Writers strike is a go

[Mark]

What would a Bollywood version of Heroes look like?!

With an American geneticist?

 

[Kahuna Burger]

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.

But you are looking at a highly skilled union vs a largely unskilled union. If the Daily show, for instance, has Bob, James and Jeremy the consistently funny and dependable writers who go on strike in solidarity with their union, sure, it's tempting right then to have Joe from accounting who's always wanted to be a writer put together some stuff for them, and maybe it won't totally suck.... but then Bob, James and Jeremy's union gets things worked out, and they say "We're looking forward to coming back, but this will be a union show again, right?" Joe is back in accounting pretty quick. And then, when every other show in town has their dependable, consistently good writers back on staff, if those writers say "you buy a script from Joe and you are telling us you don't want us back afterall"....

If the union was overall bad for writers and there was this huge untapped pool of equivelent talent just waiting fr their chance to be scabs, that would be one thing. But I'm gonna guess that the go to writers are in the union, and it will be the rare studio who is willing to lose them for all their projects for one scab's basicly decent script. Maybe that's not how the business works at all, but that's the way I would bet.

 

[Grog]

I think you would actually find many of the actors sympathetic to the writers.

The actors are sympathetic to the writers, for one very simple reason - their own union's contract comes up for renewal next year, and they're also going to have to make a deal with the studios over compensation for digital media. The writers' contract is being looked at as a precedent for the deal the studios will make with the other unions, and that's likely why the studios are taking such a hard line with the writers. The few pennies the writers want for digital media don't mean much in and of themselves, but if the studios agree to give the writers a chunk of the digital distribution profits, they'll have to give out even bigger chunks to the directors and the actors next year.

 

[Glyfair]

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.

One of the news reports I was listening to Monday said that a lot of shows could shut down production if the Teamsters decided to honor the strike. I've heard nothing about this since, so I assume it didn't happen.

Or could they simply re-use old scripts for other shows and simply change character names?

During the 1988 strike they created a new "Mission: Impossible" series with Peter Graves leading the group as Jim Phelps (Greg Morris' son actually played the role of Barney Collier's son in the series). They only did 4 of the old scripts before the strike ended and had new scripts after that.

So it is an option.

 

[Ranger REG]

One thing to be frightened of a prolonged strike:

Kid Nation sequels.
Kid Nation marathon.

 

[Relique du Madde]

One thing to be frightened of a prolonged strike:

Kid Nation sequels.

If they do make one I hope it isn't Kid Nation Extreme Make Over Edition... There is nothing worst then a pre-pubessent premidona who was entitled by a tvshow AND dresses up in skimpy clothing.

However, I would watch Kid Nation: Uganda just in case one of those annoying brats decided to walk into a landmine.

 

[Silver Moon]

During the 1988 strike they created a new "Mission: Impossible" series with Peter Graves leading the group as Jim Phelps (Greg Morris' son actually played the role of Barney Collier's son in the series). They only did 4 of the old scripts before the strike ended and had new scripts after that.

The same thing happened with Star Trek: The Next Generation. They began production during the 1988 strike using an old unused script from what was going to the Star Trek II television series (which eventually became the movie Star Trek The Motion Picture). They just changed the names Ilea and Decker to Troi and Riker and produced the 2nd season opener "The Child". They started to do that with another old Star Trek II script but then the stike ended and they were flooded with new scripts (that second Star Trek II rewrite was later finished and became the episode "Devil's Due").

 

[trancejeremy]

What about South Park? I read an article saying they were a non-WGA show. Is that because it's animated, or because the two writers also own the show?

 

[Brown Jenkin]

The strike also mostly affects TV production. Its not that the movie studios don't use the union, but because they are all sitting on piles of unused scripts. The movie studios have this habit of buying scripts for movies they may or may not produce because the decision to cancel a movie project often happens after the script is submitted unlike TV shows that pretty much only buy the scripts once they are committed. So while our TV shows may dry up there should be no problems with going to the movies unless the strike somehow drags on for years.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Apparently there are some "Writer/Producers" who are not members of the union and there is no problem with them contiunuing to write. I've heard of at least a couple of these people who have said they will honor the strike and will not write.

I also heard a news report of deliveries not being made across picket lines, so I assume the Teamsters have begun honoring the picket line as well.

Two things I expect from all this:
1) TV shows on the chopping block will get a stay of execution during the strike since the networks won't want to roll out other shows or additional reruns in those slots.

2) Howie Mandel and "Deal or No Deal" seven nights a week.