Writers strike is a go

[YourSwordIsMine]

Only if you plan on not working in that industry after the strike ends...

Yeah... you really dont want to be a "scab" in Hollywood... bad idea...

 

[Ranger REG]

Give away money? Madness!

Either that or use WotC's business model:

1) Lay off the in-house writers.
2) Hire them as independent freelanced writers under a work-for-hire contract as needed (basically agrees a one-time payment for their submitted work).
3) Writers have no say since they sold their material.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Does this in any way affect the Terminator tv series that is supposed to be forthcoming?

 

[Ranger REG]

Does this in any way affect the Terminator tv series that is supposed to be forthcoming?

I dunno. Is the Sarah Conner Chronicles already in production shooting? How many episode scripts have their writing staff have completed and ready for shooting?

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Uh, as far as I know that is not a matter of negotiation. Like I said, the writers DO belong to a Union, they just don't belong to THAT union. Why would you want to force them to change unions? They voted to be in the other union.

Huh- didn't realize they pulled their efforts on that. The WGA had been working for that goal up through October, at least. Union busters in the AMPTP and others had been working against them, though.

 

[Tonguez]

Huh of the list I only watch 3 shows and the only one I'd miss is scrubs (heroes and supernatural were the other two) of course we still have UK, Canadian and Australian TV

 

[sckeener]

I feel for the Daily Show/The Colbert Report. Their bread and butter is politics and they missed the Nov elections for this year and this strike is expected to continue until next year...which means they are most likely going to miss the primaries.

I get more information from their non-news than the news stations. I'm going to miss them.

Thanks Villano for the list of shows and the likely effects. Does anyone have word on other cable shows....like Dexter, Weeds, Californication, Tell me you love me, etc?

Californication finished its opening season...but does this mean that the next season will be delayed.

Anyone know how long the last strike lasted? I only remember the strike in the 80s and it seemed long then.

 

[trancejeremy]

I'm curious as to how this works. Does it only keep writers from presently writing, or are they also not selling scripts? Like say, could someone sell an old script, or would that be a violation? Or could they simply re-use old scripts for other shows and simply change character names?

(Yes, I realize most movies get revised a lot after the script is sold, but still, just curious)

And just how much would breaking the actually hurt a career in Hollywood. Wouldn't it just annoy the other writers, but not so much the directors/producers/actors? Inter-union solidarity really only flows from the bottom up, not the other way around.

For instance, I can remember several years ago, the local stadium workers were on strike. Yet did the baseball players union (or umpires) strike as well, or even honor the picket line? No, they still played in the stadium full of replacement workers. The writers are probably on a similar spot on the totem pole.

And what about writers from other countries? Hong Kong and Bollywood have thriving film industries, and most of the film talent there has no chance in Hollywood (and if they do, they tend to be treated horribly, having to work on Van Damme movies, until in at least one case, they are literally driven insane)

 

[Grog]

I'm curious as to how this works. Does it only keep writers from presently writing, or are they also not selling scripts? Like say, could someone sell an old script, or would that be a violation? Or could they simply re-use old scripts for other shows and simply change character names?

None of the strikers are providing the studios with scripts. That would defeat the whole purpose of the strike. As for writing, writers can write stuff at home and just not give it to the network. A strike is a great opportunity for a TV writer to work on a pilot or a novel, which he or she might not otherwise have the time to finish.

But as for scripts for shows currently in production, none are being worked on right now, and work won't begin again until the strike is over.

And just how much would breaking the actually hurt a career in Hollywood. Wouldn't it just annoy the other writers, but not so much the directors/producers/actors? Inter-union solidarity really only flows from the bottom up, not the other way around.

Crossing the picket line would do tremendous damage to a writer's (prospective) career in Hollywood. A writer gets hired by the showrunner, and 99% of the time, that's another writer. I'm sure you can see the problem there.

And what about writers from other countries?

Writers not currently working in America aren't members of the WGA, so they aren't striking. However, I know that the Writers Guild of Canada has told its members not to sell any scripts to American studios until the WGA strike ends, so there may be repercussions even in other countries.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

I'm curious as to how this works. Does it only keep writers from presently writing, or are they also not selling scripts? Like say, could someone sell an old script, or would that be a violation? Or could they simply re-use old scripts for other shows and simply change character names?

(Yes, I realize most movies get revised a lot after the script is sold, but still, just curious)

And just how much would breaking the actually hurt a career in Hollywood. Wouldn't it just annoy the other writers, but not so much the directors/producers/actors? Inter-union solidarity really only flows from the bottom up, not the other way around.

For instance, I can remember several years ago, the local stadium workers were on strike. Yet did the baseball players union (or umpires) strike as well, or even honor the picket line? No, they still played in the stadium full of replacement workers. The writers are probably on a similar spot on the totem pole.

For silly reasons, I have a subscription to Variety this year, and I've been reading their (pre-)strike coverage a lot lately.

The WGA has laid down some very harsh rules for this strikes. Writers can, basically, do nothing. And if you're not a guild member and break the strike, they want to blacklist you for the future.

Even worse, the WGA has ordered that its strike guidelines even apply to writers not in their union. Most animation writers are in a different union, so they're not happy at all about that.

The extreme rules are getting the WGA a lot of bad press in Hollywood. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

I think you would actually find many of the actors sympathetic to the writers. A few years ago, the Broadway producers tried to reduce musician use (and use recorded music instead--makes perfect business sense because it's cheaper). The musician's union went on strike--no biggie, but the actors supported the strike and shut down Broadway for several days. So, if the Hollywood actors sympathize with the writers, a "writers only" strike can have a huge effect.

Since the WGA covers "America" only, I sense an opportunity for other countries to get product shown in the U.S.

What would a Bollywood version of Heroes look like?!