Writers' strike likely

[RoIIo Tomassi]

I think they are finished up through episode 8. They have been feverishly working all weekend to get the last one done, then they are verbøten from doing anymore. Even rewrites, or making decisions about what lines to cut if the episode is running long ( other producers will have to make those calls). We are shooting episode 7 and we are editing episodes 5 and 6 in different stages. That's about three-four weeks of work before we're done too.

[Zero]

so... what the hell happened? why was zero acting like the reincarnation of EP? i'm confused.

HA HA HA! SILLY WEBMASTER!

I WAS RUNNING A SUBPROGRAM DESIGNED TO MIMIC THAT INSIPID LOSER!

AND I HAD ALL OF YOU FOOLED!

ALL HAIL DOUCHE!
WUBBA WUBBA WUBBA!!!

[RoIIo Tomassi]

Man, there sure are a lot of goofy figures in here.

Completly unrelated observation. I noticed that there's a character cap of 60,000 in the message body. Even at 100 characters a line, that's still 6000 lines you could potentially write in one post!!


I double dog dare somebody to actually write that much and post it.

[anarky]

Don't say that.

Next thing you know, Snigtad is going to post "Your gay!" 6,666 times.

[anarky]

Sorry, Rollo. You couldn't have come back from the dead at a worse time. (How did that work, as far as returning to work after being dead for so long, and in two bodies, to boot?)

Frankly, this could not come at a worse time for the industry, and, the more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that both sides are idiots. CD sales are down, movie attendance is down, TV viewership is down, in the last two years even DVD buying is down. People mistrust these mega-conglomerates, and it's widely known how much they screw the audience (mostly on CDs and DVDs, which actually have to be purchased). Anything that hurts the industry is going to hurt everyone involved in the long run. There are simply too many alternatives. The quality of a lot of stuff online may be utter shit, but there's a lot of it, mostly free.

Plus, I learned that writers get a royalty from DVD sales. They just don't think it's enough. However shitty it may seem, it's more than most people get. They get paid upfront, like doctors or burger flippers or ad designers. But doctors don't get any commission on people who get well, burger flippers don't get backend from the number of Big Macs sold, and I know from experience that ad designers don't see any royalties no matter where the ad runs or how many sales it generates.

Why not keep this model and apply it to "new media," then next time contracts are up, try to renegotiate a better deal. I know the teachers' and grocery store unions compromise all the time for better deals in the future.

It's just stupid, as uncertain as pretty much everything in the biz is right now, to risk losing months worth of work. These corporate giants are too complacent, thinking that the American public is going to simply come back to them with open arms when this is resolved. There are simply too many alternatives now. (The same goes for the writers.)

And, as much as I hate the idea of scabs, why not simply hire non-union writers? I know there must be tons of them out there. (Personally, I couldn't care less about writing for TV or movies, since it's usually an oxymoron.) Is it that the other unions will refuse to work on these projects, so there won't be any actors? (I bet they can care less about the other unionized folks there.)

Or why not make everything like Transformers while the writers are on strike? You can't possibly tell me people wrote that shit.

[RoIIo Tomassi]

I think the increase in DVD revenue came off the table in favor of "new media" percentages ( ie internet, downloading, etc). I work with a lot of different people who are frustrated with everyone involved because now that it's gotten to it, our work and income is going to be affected and quickly.

BTW, I see picketers outside my building as we speak. Crazy.

[anarky]

Apparently, they're making four cents now on DVDs and want eight cents. It sounds like very little.

But think about it. How many copies does a successful DVD sell? As loathe as I am to say it, I can see that Transformers sold a record 190,000 copies in the first week. So let's assume that "successful" under normal terms means 100,000.

That's $4,000 straight up, as of now, or $8,000 if the studios grant this condition. For one week's worth of sales.

Keep in mind that the writers have been paid upfront for the script, and (I believe) a royalty from the box office receipts.

While I'm all for fair compensation for work done, this part doesn't sit too well with me, the more I think about it. I'm trying to choose my words very carefully, because I'm normally pro-union in most cases. And they probably, to be honest, deserve what they're asking for. However, for people who are already paid as much as Hollywood writers are, it seems absolutely heartless to put everyone else who's dependent on the smooth running of the Hollywood system, most of whom make as much (or less) in a month as the backend residuals from one week's worth of successful sales of one DVD, at risk.

[RoIIo Tomassi]

Speaking of writer's, I have an e-mail from a prominent writer/producer that was forwarded to me. Not naming names or his (multiple) shows, but he's kinda overstepping his importance in what is usually viewed as a "collaborative" effort.

[anarky]

I know very little about writing TV. To be honest, it doesn't interest me one bit (unless an adaptation of one of my stories was in the works, in which case I'd pretty much insist on it), even if it would be more money. I do know that most shows seem to have a team of writers. And, given that a lot of it comes down to acting, directing, lighting, etc, I'm guessing that it's probably even more a collaborative work than a comic book (with one writer, one penciller who is often responsible for pacing and "directing" the story, one inker and one colorist to provide shading and lighting, etc), since it seems to be teams rather than individuals.

[Senor JabbaJohnL]

This shit needs to get worked out soon, since I want my Daily Show.

[RoIIo Tomassi]

And a regular paycheck would be nice too.

[anarky]

JJL: There was a bit about the strike on NPR a little while ago, and they interviewed John Oliver. It's probably on their site somewhere, http://www.npr.org.

Best source of news this side of TDS. Especially better than that Newsbot hack.

[anarky]

So, I was just reading an article, and if I read it correctly, union writers in Hollywood are guaranteed at least $106,000 per movie script.

Without getting into specifics, do you get $106,000 per project?

[Batman]

I suggest foregoing the... recent offerings on television, and watching re-runs of Batman. That will teach those union communists a valuable lesson about... democracy.

[kidhuman]

You know they will eventually give in and give them this money they want. And guess what. We will all pay for it in multiple ways. DVD prices will raise, ad prices for the TV shows will go up and so will prices on products. Also prices on cable and Sat TV will jump up. These fuckers are gonna screw the public hard core. We should all boycott TV and DVD's after this. Oh and prices of movies will raise once again. 4 quick shots in the ass for the public