strike - writers and producers getting burnt by Fox, WB, NBC

[Asgard4eva]

CBS Paramount Network TV, Universal Media Studios (UMS), 20th Century Fox Television and Warner Bros TV all collectively axed shows.
ABC Studios late last week cut about 25 deals on Monday, CBS Paramount cut 15, Fox jettisoned about 14, NBC Universal rid nearly 10 and Warner Bros trimmed three

Sounds like we won't be need that tv show deadpool. Looks like a lot of people are getting sacked and lots of shows are getting canceled.

Very sad news

[Esquin]

And all this could be avoided if the networks would just have half a brain and stop being so damn greedy.

*insert long list of explicit comments and insults directed at networks and production companies*

I'm done.

[IcyNeko]

GREEDY?

Okay, let me state this, since every pro-WGA person that's talked to me have always raised the "ZOMG FIGHT FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE" story.

Read this: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...llywood_labour

YOUR "Little people" MAKE 5x AS MUCH AS THE TEHCNICAL STAFF THAT PUT THE SHOW TOGETHER, POSSIBLY 5x to 8x AS MUCH AS YOU MAKE NOW. AND THEY WANT MORE MONEY.

The people who were fired, who are the ones that you are mentioning.. are making $500,000 to $2,000,000 a YEAR and THEY SAY THAT IT IS NOT ENOUGH.

Studios being greedy? HA. My equivalent salary in Cali would be 1/5 of what they're making AT THE LOW END, so I really don't want to hear about GREED from ANY SIDE. It's not like they're living off bread and water.

[Sci-Fi]

Don't know why this thread is in this section..."Off-Topic Chatter" forum would be more appropriate.

In any case, this strike is everybody's fault. Can read the newspaper and internet articles to get the timeline of the events leading up to the strike and "make your own decision or form an opinion".

At the moment, the producers really don't care. They made the big bucks during the last strike and bought the American viewers a new kind of show..."Reality programming"...that's still with us today and pulls in the ratings. Expect to see a flood of reality shows in the next few weeks. Very little gamble or money needed to fund these programs and a few will become hits and run a long time (multiple seasons). The amount of "scripted" shows after that strike was lower, with reality shows taking over those primetime slots.

Many of the major over-the-air networks are bringing over shows from their cable affiliates. It's a good and necessary move...gives the network programming that the majority of viewers haven't seen yet and when the strike is over, many new fans of a show "might" follow it back to the cable network. But that's a short term solution.

The viewers are the ultimate losers, caught up in the very public battle between 2 or more parties trying to get the best deal for their members or company/corporation. Then again during the last strike, people got out more and found other things to do...so it might not be all bad.

[Doze]

GREEDY?

Okay, let me state this, since every pro-WGA person that's talked to me have always raised the "ZOMG FIGHT FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE" story.

Read this: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...llywood_labour

YOUR "Little people" MAKE 5x AS MUCH AS THE TEHCNICAL STAFF THAT PUT THE SHOW TOGETHER, POSSIBLY 5x to 8x AS MUCH AS YOU MAKE NOW. AND THEY WANT MORE MONEY.

The people who were fired, who are the ones that you are mentioning.. are making $500,000 to $2,000,000 a YEAR and THEY SAY THAT IT IS NOT ENOUGH.

Studios being greedy? HA. My equivalent salary in Cali would be 1/5 of what they're making AT THE LOW END, so I really don't want to hear about GREED from ANY SIDE. It's not like they're living off bread and water.

What is wrong with making 5x to 8x of what I make?
This strike is about the change with shows DVD's. A lot of shows are making shows with 20 extra minutes per episode that will never make it to TV. They then put this in as Extended DVD version or extra scenes and the writers don’t get paid for it. This is like the Baseball, Football or Hockey strike Millionaires fighting with Billionaires for more money than any of us will ever see. But until they work it out it will only get worse so they should work it out.

[IcyNeko]

When they make less than what I make, I may choose to support them. But when they're getting into a pissing match, that's where I draw the "Grow Up and Get Back To Work" line.

[Mefusta]

When they make less than what I make, I may choose to support them. But when they're getting into a pissing match, that's where I draw the "Grow Up and Get Back To Work" line.

I second that. The writers have been made out to be the "poor, downtrodden underdogs under the heel of the evil network misers" when in fact they're in no danger of going hungry. In doing this, they're only endangering the jobs of the little people, people who could end up going hungry.

Both sides are being childish and allowing their petty squabbling to seriously screw people who don't deserve it.

[Agent_Dark]

LOL

writers: omg liek lets strike n stuff lolol i want more $$$ so i can liek buy all this leet stuff.
studios: meh, guess we'll just have to cancel the shows... which means you're out of a job. bl.

[Arative]

The writers aren't being burnt by the studios. The production companies began exercising a contractual right to terminate deals with writers to develop new programs as a result of the continuing work stoppage. More than 70 production deals were cut, each representing $500,000 to $2 million in annual costs. Basically means those writers will not have future production deals with the studios because they, wait for, aren't working on their current production deals. I think the writers were wrong to strike, a union of 12,000 people are putting 10's of thousands of other union members out of work because of their inability to work out a deal.

However there is hope that the WGA will actually get back to the talks, which they haven't been at since Dec 7th because the DGA (Director's Guild of America) has just struck a deal with the AMPTP.
Highlights of the new agreement include:

* Increases both wages and residual bases for each year of the contract.

* Establishes DGA jurisdiction over programs produced for distribution on the Internet.

* Establishes new residuals formula for paid Internet downloads (electronic sell-through) that essentially doubles the rate currently paid by employers.

* Establishes residual rates for ad-supported streaming and use of clips on the Internet.

[Lord batchi ball]

So what shows have been axed?

[Ripple in Space]

CBS Paramount Network TV, Universal Media Studios (UMS), 20th Century Fox Television and Warner Bros TV all collectively axed shows.
ABC Studios late last week cut about 25 deals on Monday, CBS Paramount cut 15, Fox jettisoned about 14, NBC Universal rid nearly 10 and Warner Bros trimmed three

Sounds like we won't be need that tv show deadpool. Looks like a lot of people are getting sacked and lots of shows are getting canceled.

Very sad news

Might've been nice if you listed the actual shows rather than random numbers that hold little meaning without titles behind them...

[Orion's Star]

GREEDY?

Okay, let me state this, since every pro-WGA person that's talked to me have always raised the "ZOMG FIGHT FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE" story.

Read this: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...llywood_labour

YOUR "Little people" MAKE 5x AS MUCH AS THE TEHCNICAL STAFF THAT PUT THE SHOW TOGETHER, POSSIBLY 5x to 8x AS MUCH AS YOU MAKE NOW. AND THEY WANT MORE MONEY.

The people who were fired, who are the ones that you are mentioning.. are making $500,000 to $2,000,000 a YEAR and THEY SAY THAT IT IS NOT ENOUGH.

Studios being greedy? HA. My equivalent salary in Cali would be 1/5 of what they're making AT THE LOW END, so I really don't want to hear about GREED from ANY SIDE. It's not like they're living off bread and water.

I think you need to do some better research as you seem to be taking a rather narrow view of things.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...ugh_holidays_1

Most writers and below-the-line workers earn middle-class incomes. The average writers-guild member's salary is $62,000 a year, according to the WGA. IATSE salaries are similar. Strike or no, employment is inconsistent for both groups, with nearly half of writers-guild members and 10 to 15 per cent of IATSE members without work during the year.

Pay attention to the bolded parts. Notice the average pay? Notice the fact that almost half of ALL members in the guild are unemployed at one time? No, you're too busy focusing on the extreme end of the spectrum. As if every other employment field doesn't have extreme ends of the pay spectrum like being a WGA writer.

http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2686

Don’t writers make enough money?

Most writers are middle class; 46% did not even work last year. Of those who do work, one quarter make less than $37,700 a year and 50% make less than $105,000 a year. Over a five year period of employment and unemployment, a writer's average income is $62,000 per year.

Again, notice the bold parts.

By the way, since your equivalent Cali salary (by your own admission) is a relatively higher amount than what the average WGA guild member makes in a year, maybe you'd like to take a pay cut so as not to appear greedy or too demanding of your employer?

[Kick-Kinsey]

So what shows have been axed?

The movie Shantaram (Mira Nair, Depp ), the JLA (Flash, WonderWoman, Superman) and Nine (Rob Marshall) look like they got axed

Hugh Jackman's tv series got canceled

There's about 60 or so that might be axed, including current tv shows and the Star Trek movie is said to be in danger

[IcyNeko]

The low figure (60k) is actually the same amount a tech writer makes outside of hollywood! And the 100k figure is what a lot of people make in a year. And in both cases without residuals.

Every person who's ever argued for the strike makes it seem like if it's not supported, the writers are going to be living in cardboard boxes soon! They've gone on this long without "new tech" revenue. And heck, residuals are so sleezy. If they want better pay, it should be negotiated in base pay increase, not residuals. Be like the rest of the world. The fact that this is the loudest complaint makes the whole strike seem ridiculous. They aren't starving. They could do with better pay, but it's hardly a crisis worth disrupting other people's jobs.

Here's one more handy dandy point for you: The other unions were set to strike together in the summer of this year for better pay. The WGA decides "HAY LET'S GET AHEAD OF THE LINE" and shafts EVERYONE ELSE. I'm glad their fight was worth not lining up with every one else in the show production teams, effectively forcing them all into NOT GETTING PAID BECAUSE OF LACK OF WORK. Studio not paying enough is a jerk move, sure. But not having work because the WGA is on strike is a real dick move because then for every 1 person who is on the picket line, 6 people are without jobs WITHOUT CHOOSING TO BE THAT WAY.

And the 10-40% unemployment numbers don't impress me in the slightest. That's a result of either guild rules, the writer's own ability, the writer's own will, or a combination of all of the above.

[Jumper_One]

So what shows have been axed?

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2007/12/05...ke-status/2032

There's about 60 or so that might be axed, including current tv shows and the Star Trek movie is said to be in danger

really?