Writer's strike, & consequences Options

[TetraGrammaton C...]

So, most people are aware of the writer's strike going on.

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index....amp;entry=index

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/...e-entertainment

well the last wga strike was in 1988, which was about the same time that gang violence began rising in L.A.
some of the theories i have heard suggest that the writer's strike lead to this violence. the general chain of events is described as something like lower incomes >> lower drug purchasing >> less gang revenue >> gangs seek alternative means of profit >> gang warfare/robberies/riots etc.

i doubt that this strike will be as severe. in 1988 the wga was on strike for around 5 months.
however, this may explain why it is getting so much political attention.

what kinds of consequences could something like this have in a digital age?
with cites like super-deluxe and funny-or-die, will the general public remain entertained?
considering the myriad of available entertainment and its resulting complacency in watching reruns, do you think that the average uninformed american will even notice the difference?

do we even need writers in a society that so highly emphasizes collaborative creations (wikipedia, etc.)?


Considerations of strike related losses:
http://postproduction.digitalmedianet.com/...e.jsp?id=222488

[Testm0nkey]

its just television writers? because there are certainly people writing the news. my life hasnt been impacted as i dont demand new and constant television streaming at me. i never knew of a strike until it was posted on here earlier

i dont see the gang relation. lots of other things were going on in the late 80s. i dont think many gang members are going to be shedding blood because the new episode of Heroes isnt going to be happening

as far as lower incomes correlating with gang violence that would make sense but writers/writer strikes i dont see the connection

[FORSAKENR320]

PEOPLE WILL REMAIN ENTERTAINED BECAUSE OF THE INTERNET


THE INTERNET IS THE SAVIOR OF OUR SANITY

[TetraGrammaton C...]

yeah, the gang postulation is a bit bizarre, very macro. connecting the events is like playing that kevin bacon game.

obviously right now, the current wga strike has a very small impact.
however, like any other strike, this has a large economic impact.

a lot of non-writers, such as camera-people, gaffers, studio custodians etc. will be temporarily suspended or have their hours cut as a result. this impacts their income, which impacts their spending. if this occurs on a large enough scale, or a concentrated area, it could impact the market in general.

[TetraGrammaton C...]

PEOPLE WILL REMAIN ENTERTAINED BECAUSE OF THE INTERNET
THE INTERNET IS THE SAVIOR OF OUR SANITY

i do think the internet plays a big part in this sort of thing.
however, i think a good majority of the regular audience is quite a bit older than the average internet surfer.
this could be the shift necessary to encourage these people to become more knowledgeable about internet media.

[GOB]

most writers are ridiculously underpaid (compared to actors/directors), but it's usually with good reason: they're shitty writers with shitty ideas.

[TetraGrammaton C...]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/07/h...r.ap/index.html

new developments including steve carell's refusal to cross the picket line
i wonder how many new episodes of the office they have already recorded?

nevermind, i just read jenna fischer's blog.
she explains the complications and specificities of the strike.
she also states that they only have two forthcoming episodes finished.

From the blog of Jenna Fischer. actress -- Pam -- The Office

Understanding the Strike

By now you may have heard that The Office has shut down production. This is true. They cleaned out my trailer and just delivered me 3 boxes of my stuff. It is pretty surreal. We cannot produce new episodes of The Office until the Writer's Guild strike is over.

You might be confused about the issues of the strike and I'm hoping that this blog can make it a bit clearer. (I should probably tell you that I support my head writer/producer Greg Daniels and the writing staff of The Office in their decision to strike.)

The big issue in this negotiation involves the internet. If you go to NBC.com right now, you can watch an episode The Office for free. The network runs advertisements while you're watching it, which gives them an extra source of revenue. The actors, writers, producers and director, the people who created the content you are watching, are not compensated in any way for this.

The Writer's Guild has taken the position that the writers should receive residuals if the show re-airs on the internet just like they receive residuals if it re-airs on television since in both cases the studios are making money. The issue is a huge deal, because the internet is clearly where the future of entertainment lies.

Right now, a number of successful shows (like Lost for one) have stopped showing repeat episodes on TV at all, and have replaced them with ad-supported streaming video on their websites. If you're a Lost writer, or actor, or director, or a teamster that's no residuals at all for that show, and that's a big pay cut. We all count on the extra income that residuals provide as it can help us through a slump in our career when we aren't working as regularly. It is our safety net. In 10 years I may need those residual checks to cover my electric bill. You never know. Hollywood is a fickle town. If in 10 years, everything is rerun on the internet, the current union contracts say the studios don't have to pay us a dime. And, I'll be sitting in the dark.

Here is a video of our awesome writers on the picket line. They are funny even on strike:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b6hqP0c0_gw

And you can also read James Gunn's blog on the subject which I thought was really great:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...E03CBFA22555321


Oh...there are only 2 unaired original episodes of The Office left. And, I'm sad to say the one we were getting ready to shoot was going to be the funniest of the year. I'm sure of it. They've been pitching this particular story idea for over 2 years…it involves Pam and Jim being in Michael's home but that's all I'll say. I hope we get to shoot it soon. Let's all stay strong and hope that the strike can end soon.

This post has been edited by TetraGrammaton Cleric: Nov 7 2007, 07:11 PM

[THECHICKEN]

In todays world of 24/7 law and order channel(s), reruns, reality TV, and shitty movies on tv... this will take a while to even be noticed.

Considering theres only really a few series on tv i even like to watch, i honestly don't much care. Maybe this will give a shot of creativity from younger, willing to work, writers.

[pebkac]

well the last wga strike was in 1988, which was about the same time that gang violence began rising in L.A.
some of the theories i have heard suggest that the writer's strike lead to this violence. the general chain of events is described as something like lower incomes >> lower drug purchasing >> less gang revenue >> gangs seek alternative means of profit >> gang warfare/robberies/riots etc.

I dunno about that, but I wouldn't be surprised if the strike had an effect. People often mention that fact that prisoners get cable TV as "coddling," but the fact of the matter is that TV is the best riot control device ever invented for a prison. It wouldn't surprise me if it had the same effect on gang members and such.

[pebkac]

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/...lagging-studios

Michael Eisner's response to the writers' guild: blame Apple. This is getting too funny.

[pysex]

So uh I guess that explains why there's been 9 bazillion Daily Show/Colbert reruns?

This fucking sucks.

[theIncredibleEdi...]

I was reading an article that was musing about the upcoming season of Lost...I wonder if they will hold off on it a bit more, or just start it up as scheduled.

Honestly, shows like Grey's, Heroes, and a few others I am not gonna mind so much the hiatus, because the writing lately hasn't exactly been stellar.

[jonathan83]

i dont think it'll have any huge impact on the economy or gang wars or whatever. they'll just show reruns, and people will watch those, or watch something else instead.

[TetraGrammaton C...]

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/...lagging-studios

Michael Eisner's response to the writers' guild: blame Apple. This is getting too funny.

yeah, the whole thing with itunes and nbc caused a lot of awkwardness anyway.
without paying writers some revenue from online ads that are shown during the rebroadcasting of their shows, it is going to be hard to make a deal. itunes really did start the whole thing.

[TetraGrammaton C...]

i dont think it'll have any huge impact on the economy or gang wars or whatever. they'll just show reruns, and people will watch those, or watch something else instead.

well, i am talking severely macro-economically. it may be years down the road or visibly unconnected.
large groups of writers in la and new york have less money to spend and more free time.
if they did anything as a group (other than strike), it could have larger consequences.