Couldn't care less about network tv tbh. Once in awhile watch Jay Leno, otherwise racing or football, and those are on cable anyway.
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- Strike started 11/5...no good negotiations yet.
Poll
Writers' Guild Strike: How are you doing with out "My Name Is Earl?!"
| I'm dieing!! Settle the the contracts now!! | 22% | 22% - 13 | ||||
| Unions suck poop. Fire them all. | 26% | 26% - 15 | ||||
| I couldn't care less about tv or the union | 33% | 33% - 19 | ||||
| I'm good. I could use a breather. | 5% | 5% - 3 | ||||
| Other...please describe. | 12% | 12% - 7 | ||||
| Total: 57 | ||||||
for the most part, I dont miss the garbage that these guys called entertainment, but i do miss the Colbert Report...
Unless your in a Union, you have no right to comment on the validity of having one
without unions workers would be forced to work unreasonable hours in un-reasonable conditions for the same wages
unions help you get more pay for working (extra overtime, extra pay) for working in harsher than normal working conditions
lets say you work out side, and you make 15 dollars an hour, now lets say the temperature drops to 20 below and your still expected to work at the same pay where the work environment has changed to become a hazard to your health, this extra money is called "Hazard pay" and it is negotiated into the union contract, this is where the union comes in and you get paid extra for working in those conditions. If you get hurt on the job, your union will help represent you against the company, were normally you wouldnt stand a snowballs chance in hell of defending yourself
without unions workers would be forced to work unreasonable hours in un-reasonable conditions for the same wages
unions help you get more pay for working (extra overtime, extra pay) for working in harsher than normal working conditions
lets say you work out side, and you make 15 dollars an hour, now lets say the temperature drops to 20 below and your still expected to work at the same pay where the work environment has changed to become a hazard to your health, this extra money is called "Hazard pay" and it is negotiated into the union contract, this is where the union comes in and you get paid extra for working in those conditions. If you get hurt on the job, your union will help represent you against the company, were normally you wouldnt stand a snowballs chance in hell of defending yourself
Last edited by Locoloki (2007-12-01 09:51:29)
I have never been a pornstar, but I can comment on one if I want.Locoloki wrote:
Unless your in a Union, you have no right to comment on the validity of having one
Anyway, I have seen it from both sides. I had to join a union in my first job with the airline, then I got to choose whether I wanted to be in the union or not. I decided not to join it. Of everyone I worked with, for the most part, the worst workers were the ones in the union.
Unions don't suck poop. the SLURP poop. noisily.
I'm extremely anti-union.
And I disagree with the "unless you're in a union you can't comment on them."
I am an employer. Unions celebrate mediocrity. Unions bankrupt businesses. Unions are un-democratic. They used to hold a legitimate place, but they overstepped their boundaries. They control the government in my state.
I am so anti-union it's disgusting. I'm getting furious just thinking about it.
I'm extremely anti-union.
And I disagree with the "unless you're in a union you can't comment on them."
I am an employer. Unions celebrate mediocrity. Unions bankrupt businesses. Unions are un-democratic. They used to hold a legitimate place, but they overstepped their boundaries. They control the government in my state.
I am so anti-union it's disgusting. I'm getting furious just thinking about it.
Last edited by G3|Genius (2007-12-01 09:53:35)
Earl.. Office.. Heroes.. I thought the world was supposed to end in 2012
That the most intelligent thing ive heard all dayusmarine2005 wrote:
I have never been a pornstar, but I can comment on one if I want.
so union workers dont work hard?
Damn straight they don't.Locoloki wrote:
That the most intelligent thing ive heard all dayusmarine2005 wrote:
I have never been a pornstar, but I can comment on one if I want.
so union workers dont work hard?
They don't get paid extra for working harder. It leads to complacency and laziness.
Of course employers hate unions, unions arent supposed to be nice, they represent the dirty part of the business.
Its funny all these people miss the tv shows, but i dont see the tv stars who make the big buck continuing on without the people that should be getting paid more money
Its funny all these people miss the tv shows, but i dont see the tv stars who make the big buck continuing on without the people that should be getting paid more money
They work hard enough not to get fired. Doing the bare minimum basically.Locoloki wrote:
so union workers dont work hard?
My 2 cents
Unions are supposed to be a good thing. But then assholes like say, the teamsters come in and screw the whole process up. I agree with USM that unions CAN breed lazyness. From my experiences, that has always been the teamsters. Everyone else on that set bust their ass. I can sat i've ever met a lazy grip or gaffer. I have worked with more than my share of shitty assistant directors, but thats a more complex job not everyone is cut out for. My point is, that while unions have generally failed most professions, they still do exactly what they are supposed to be doing for the most part in the film industry. They are the ones that make sure you get overtime on a 20 hour shoot. They are the ones that make sure production companies don't take advantage of the workers. I left the film industry for my own reasons, but I was on track to join the Sound Mixers Union. When your non-union in the film industry, it sucks for lack of a better description.
OK, now for my opinion on the strike.
The writers need to get back to work. They are being unreasonable IMO and this is why.
From my current understanding of the 'economic' partnership of the studios and film industry trade unions, other guilds like the DGA (director guild) and sag (screen actors guild) agreed already to create different budget level contracts. So this way, I could still get George Clooney and say Steven Soderberg on the same low budget movie if they agree to that 'low budget' contract. This allows producers to still hire qualified union personnel, but at a lower rate that previous arrangements required.
The WGA refuses to accept anything similar to this. They want the studios to only maintain 1 contract. The one that requires 8 writers ( i believe) at minimum which works out to about 1.6 million on average per season. So the problem is, when say you have an internet show that wont be making the revenue that a broadcast show makes, you can hire actors and directors at the right budget level, but the WGA is still going to treat it like any full blown broadcast show, becoming a dis-proportionate drain on the shows budget.
The reality is that the 'new media' that the writers want a piece of isn't all that much and there is no way they studios are going to let them take it. Would you?
Unions are supposed to be a good thing. But then assholes like say, the teamsters come in and screw the whole process up. I agree with USM that unions CAN breed lazyness. From my experiences, that has always been the teamsters. Everyone else on that set bust their ass. I can sat i've ever met a lazy grip or gaffer. I have worked with more than my share of shitty assistant directors, but thats a more complex job not everyone is cut out for. My point is, that while unions have generally failed most professions, they still do exactly what they are supposed to be doing for the most part in the film industry. They are the ones that make sure you get overtime on a 20 hour shoot. They are the ones that make sure production companies don't take advantage of the workers. I left the film industry for my own reasons, but I was on track to join the Sound Mixers Union. When your non-union in the film industry, it sucks for lack of a better description.
OK, now for my opinion on the strike.
The writers need to get back to work. They are being unreasonable IMO and this is why.
From my current understanding of the 'economic' partnership of the studios and film industry trade unions, other guilds like the DGA (director guild) and sag (screen actors guild) agreed already to create different budget level contracts. So this way, I could still get George Clooney and say Steven Soderberg on the same low budget movie if they agree to that 'low budget' contract. This allows producers to still hire qualified union personnel, but at a lower rate that previous arrangements required.
The WGA refuses to accept anything similar to this. They want the studios to only maintain 1 contract. The one that requires 8 writers ( i believe) at minimum which works out to about 1.6 million on average per season. So the problem is, when say you have an internet show that wont be making the revenue that a broadcast show makes, you can hire actors and directors at the right budget level, but the WGA is still going to treat it like any full blown broadcast show, becoming a dis-proportionate drain on the shows budget.
The reality is that the 'new media' that the writers want a piece of isn't all that much and there is no way they studios are going to let them take it. Would you?
If people didnt have assholes for owners, there probably wouldnt even be unions, you dont get rich by being nice, owners like to take shortcuts, and cut corners, they could care less if an employee has to work in hazardous conditions, OSHA is there yes, but that is mostly for non-union work. Union workers also comply with OSHA, but they also have extra conditions and stipulations to the specific job, my old union contract was specifically designed towards my one ship, and my ship only. The whole ship had to vote and agree on all changes to the contract, if the owner disagreed and didnt like that, we would have to go to the union hall and arbitration would happen. As each contract expires we would negotiate different things, like yearly percentage pay raises. Living conditions on-board the vessel, travel arrangments and travel pay, and many other intangibles that had occured during the year. Without the union do you think the owner of the vessel would give a fuck about the living conditions on his vessel? Do you think he would be able to crew an entire ship without the help of the union?
I need to work, but you cant treat me like shit just because you know i need the money. If I know im a critical part of you making the big bucks i should be able to recieve more than minimum wage, i should recieve just compensation for the work i am doing
If i was layed of from my job i could go to the union hall and they would find me another job as soon as one popped up
I need to work, but you cant treat me like shit just because you know i need the money. If I know im a critical part of you making the big bucks i should be able to recieve more than minimum wage, i should recieve just compensation for the work i am doing
If i was layed of from my job i could go to the union hall and they would find me another job as soon as one popped up
I'll be the among the first to admit MOST TV shows suck. But you can't just group them all into one category.. I understand if you don't watch TV at all and think its a bull, but there are a lot of creative and innovative shows that air, and for the fans of those shows, they mean a lot to them.
The only shows I like are Late Night with Conan O'brien, The Daily Show/Colbert Report, and Lost. I honestly couldn't give a shit about most other shows. But the ones I like, I like a lot. Lost, for example, has raised the bar on what a drama should be. I thought TV dramas would suck no matter what, but Lost is the only exception. Its a great story with tons of underlying themes and plot twists, historical allusions, etc.
Now what makes these shows so great? The writers. If you don't know what the strike is about, you should not be judging them, at all. This strike isn't about "lazy workers who just want some extra money". This is about the future of the industry. I know, its melodramatic. But for the people in the industry it can make a huge difference.
From Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost.
"TELEVISION is dying.
I should have realized this four years ago when I first got my TiVo box, but denial is always the first stage of grief. I simply couldn’t acknowledge that this wonderful invention heralded the beginning of the end.
TiVo stores your favorite movies and shows on its hard drive, allowing you to pull up last night’s episode of “The Daily Show” as easily as you click open documents on your laptop. In fact, once you download the original broadcast — sorry, I meant to say “record” it — you can watch it at your leisure. The next morning. Next year. Your call. Because now? You own that episode.
Best of all, you got it free.
Television has always been free. Sure, if you want all the N.F.L. games in high definition, you have to pay the piper, but the broadcast networks still offer their entire schedules for absolutely nothing. The only catch, of course, is that you have to watch commercials. Economically, it’s a fair deal. The network pays for the shows, gives them to viewers, and makes its cash back through advertising. Which regrettably brings us to the most wonderful thing TiVo does: It enables you to ignore the commercials that keep the whole system running.
Twenty percent of American homes now contain hard drives that store movies and television shows indefinitely and allows you to fast-forward through commercials. These devices will probably proliferate at a significant rate and soon, almost everyone will have them. They’ll also get smaller and smaller, rendering the box that holds them obsolete, and the rectangular screen in your living room won’t really be a television anymore, it’ll be a computer. And running into the back of that computer, the wire that delivers unto you everything you watch? It won’t be cable; it will be the Internet.
This probably sounds exciting if you’re a TV viewer, but if you’re in the business of producing these shows, it’s nothing short of terrifying. This is how vaudevillians must have felt the first time they saw a silent movie; sitting there, suddenly realizing they just became extinct: after all, who wants another soft-shoe number when you can see Harold Lloyd hanging off a clock 50 feet tall?
Change always provokes fear, but I’d once believed that the death of our beloved television would unify all those affected, talent and studios, creators and suits. We’re all afraid and we’d all be afraid together. Instead we find ourselves so deeply divided.
The Writers Guild of America (of which I am a proud member) has gone on strike. I have spent the past week on the picket line outside Walt Disney Studios, my employer, chanting slogans and trudging slowly across the crosswalk.
The motivation for this drastic action — and a strike is drastic, a fact I grow more aware of every passing day — is the guild’s desire for a portion of revenues derived from the Internet. This is nothing new: for more than 50 years, writers have been entitled to a small cut of the studios’ profits from the reuse of our shows or movies; whenever something we created ends up in syndication or is sold on DVD, we receive royalties. But the studios refuse to apply the same rules to the Internet.
My show, “Lost,” has been streamed hundreds of millions of times since it was made available on ABC’s Web site. The downloads require the viewer to first watch an advertisement, from which the network obviously generates some income. The writers of the episodes get nothing. We’re also a hit on iTunes (where shows are sold for $1.99 each). Again, we get nothing.
If this strike lasts longer than three months, an entire season of television will end this December. No dramas. No comedies. No “Daily Show.” The strike will also prevent any pilots from being shot in the spring, so even if the strike is settled by then, you won’t see any new shows until the following January. As in 2009. Both the guild and the studios we are negotiating with do agree on one thing: this situation would be brutal.
I will probably be dragged through the streets and burned in effigy if fans have to wait another year for “Lost” to come back. And who could blame them? Public sentiment may have swung toward the guild for now, but once the viewing audience has spent a month or so subsisting on “America’s Next Hottest Cop” and “Celebrity Eating Contest,” I have little doubt that the tide will turn against us. Which brings me to the second stage of grief: anger.
I am angry because I am accused of being greedy by studios that are being greedy. I am angry because my greed is fair and reasonable: if money is made off of my product through the Internet, then I am entitled to a small piece. The studios’ greed, on the other hand, is hidden behind cynical, disingenuous claims that they make nothing on the Web — that the streaming and downloading of our shows is purely “promotional.” Seriously?
Most of all, I’m angry that I’m not working. Not working means not getting paid. My weekly salary is considerably more than the small percentage of Internet gains we are hoping to make in this negotiation and if I’m on the picket line for just three months, I will never recoup those losses, no matter what deal gets made.
But I am willing to hold firm for considerably longer than three months because this is a fight for the livelihoods of a future generation of writers, whose work will never “air,” but instead be streamed, beamed or zapped onto a tiny chip.
Things have gotten ugly and the lines of communication have broken down completely between the guild and the studios. Perhaps it’s not too late, though, for both sides to rally around the one thing we still have in common: our mourning for the way things used to be. Instead of fighting each other, maybe we should be throwing a wake for our beloved TV.
Because the third stage of grief is bargaining.
And bargain we must, because when television finally passes on, there will still be entertainment; there will still be shows and films and videos, right there on a screen in your living room. And just as the owners of vaudeville theaters broke down and bought hand-crank movie cameras, the studios will figure out a way to make absurd amounts of money off of whatever is beaming onto whichever sort of screen.
And we’ll still be writing every word."
The only shows I like are Late Night with Conan O'brien, The Daily Show/Colbert Report, and Lost. I honestly couldn't give a shit about most other shows. But the ones I like, I like a lot. Lost, for example, has raised the bar on what a drama should be. I thought TV dramas would suck no matter what, but Lost is the only exception. Its a great story with tons of underlying themes and plot twists, historical allusions, etc.
Now what makes these shows so great? The writers. If you don't know what the strike is about, you should not be judging them, at all. This strike isn't about "lazy workers who just want some extra money". This is about the future of the industry. I know, its melodramatic. But for the people in the industry it can make a huge difference.
From Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost.
"TELEVISION is dying.
I should have realized this four years ago when I first got my TiVo box, but denial is always the first stage of grief. I simply couldn’t acknowledge that this wonderful invention heralded the beginning of the end.
TiVo stores your favorite movies and shows on its hard drive, allowing you to pull up last night’s episode of “The Daily Show” as easily as you click open documents on your laptop. In fact, once you download the original broadcast — sorry, I meant to say “record” it — you can watch it at your leisure. The next morning. Next year. Your call. Because now? You own that episode.
Best of all, you got it free.
Television has always been free. Sure, if you want all the N.F.L. games in high definition, you have to pay the piper, but the broadcast networks still offer their entire schedules for absolutely nothing. The only catch, of course, is that you have to watch commercials. Economically, it’s a fair deal. The network pays for the shows, gives them to viewers, and makes its cash back through advertising. Which regrettably brings us to the most wonderful thing TiVo does: It enables you to ignore the commercials that keep the whole system running.
Twenty percent of American homes now contain hard drives that store movies and television shows indefinitely and allows you to fast-forward through commercials. These devices will probably proliferate at a significant rate and soon, almost everyone will have them. They’ll also get smaller and smaller, rendering the box that holds them obsolete, and the rectangular screen in your living room won’t really be a television anymore, it’ll be a computer. And running into the back of that computer, the wire that delivers unto you everything you watch? It won’t be cable; it will be the Internet.
This probably sounds exciting if you’re a TV viewer, but if you’re in the business of producing these shows, it’s nothing short of terrifying. This is how vaudevillians must have felt the first time they saw a silent movie; sitting there, suddenly realizing they just became extinct: after all, who wants another soft-shoe number when you can see Harold Lloyd hanging off a clock 50 feet tall?
Change always provokes fear, but I’d once believed that the death of our beloved television would unify all those affected, talent and studios, creators and suits. We’re all afraid and we’d all be afraid together. Instead we find ourselves so deeply divided.
The Writers Guild of America (of which I am a proud member) has gone on strike. I have spent the past week on the picket line outside Walt Disney Studios, my employer, chanting slogans and trudging slowly across the crosswalk.
The motivation for this drastic action — and a strike is drastic, a fact I grow more aware of every passing day — is the guild’s desire for a portion of revenues derived from the Internet. This is nothing new: for more than 50 years, writers have been entitled to a small cut of the studios’ profits from the reuse of our shows or movies; whenever something we created ends up in syndication or is sold on DVD, we receive royalties. But the studios refuse to apply the same rules to the Internet.
My show, “Lost,” has been streamed hundreds of millions of times since it was made available on ABC’s Web site. The downloads require the viewer to first watch an advertisement, from which the network obviously generates some income. The writers of the episodes get nothing. We’re also a hit on iTunes (where shows are sold for $1.99 each). Again, we get nothing.
If this strike lasts longer than three months, an entire season of television will end this December. No dramas. No comedies. No “Daily Show.” The strike will also prevent any pilots from being shot in the spring, so even if the strike is settled by then, you won’t see any new shows until the following January. As in 2009. Both the guild and the studios we are negotiating with do agree on one thing: this situation would be brutal.
I will probably be dragged through the streets and burned in effigy if fans have to wait another year for “Lost” to come back. And who could blame them? Public sentiment may have swung toward the guild for now, but once the viewing audience has spent a month or so subsisting on “America’s Next Hottest Cop” and “Celebrity Eating Contest,” I have little doubt that the tide will turn against us. Which brings me to the second stage of grief: anger.
I am angry because I am accused of being greedy by studios that are being greedy. I am angry because my greed is fair and reasonable: if money is made off of my product through the Internet, then I am entitled to a small piece. The studios’ greed, on the other hand, is hidden behind cynical, disingenuous claims that they make nothing on the Web — that the streaming and downloading of our shows is purely “promotional.” Seriously?
Most of all, I’m angry that I’m not working. Not working means not getting paid. My weekly salary is considerably more than the small percentage of Internet gains we are hoping to make in this negotiation and if I’m on the picket line for just three months, I will never recoup those losses, no matter what deal gets made.
But I am willing to hold firm for considerably longer than three months because this is a fight for the livelihoods of a future generation of writers, whose work will never “air,” but instead be streamed, beamed or zapped onto a tiny chip.
Things have gotten ugly and the lines of communication have broken down completely between the guild and the studios. Perhaps it’s not too late, though, for both sides to rally around the one thing we still have in common: our mourning for the way things used to be. Instead of fighting each other, maybe we should be throwing a wake for our beloved TV.
Because the third stage of grief is bargaining.
And bargain we must, because when television finally passes on, there will still be entertainment; there will still be shows and films and videos, right there on a screen in your living room. And just as the owners of vaudeville theaters broke down and bought hand-crank movie cameras, the studios will figure out a way to make absurd amounts of money off of whatever is beaming onto whichever sort of screen.
And we’ll still be writing every word."
If you read both what Damon had to say and watched the video, and are STILL against the strike, please fuckoff. These are hardworkers getting fucking screwed by an agreement they made 20 years ago, under the idea that because VHS cost so much to produce, writers would take a little bit of the financial burden.
Now, we can download entire movies and shows off the internet, many for free. Yet the studios still want to keep the old contract in place. There is no reason at all to be against the strike.
/rant over
Last edited by Spearhead (2007-12-01 12:34:22)
Some people were raised to work hard, set goals, and do their best.. irregardless of whether they are in a union or not. Not too mention if you want to be promoted into management a Union can't make that happen. Hard workers are promoted. We had some UPS drivers that were weak, but the majority of them in my area were animals, runners all day long. They take care of their customers, and the customers know it. I used to make all kinds of extra money this time of year (Christmas cards,tips, and gifts), my customers loved me..lol. If I did "the minimum" they would tell me to go to hell.usmarine2005 wrote:
They work hard enough not to get fired. Doing the bare minimum basically.Locoloki wrote:
so union workers dont work hard?
Xbone Stormsurgezz
If it weren't for unions you'd be earning 50 cents an hour.
Well I would probably because I'm a 16 year old who works for Shop-Right, stocking shelves during the summer. The rest of you guys who have real jobs would make $2.00 an hour.Pubic wrote:
If it weren't for unions you'd be earning 50 cents an hour.
Non-union members earn an average of 30 percent less than their industry counter parts (the difference is much more with minorities). It's kinda boggling to hear the Democrats, anti-corporation, and left leaners in this forum being anti-Union. Every one of the Democrat candidates are pro-Union. I guess this is an example of why you shouldn't pigeon hole people.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
Not every job is union...or was ever union. So that is not true.Pubic wrote:
If it weren't for unions you'd be earning 50 cents an hour.
Exactly, I make a fair wage and in the financial sector, unions don't exist.
To the people telling me to fuck off because I think the writers need to get back to the table, did you even read my post? Granted you can post a video, but it leaves out vital details. So, maybe the writers should'nt be writing out facts. Im all for fairness, but it needs to be just that, fair. IMO, the writers need this shield of their current contract. because otherwise they would be required to step up their game and compete in the sense that every other 'above the line' job in entertainment has had to do.
I think they should produce something of quality before making themselves out to be indispensable. Maybe, after we VALUE them a little, we'll give a shit.
im doing my part, i hardly watch the crap tv shows on today, come on, who the fuck wants to watch Flavor Flav and I love NY and now Tequila whatever, and Rock of love, these shows sucks gtfo my tv along with all these damn crime investigation shows, yes CSI is a badass show, but we dont need 4 different cities of CSI on 4 different tv channels (or however many they have) a long with all the knock-offs of the show, Heroes is a cool show, but now theres like 3 other shows of people going back in time and changing things. I'm sure that writers write a lot more than the crap you see them putting out. It is not up to the writer on what you get to watch, tv shows get written all the time and get scrapped accordingly. Then, one network runs a show and it does well, and all the other networks grab scripts for shows that are similar just so they can try and steal some of the tv watchers to their network. Thats why everytime you change the channel you go from one crap tv show to the next. Maybe its just me getting older and saying meh, seen that.... boring, i used to watch "Baywatch" religiously when i was younger, now i'd flip over it in an instant. TV hasnt really changed over the years, ever watched an old re-run of a program you used to watch everynight? you quickly realize that its cheezy and it sucks, and you cant understand how you ever used to watch such utter bullshit.golgoj4 wrote:
To the people telling me to fuck off because I think the writers need to get back to the table, did you even read my post? Granted you can post a video, but it leaves out vital details. So, maybe the writers should'nt be writing out facts. Im all for fairness, but it needs to be just that, fair. IMO, the writers need this shield of their current contract. because otherwise they would be required to step up their game and compete in the sense that every other 'above the line' job in entertainment has had to do.
my Favs
MythBusters
Ultimate Fighting
Any football game (american)
Any survival show/basically anything on discovery channel
CSI
Sportcenter
South Park (yay, Trey Parker writes mostly his own stuff!)
It seems like every year, the must see series only lasts a couple seasons
I'm sorry i will never watch a show entitled "Prison Break" how exciting can a show about prison possibly be? How the fuck can you stretch it into three seasons? WTF you didnt break out yet? Sorry, i've never seen one episode of the show, but why would i want to with a title like that
"The show is currently in its third season. The uniqueness of Prison Break is attributed to its serialized story structure, a similar format used by Lost and 24, and to its setting, as very few television series were primarily set and filmed in a prison.[3] Its success and recognition as a prison drama revived interest in the genre."
I pulled that off Wiki.
Hmm Lost and 24 are the same "genre?" no shit, no wonder people dont want to watch tv anymore
The writers have done absolutely nothing wrong. If the studios refuse to give them the royalties they are entitled to, then I think the industry should be shut down until they do.golgoj4 wrote:
To the people telling me to fuck off because I think the writers need to get back to the table, did you even read my post? Granted you can post a video, but it leaves out vital details. So, maybe the writers should'nt be writing out facts. Im all for fairness, but it needs to be just that, fair. IMO, the writers need this shield of their current contract. because otherwise they would be required to step up their game and compete in the sense that every other 'above the line' job in entertainment has had to do.
It really sucks, and lots of people are going to suffer from it. But I think instead of focusing on what unions do wrong, we should be focusing on what the world would look like without them. It'd be pretty damn ugly.
You make a lot of good points, and it's not often that I do this, but I'm actually in disagreement with you on this issue.Spearhead wrote:
The writers have done absolutely nothing wrong. If the studios refuse to give them the royalties they are entitled to, then I think the industry should be shut down until they do.golgoj4 wrote:
To the people telling me to fuck off because I think the writers need to get back to the table, did you even read my post? Granted you can post a video, but it leaves out vital details. So, maybe the writers should'nt be writing out facts. Im all for fairness, but it needs to be just that, fair. IMO, the writers need this shield of their current contract. because otherwise they would be required to step up their game and compete in the sense that every other 'above the line' job in entertainment has had to do.
It really sucks, and lots of people are going to suffer from it. But I think instead of focusing on what unions do wrong, we should be focusing on what the world would look like without them. It'd be pretty damn ugly.
The only entertainment forms I really indulge in are movies, music, and video games. TV is mostly a bust for me. Sure, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and various other shows on the History Channel are all satisfying for me, but ultimately, I could live without them. I'm not going to limit my viewing methods or support the imposition of limits on them just because these writers are in a bind. I know that sounds greedy and selfish, but you have to understand that what's most likely to result from all this is that ads will eventually become part of shows in the future.
Because of the TiVo issue, we're going to see producers looking for more clever ways of finding funding for their shows, while movies do things the way they should be done. Sure, product placement is ubiquitous in movies, but the best ones are classy and subtle about it. Their income mostly comes from tickets, rather than ads.
To put it bluntly, I'd much rather pay $10 to see a 2-hour feature on a huge screen than not have to pay for a TV show but be forced to stomach product placement all over the place. Unfortunately, this ad mess is what we'll probably see soon.
In the meantime, producers will always have the upper hand while writers will either continue on as normal or continue striking. Eventually, something will give... and maybe the writers will get higher royalties. If not, I have a feeling that many labor laws will change to allow nonunionized writers to replace them. Seeing as how many people would pay to be able to write for these shows rather than getting paid, I still find it hard to sympathize with these guys.
On the other hand, I agree with you that the management involved is greedy as fuck, but what industry isn't like that? I think we can both assume that most industries are run by greed. It's rare to find one where management is actually compassionate.
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- Strike started 11/5...no good negotiations yet.