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Writer's Guild Strike. TV = owned.


Ramaniscence
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Has anyone else heard about this? I just read about it on Penny Arcade.

Apparently it's a pretty big deal, too. Writers from a TON of shows have quit writing, and a bunch are having the cease production. Late shows were the first to go, now Desperate Housewives will have to start showing repeats by the end of November.

Other shows include:

-Family Guy

-Heroes

-Lost

-Both CSI's

-Grey's Anatomy

-House..

I wouldn't care if they weren't taking away the ONE REASON I TURN ON MY TV :((. Leave my House ALONE.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16067518

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desperate_Housewives#Possible_hiatus

http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2529

http://www.penny-arcade.com/

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Yeah, it's been brewing for awhile (it was mentioned several times during the Emmys I believe) and Jon Stewart mentioned it at the end of Thursday's Daily Show (hence this week is reruns :-( )

I know the main thing they're asking for is a share of revenues from Internet and other non-traditional mediums. Corporate bastards...

:tomatoface:

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If I'm not mistaken, the writers are the ones asking for the share of revenues from Internet and non-traditional media. As well as DVDs and other such items. Which should be fair, it's their work being replicated over and over again after all.

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If I'm not mistaken, the writers are the ones asking for the share of revenues from Internet and non-traditional media. As well as DVDs and other such items. Which should be fair, it's their work being replicated over and over again after all.
Yeah, that's what I meant; sorry.
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Money isn't stupid. People who don't know how to pay their employees or treat the people who are their current and potential customers are.

Unfortunately, people who follow TV shows religiously are the ones who really suffer. And that's sad for more than one reason. Watch for TV ratings to hit rock bottom.

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It's only been two days and everyone is freaking out about when their favorite shows are going to stop running new episodes. It's not like these shows are all going to collapse. In all likelihood a deal will be cut long before there is any danger of that, even for Desperate Housewives; if the strike lasts through this month I will be very surprised.

The saddest thing to me is that this is a guild-enforced thing. There are not few writers out there who really wouldn't go through with the strike if it were up to them. I've noticed this particularly with the writers of Lost; it seems from what comments and quotes I've read that most of them just want it over with as soon as possible so they can get back to doing what they do best.

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Hollywood should really get this over with an offer them a percentage from DVD sales. I mean...the actors are getting money from DVD sales, why can't the writers have some, too? Writers are just as important as actors.

Anyway, I'm a little pissed since I've been watching House constantly. Best show ever. Yeah...I'm a biased medical student. :P

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It's only been two days and everyone is freaking out about when their favorite shows are going to stop running new episodes. It's not like these shows are all going to collapse. In all likelihood a deal will be cut long before there is any danger of that, even for Desperate Housewives; if the strike lasts through this month I will be very surprised.

The last time the WGA striked in 1988, it lasted 22 weeks. Anybody who remembers that has cause for concern. Half a year with no late night shows?

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The last time the WGA striked in 1988, it lasted 22 weeks. Anybody who remembers that has cause for concern. Half a year with no late night shows?

A) That was 1988. I don't recall many more recent strikes (this decade), other than the NHL fiasco, that have lasted more than a month, simply because the economy is continually growing more and more efficient at handling them. People make demands, prove a point for a couple days or weeks, they get paid. It works.

B) I find that the fact the WGA has led a strike over similar issues before and it was a big deal back then makes it all the more likely this one will be settled quickly. When you've been slapped silly for something once, you typically don't wait for to be slapped a second time when someone tells you you're doing it again. Also, notice strike series like the NYC transit authority; first one lasts a couple weeks, second one lasts a couple days.

C) Anyone worrying about Lost, don't. If the strike were to actually continue, it wouldn't matter beyond the fourth season being split in two and the finale coming a bit later than expected. All 48 remaining episodes are still on order and there's no going back.

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My guess no, but it's a huge boost to their career. They can network and funnel their voice into one the corporations will have to listen to.

As a Creative Writing minor, this is a tad unsettling for me. What's more unsettling is that I didn't hear about it till now. Ah well. I can always take this opportunity to start watching new shows.

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If I'm not mistaken, the writers are the ones asking for the share of revenues from Internet and non-traditional media. As well as DVDs and other such items. Which should be fair, it's their work being replicated over and over again after all.

I don't really get this logic. I worked for a year as a programmer and to me it would be crazy to expect the company to pay, despite the fact that they currently are and will be using my code for a very long time as they see fit, me in perpetuity for that code. Why are writers of TV scripts more deserving of this sort of royalties than any other creative job? Guys who work for companies and make patentable ideas usually only get a $1 for it.

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I don't really get this logic. I worked for a year as a programmer and to me it would be crazy to expect the company to pay, despite the fact that they currently are and will be using my code for a very long time as they see fit, me in perpetuity for that code. Why are writers of TV scripts more deserving of this sort of royalties than any other job?

I think I can defend that. Being a writer for a movie is a creative role, much like writing a book, creating a painting, or creating a song. The end result is a creative work that has a completely unknown value. The work can flop, or it can become the greatest masterpiece of the entire form of expression. In one case, the work may lose money, or in the other, it may generate many millions.

Whereas other professions are more calculated in the investment it takes to employ the person.

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Yeah, writing code is not exactly the same as writing music, writing a screenplay, or creating other forms of art. While it's easy to value the time of a programmer, it's hard to really value the time of a creative person. Earlier this year I got $125 for writing 15 seconds of music. It took about 20 minutes. Does this mean I'm worth $375 an hour? No, it means that particular piece of music was worth $125, and I was only able to create it quickly because of all the time and money I have invested into my studio and abilities.

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