The Writer's Strike

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

I know everyone involved with The Office is God's gift to television, but I still want to throw tomatoes at Ivy League-educated Hollywood writers in a picket line. Shame on both sides for not coming to an agreement so that we have to witness this farce. B.J. Novak isn't exactly the singer from "King Harvest Has Surely Come."

[Celtic Guardian 0]

FOX announcement (via Futon Critic)

New midseason schedule, "24" is not on it.

 

In light of the recently announced strike by The Writers Guild of America, FOX has revised its lineup for January and the remainder of the 2007-2008 season. (The new schedule is subject to change, pending resolution of the strike.)

 

The highly anticipated drama TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES will have a two-night premiere on Sunday, Jan. 13 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) and Monday, Jan. 14 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), the show's regular time period. PRISON BREAK, which has its last November airing on Monday, Nov. 12 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), returns to Mondays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) beginning Jan. 14.

 

The seventh season premiere of 24 is being postponed to ensure that "Day 7" can air uninterrupted, in its entirety.

[NYU 0]

Ugh.

 

Well at least we'll have a brand new season of American Idol.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I'm pretty disgusted at the thought of having waited four months for new episodes of The Office, only to eventually get a grand total of eight.

 

The idea of more reality TV makes me want to get reacquainted with DVD.

[slimm44 0]

FOX announcement (via Futon Critic)

New midseason schedule, "24" is not on it.

 

In light of the recently announced strike by The Writers Guild of America, FOX has revised its lineup for January and the remainder of the 2007-2008 season. (The new schedule is subject to change, pending resolution of the strike.)

 

The highly anticipated drama TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES will have a two-night premiere on Sunday, Jan. 13 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) and Monday, Jan. 14 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), the show's regular time period. PRISON BREAK, which has its last November airing on Monday, Nov. 12 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), returns to Mondays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) beginning Jan. 14.

 

The seventh season premiere of 24 is being postponed to ensure that "Day 7" can air uninterrupted, in its entirety.

 

 

Well for a second I thought 'great, no 24 I'll be able to watch Heroes...and then remembered what thread I was reading. So maybe now I will check out Terminator.

[BruiserKC 0]

*grabs a steel chair and violently pounds anything near me*.

 

Damn it...24 was one of the reasons I actually watch something other than sports or news.

 

If they mess with "Burn Notice" or "The Shield" there will be more violence.

[JHawk 0]

The first time in years I like two new shows (The Big Bang Theory and Pushing Daisies) and they go on strike. Don't that figure?

[boobshaw 0]

Excerpts from an e-mail sent to WGA members about a planned Friday rally:

 

UPDATE FROM THE WGA GUILD STRIKE HEADQUARTERS.

 

· Negotiations Update: We are on strike and will continue to

strike until there is a fair deal. To date, no further negotiations

are scheduled.

 

· Big Picket Line / Rally: There will be one picket for all WGA

members and our supporters at Fox on Friday November 9th at 10:00 am.

 

THIS IS THE “RALLY” WE’VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT ALL WEEK – SO PLEASE MAKE

EVERY EFFORT TO BE THERE.

 

I wonder what impact that will have, if any.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

If your job doesn't run the risk of a severed limb, fuck your union.

 

You're dumb sometimes.

[The Niggardly King 0]

If your job doesn't run the risk of a severed limb, fuck your union.

 

[Darthtiki 0]

From Variety:

"Lost" could be lost this year-- if Lindelof has a say

Variety.com *

Today, 4:01 PM

ABC says it's still planning to air the eight episodes of "Lost" scripted before the strike. Showrunner Damon Lindelof, however, is hoping ABC doesn't do that.

 

"That would not be ideal," he said Wednesday during the showrunners picket in front of the Disney lot. "It would be a lot like airing the six last year."

 

Lindelof was referring to the Alphabet's decision to split last season's "Lost" into two cycles, starting with a six-episode fall appetizer. Fans hated the pacing, and ABC ended up making a deal that called for "Lost" to air in 16-episode spurts over the next three years.

 

But now that the strike is threatening to make a 16-episode arc impossible-- at least this season-- ABC execs so far seem inclined to just put on the episodes they have. Lindelof knows it's not his call, but he seems to be hoping ABC shows restraint.

 

"Shows move at their own speed," he said. "You design the speed based on the length of the season, and if that season is cut short, you careen out of control."

 

Fox execs seem to subscribe to the Lindelofian theory of series scheduling. Net decided Wednesday to put "24" on hold until it was certain all the episodes could air uninterrupted.

 

--Josef Adalian

 

[Craig Th 0]

I'd rather wait until they film all 16.

[Craig Th 0]

*grabs a steel chair and violently pounds anything near me*.

 

Damn it...24 was one of the reasons I actually watch something other than sports or news.

 

If they mess with "Burn Notice" or "The Shield" there will be more violence.

The Shield is filming the season finale very soon. The only crappy thing about it is that Shawn Ryan (the creator) won't be there. Which sucks cause it's his baby and he won't be there for the last episode ever.

[randomguy 0]

That guardian piece was stupid.

 

Most shows have a team of writers. How the fuck are they going to retain copyright? What does it mean for a bunch of staff members (who come and go regularly) to retain copyright over the script of a show? Does that mean they own the characters they introduce? Do they own the plotlines? This has been a real issue in Comics where people do claim to own the characters they create and try to control them - total clusterfuck.

 

Writers are one piece of a the puzzle in film and TV, they are not comparable to book writers at all. A book is the writing output of a writer, that's all it is. The writing output of a writer on a show is just part of the overall product.

---

 

This strike is pretty simple overall. The networks are making money off of the work efforts of writers while paying ZERO. That's just silly.

[BruiserKC 0]

This reminds me of the baseball strikes and the hockey lockout that got the season cancelled a couple of years ago and made me stop watching the NHL. Is it me or does it seem like people who make a ton of money trying to figure out how to divide it up? Maybe I'm all wet on this as I'm sure there aren't any writers out there making money in the atmosphere of A-Rod, but they're not poor by any means. It just makes me less likely to feel sorry for anyone.

[Ravenbomb 0]

Sure, they're not poor, but that doesn't make it right that they aren't getting any compensation for the sales of what they worked on. It's not "hey, we want more money for what we're doing."

[bob_barron 0]

This reminds me of the baseball strikes and the hockey lockout that got the season cancelled a couple of years ago and made me stop watching the NHL. Is it me or does it seem like people who make a ton of money trying to figure out how to divide it up? Maybe I'm all wet on this as I'm sure there aren't any writers out there making money in the atmosphere of A-Rod, but they're not poor by any means. It just makes me less likely to feel sorry for anyone.

 

You don't really know what you're talking about.

 

Not all writers make super money, and most writers rely on residuals to stay afloat. They are simply asking for residuals for when people make money off of their work.

[Downhome 0]

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TV...-Long/800026937

 

30 Rock: Ten episodes will be produced. Five episodes have aired, so there are five left.

 

Back to You: Nine episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are three left.

 

Bionic Woman: Roughly nine episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are three left.

 

Bones: Twelve episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are six left.

 

Boston Legal: Fifteen episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are nine left.

 

Brothers & Sisters: Twelve episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are six left.

 

Chuck: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are six left.

 

CSI: NY: Fourteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are seven left.

 

Desperate Housewives: Ten episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are four left.

 

Dirty Sexy Money: Eleven episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are five left.

 

Friday Night Lights: Fifteen episodes will be produced. The sixth episode airs tonight, Nov. 9, so there are nine left.

 

Gossip Girl: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are six left.

 

Grey's Anatomy: Eleven episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are four left.

 

Heroes: Twelve episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are five left.

 

House: Twelve episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are six left.

 

Jericho: Seven episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are seven episodes left.

 

Law & Order: SVU: Fourteen episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are eight left.

 

Lost: Eighth episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there eight episodes left.

 

Medium: Nine episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are nine episodes left.

 

Men in Trees: Nineteen episodes will be produced. The fifth episode airs tonight, Nov. 9, so there are 14 left.

 

Numbers: Twelve episodes will be produced. The seventh episodes airs tonight, Nov. 9, so there are five left.

 

The Office: Twelve half-hour episodes will be produced. Eleven half-hour episodes have aired, so there is one half-hour episode left.

 

Prison Break: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are six left.

 

Private Practice: Ten or 11 episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are four or five left.

 

Pushing Daisies: Nine episodes will be produced. Five episodes have aired, so there are four left.

 

Reaper: Ten to 12 episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are three to five left.

 

Samantha Who?: Twelve episodes will be produced. Four episodes have aired, so there are eight left.

 

Scrubs: Twelve episodes will be produced. Three episodes have aired, so there are nine left.

 

Shark: Eleven episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are five left.

 

Smallville: Fifteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are eight left.

 

Supernatural: Ten to 12 episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are four to six left.

 

Ugly Betty: Twelve or 13 episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are five or six left.

[CanadianChris 0]

The first time in years I like two new shows (The Big Bang Theory and Dirty Sexy Money) and they go on strike. Don't that figure?

 

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

This reminds me of the baseball strikes and the hockey lockout that got the season cancelled a couple of years ago and made me stop watching the NHL. Is it me or does it seem like people who make a ton of money trying to figure out how to divide it up? Maybe I'm all wet on this as I'm sure there aren't any writers out there making money in the atmosphere of A-Rod, but they're not poor by any means. It just makes me less likely to feel sorry for anyone.

 

You don't really know what you're talking about.

 

Not all writers make super money, and most writers rely on residuals to stay afloat. They are simply asking for residuals for when people make money off of their work.

But the little guys are the ones who get hurt the most by work stoppages, are they not? It's not in their best interests to strike.

[Jericholic82 0]

damn so house and bones get shortchanged this years

 

 

but why havent the studios just gave up already, i mean they need the writers to get the shows to the networks who need them for the ad revenue

 

I guess they want to hold out an dhope the writers give up

[Jorge Gorgeous 0]

I havn't heard any arguments from the producer's viewpoint yet, which I think is pretty interesting. Nothing like "we're the only ones who risk any real financial loss if a show fails" or anything like that. All I've heard from the producers is "No. You can't have any more residuals. They're ours."

[Darthtiki 0]

The argument that was brought up in my American Television class was that the more you pay out in residuals as well as the portions of the DVD & Download sales is less pie for the studio to take in to cover the studio deductions as well as the money they either profit or reinvest into the studio. After all, the biggest money maker at least in the case of film is the home entertainment market. That being said, a blogger covering the strike for the Hollywood Reporter did the calculations and according to those calculations, what the writers are asking for in compensation isn't a whole hell of a lot, especially when it comes to DVDs and Downloads. In my opinion, I think the biggest sticking point is when it comes to the streaming of episodes and web-exclusives as well as any other digital non-downloadable content that is what the AMPTP is really wanting control of, because the less union interference in that area the bigger cash cow it is for them as well as one less headache they have to deal with every few years.

 

Funny note: I guess there has been a flame war on the mailing list for my school's RTVF club in which someone thought it would be a good idea to go and picket with the WGAW people and use it as a "great networking opportunity".

[Jorge Gorgeous 0]

The argument that was brought up in my American Television class was that the more you pay out in residuals as well as the portions of the DVD & Download sales is less pie for the studio to take in to cover the studio deductions as well as the money they either profit or reinvest into the studio. After all, the biggest money maker at least in the case of film is the home entertainment market. That being said, a blogger covering the strike for the Hollywood Reporter did the calculations and according to those calculations, what the writers are asking for in compensation isn't a whole hell of a lot, especially when it comes to DVDs and Downloads. In my opinion, I think the biggest sticking point is when it comes to the streaming of episodes and web-exclusives as well as any other digital non-downloadable content that is what the AMPTP is really wanting control of, because the less union interference in that area the bigger cash cow it is for them as well as one less headache they have to deal with every few years.

 

Funny note: I guess there has been a flame war on the mailing list for my school's RTVF club in which someone thought it would be a good idea to go and picket with the WGAW people and use it as a "great networking opportunity".

 

I thought about doing that for just that reason. Sometimes you gotta hustle.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

This reminds me of the baseball strikes and the hockey lockout that got the season cancelled a couple of years ago and made me stop watching the NHL. Is it me or does it seem like people who make a ton of money trying to figure out how to divide it up? Maybe I'm all wet on this as I'm sure there aren't any writers out there making money in the atmosphere of A-Rod, but they're not poor by any means. It just makes me less likely to feel sorry for anyone.

 

You don't really know what you're talking about.

 

Not all writers make super money, and most writers rely on residuals to stay afloat. They are simply asking for residuals for when people make money off of their work.

But the little guys are the ones who get hurt the most by work stoppages, are they not? It's not in their best interests to strike.

 

You're exactly wrong. A successful strike is going to help writers NOT on the A-list a lot more than the big-timers.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Here's one of those fancy Hollywood unions that don't run the risk of severed limbs and what they went through back in the 40s:

 

By early October 1945 [the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees] was not just running out of money, it was running out of patience. Temperatures were at record highs and nerves were frazzled. CSU President, Herb Sorrell, decided to make a stand at Warner Bros. On October 5th, some 300 strikers gather at Warner Bros. main gate at 4 A.M. on a typically warm day during this pivotal month. Shortly thereafter, strikebreakers, Chicago goons and county police attacked. They were armed with chains, bolts, hammers, six inch pipes, brass knuckles, wooden mallets and battery cables. The county sheriffs marched two and three abreast, steel-helmeted and reinforced with tear gas masks, and night sticks, Some carried 30-30 Garrand rifles and two were weighted down with an arsenal of tear gas bombs. The Warner Bros. studio police lobbed canisters of tear-gas from the roofs of the buildings at the entrance.

 

Picket[ers] had their own “white-painted air-raid warden helmets” that shone eerily in the predawn gloom. These helmets and weapons added to the perception that this strike had become a pitched battle, a war. As Sorrell recalled it, “First, they drove through the picket lines at a high rate of speed, several cars. I think we took four people to the hospital. The fire hoses were dragged out; they turned them on the people’s feet and just swept them right out from under… they threw tear gas bombs… there were women knocked down… It was a slaughter.”

 

http://www.iatse728.org/home/strike.htm

 

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

damn so house and bones get shortchanged this years

 

 

but why havent the studios just gave up already, i mean they need the writers to get the shows to the networks who need them for the ad revenue

 

I guess they want to hold out an dhope the writers give up

 

Why should they? They have the leverage. They can run game and reality shows instead, and it's not like other networks would steal viewers (since they'd be running the same kind of shows themselves). The writers would be the ones losing money and if it goes on too long, their jobs on any specific shows they work on (for example, if the strike goes on too long, I don't see a newcomer show like Reaper or Life or etc regaining their momentum).

[Craig Th 0]

This might be a crazy idea, but what if the networks decided to air older shows that aren't on the air anymore? (Seindfeld, Friends, Cheers and Frasier) NBC could do a classic 'Must See TV' night on Thursday.

 

Unless they can't do this because of syndication stuff.

[Youth N Asia 0]

I think new crappy reality gameshow stuff would draw in bigger numbers. You can see Seinfeld 8 times a day as it is. It would be nice if they managed to come up with something different to fill the spots, not just a weeklong Deal or no Deal bananza

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

This reminds me of the baseball strikes and the hockey lockout that got the season cancelled a couple of years ago and made me stop watching the NHL. Is it me or does it seem like people who make a ton of money trying to figure out how to divide it up? Maybe I'm all wet on this as I'm sure there aren't any writers out there making money in the atmosphere of A-Rod, but they're not poor by any means. It just makes me less likely to feel sorry for anyone.

 

You don't really know what you're talking about.

 

Not all writers make super money, and most writers rely on residuals to stay afloat. They are simply asking for residuals for when people make money off of their work.

But the little guys are the ones who get hurt the most by work stoppages, are they not? It's not in their best interests to strike.

 

You're exactly wrong. A successful strike is going to help writers NOT on the A-list a lot more than the big-timers.

So what happens when the studios lay everyone off, as has been rumored, and they're out of jobs?