted Young as inexperienced and militant. The two men openly sparred well before talks even began.

The conflict set the stage for a dysfunctional and erratic bargaining process.

Although negotiations ostensibly started back in July, they didn't get serious until Nov. 4, the day before writers walked.

Talks resumed last week, prompted by a flurry of back-channel communications involving writers-producers, studio executives and top agents, led by Creative Artists Agency partner Bryan Lourd. That raised hopes that a deal was within reach.

Tuesday marked the first time that they had a serious discussion about one of the biggest issues dividing them: pay for shows streamed online.

The next day, however, talks took a turn for the worse as writers reiterated their demands for jurisdiction over reality TV and feature animation and a proposal that would give writers the right to wage sympathy strikes in solidarity with other unions.

Studio executives considered those nonnegotiable issues and were angry because they thought writers wanted negotiations to focus on new-media pay only.

Writers were equally upset that the studios didn't offer better proposals on such key issues as residuals for shows sold online and episodes created for the Web.

The frustrations on both sides boiled Thursday and Friday with the sides accusing each of misstating facts about the details of the latest round of talks.

personally, I think that part is bulls#!t.
 

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