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Deal Reportedly Reached In Writers' Strike
Posted by
kdawson
on Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:21 AM
from the gonna-be-a-backlog dept.
from the gonna-be-a-backlog dept.
BlueshiftVFX writes to let us know that the writers' strike may be over. CNBC and other media are quoting former Disney CEO Michael Eisner: "It's over. They made the deal, they shook hands on the deal. It's going on Saturday to the writers in general... A deal has been made, and they'll be back to work very soon."
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I guess... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I guess... (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:I guess... (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:I guess... (Score:5, Insightful)
Lost is far from formulaic and repetitive, although the writers have been taking it a bit too far, and need to start winding down the series (ideally in one or two seasons, rather than the proposed three). I lost track halfway through the second season, so I can't comment on how it's been recently.
Heroes is one of the most popular shows today, and has terrific nerd-appeal. The current season has been somewhat subpar, but the original series was engaging and enjoyable.
Battlestar Galactica is easily the best-written and produced Sci-Fi series to air in years. It's also quite a bit more palatable for normal audiences.
24 is the best 80s action movie ever made. Although I don't particularly agree with its politics, it's quite an engaging storyline.
House is quite good. Perhaps becoming a bit repetitive, but definitely the best of the "medical" shows.
Mythbusters? How can you read slashdot and not love mythbusters, even in spite of their disregard for the scientific method?
The Daily Show and Colbert Report singlehandedly got an apathetic generation interested in politics. That's no small feat.
Over in the UK, they've got Top Gear, The Mighty Boosh, the current incarnation of Dr Who, along with a fantastic array of other programming that doesn't make it to the US -- Thanks to advances [youtube.com] in filmmaking technology, their documentaries and nature series are also absolutely captivating to watch.
(After writing this post, I feel the need to assert that I'm not a couch potato! The magic of TiVo lets me save the good stuff for saturday nights.)
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Re:I guess... (Score:4, Funny)
We need more shows like that on the air again.
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Re:I guess... (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:I guess... (Score:5, Insightful)
Now are the geeks happy?
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Terms? (Score:4, Insightful)
Too late? (Score:4, Funny)
Original story link (Score:5, Informative)
Sooooo.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Darn (Score:5, Insightful)
Ah well, at least The Office will be back.
Oh No!!! What About The Great New Reaility Shows! (Score:4, Funny)
I mean, aren't you dying to see My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad [nbc.com]?
It debuts on February 18th! Don't miss it, kids!
Oh boy! I can't wait... (Score:3, Funny)
Outsourcing Scriptwriters (Score:5, Funny)
Slashdot Users, Yall Let Me Down! :-) (Score:4, Funny)
That's Great, When's Battlestar Galactica Going to Be On Finally?
They just don't make geeks like they used to, I guess.
Pity It's Over (Score:5, Informative)
There are no commercials in the webcast, of course, but the BBC shop sends me emails advertising box DVD sets of Doctor Who and the like; definitely a fave show and the sort of message I'm open to, as opposed to endless commercials on regular TV for cars and feminine hygiene products, which I'm not in the market for.
Great (Score:4, Funny)
The strike is NOT over. (Score:5, Informative)
The strike is NOT over.
If you watch the video [cnbc.com] where Eisner insists the strike to be over, he says quietly at the end that he is really just passing on a rumor. He also points out that the writers have to vote on the offer. He says the writers would be "insane" not to take it, but he also previously had stated [wikipedia.org] that the entire strike was "insanity" so he's not the most unbiased person on this.
The strike is not over until the full WGA membership votes on the proposal. They may do so, but they may not. The terms of the contract proposal have not even been seen by the writers, so there's no way to know right now what's going to happen.
If you don't believe me, may I recommend this post by Joss Wheden [blogspot.com], or this one [deadlineho...ddaily.com], or this one [deadlineho...ddaily.com].
W
It's not over yet.... (Score:4, Informative)
The deal will be presented to the membership on Saturday where I believe an informal vote will be taken. I believe that a full ratification vote is required by the constitution for the deal to be formally accepted but that the Board of Directors can lift the strike without before that happens.
The terms for compensation for Internet re-usage in the DGA deal were not very appealing for Writers and Actors. I haven't seen what the deal terms are that have been proposed to the WGA, but if they didn't make good progress on this, the deal might be met with a mixed reception by members.
That said, the Negotiating Committee and the Board of Directors have the pulse of the membership my guess is that the membership will go along with the recommendations of the Negotiating Committee and the Board of Directors. I don't know how unanimous the NC/BoD are with respect to the deal (i.e. whether there is agreement that the deal is fair enough or whether the strike should go on longer).
Re:This is news for nerds... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:This is news for nerds... (Score:4, Informative)
Because the actors are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, and the stagehands by the ISTEA. If the studios tried hiring scabs to replace the writers, the actors and stagehands would have walked out as well.
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Re:This is news for nerds... (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:This is news for nerds... (Score:5, Informative)
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I need only three words to explain this (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:I need only three words to explain this (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Is it? (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Is it? (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Was that still going on? (Score:5, Insightful)
Could they have just STAYED on strike?
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Re:Was that still going on? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I can't say that I really missed it while it was gone, but I do welcome back The Word.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Was that still going on? (Score:4, Informative)
I'm so glad to know that you didn't even deign to notice that a large portion of those who work hard to entertain you lost their jobs and houses in a fight over the future of online content rights.
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Re:Was that still going on? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
If someone doesn't watch tv, then how are/were they affected by this strike? They weren't. I do watch some tv but didn't really notice any change except for reruns of 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'The Big Bang Theory'. Other than that, no problems here either.
Aside from that, this is probably one of the few times I will agree with a union demand. In this case, yes, the writers should get compensated for their work when that work is sent onli
Re:Was that still going on? (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Was that still going on? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Lets hope... (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Seems like noone won (Score:5, Insightful)
That sounds a lot to me like "We fired these guys for supporting the union, but we can't say that because that would get us in trouble with the NLRB."
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Re:Seems like noone won (Score:4, Insightful)
I was pulling for the writers from the beginning, but we can't pretend that money just grows on trees like the government likes to think.
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Re:So... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:So... (Score:5, Interesting)
And based on your comment, "mathamatitions" are not "writters," either.
Actually, a lot of the people on the WGA negotiating committee are "show runners"--IE, writer/producers with a huge amount of responsibility. One of the negotiators, for example, is Carlton Cuse [imdb.com], one of the two guys who runs LOST; as you can imagine, you don't end up running a multi-million-dollar enterprise unless you have a lot of financial savvy.
So why would a bunch of smart people recommend a strike under these circumstances? Two main reasons.
First, writing careers can be very short-lived, and they are usually sporadic, with many periods of unemployment. (In fact, in any given year, nearly half of WGA members are unemployed.) The major issue in this strike was "residuals"--the royalties that writers get every time a TV show they wrote is broadcast, or a movie they wrote is sold. So, it's not entirely foolish to give up your 50% chance of employment this year to get a good deal on royalties that might be feeding your family for the next two decades.
Second, believe it or not, this was not strictly a selfish action. WGA members are very conscious of the fact that a lot of the stuff that makes it possible for us to earn our livings was won by previous generations of writers. Obviously a desire to have a good living is the main incentive in any business negotiation, but in the back of all our minds, we don't want to be the generation that let the studios roll back several decades of labor gains.
DISCLAIMER: I am an individual WGA member. These are just my opinions. I don't speak for the union.
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Wow (Score:5, Interesting)
1. There is so much money flowing through the distribution cartel, that unions are the only way to wrestle it out of the Producers/Studios. I'm old enough to remember a blockbuster low-budget movie called "My big fat greek wedding" has, to date, not turned a profit. Now, I could see a bad movie not turning a profit, but that movie was and still is INSANELY popular. Hell, my wife still gets residuals from a commercial that appeared in a big-budget movie made 20 years ago. That's how shady Hollywood accounting is.
2. Writers are about the least respected guild in Hollywood. Seriously, food craft gets more respect. (probably because they aren't a union)
5. Producers routinely turn great stories/scripts into trash. Once they own the rights to the script, let the destruction begin!!! This is why good books rarely make good movies. Once the writer gives up control it's all downhill. Notable exceptions usually have the writer having final say on the script.
You, and the idiots who modded you up have no clue.
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the relevant quote from Michael Caine (Score:3, Interesting)
Writers' incomes (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally, I think the most useful way of looking at a writer's salary is this: 55% of WGA members are employed in a given year, and among those who are employed in a year, the median income is about $107,000. So, with a 55% chance of earning $107,000, your expected annual income is $58,850. This is an excellent income if you are young and single. If you have kids and a mortgage, and you live in LA or NYC (two of the most expensive cities in America), then it's still a good wage, but it's not mansion-and-a-yacht level. This confirms my own experience--the WGA is basically a middle-class union, negotiating with multibillion dollar global companies.
(I know--I'm making a number of assumptions in my analysis, but I'm not a statistician and I have to simplify things a little. I'd welcome corrections from any of the numerous Slashdot readers who must be better at statistics than I am!)
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Re:Writers' incomes (Score:4, Informative)
However, you're (most likely) wrong about the WGA including "unpaid interns" in its stats. The WGA statistics only cover WGA members; and before you can become a member, you have to have a certain amount of paid TV or film writing work.
As a labor union, the WGA has to have independently-audited reports of the membership dues it receives and what it does with those dues; it then publicly releases the report as well as submitting it to the Department of Labor. If the WGA is including anybody other than WGA members in its statistics, it is violating federal labor law, and the independent auditors who certify it are colluding in fraud.
Of course, fraud does happen, auditors do look the other way, and there have been corrupt labor unions in the past, but tbarring evidence to the contrary, I think it's safe to assume that the basic data in the WGA annual report is not fraudulent.
(Of course, once the WGA releases the data, the numbers can get pulled out of context and subjected to all sorts of technically-true-but-misleading manipulation, which leads us back to where we started.)
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Re:So what? (Score:4, Insightful)
Uhh, yeah. I'd like my last season of BSG, thankyouverymuch.
Plus a couple of other shows, but that one's top of the list.
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Re:Too late (Score:4, Funny)
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