Writers take on plenty of risk. Writing isn't always consistent work and writers rely on residuals to carry them during the downtimes. If a project tanks then they get nothing beyond the initial fee and it could likely hurt their chances of hopping onto another project quickly, even if the writing wasn't the reason the project failed.

Precisely. They're the money men. That's what they bring to the table. If they had something else to offer, they probably wouldn't be producers.

With that said, a producer who does his job right isn't taking that big a risk because he has properly financed the endeavor, spreading the risk out so that a failure here and there won't ruin him.

The AMPTP does not represent producers, that's what the Producers Guild of America (PGA) does. The AMPTP represents studios and production companies. The actual producers don't typically put their own money into a project they manage, at least past when a deal is made.

As for the studios taking all the financial risk: that's what they're for. It's essentially the only reason they exist. However, that doesn't mean that they're entitled to all the financial reward. Book publishers and record companies take all the financial risk on their projects as well, but the authors and musicians still get royalties from all the revenue those projects make.

LOS ANGELES - Four major studios have canceled dozens of writers' contracts in a possible concession that the current television season cannot be saved, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The move means the 2-month old writers strike may also endanger next season's new shows, the Times said.

January is usually the beginning of pilot season, when networks order new scripted shows. But the strike leaves networks without a pool of comedy and drama scripts from which to choose.

20th Century Fox Television, CBS Paramount Network Television, NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Television told the Times they have terminated development and production agreements.

Studios typically pay $500,000 to $2 million a year per writer for them and their staffs to develop new show concepts.

"I didn't see it coming," Barbara Hall, a writer and producer whose credits include former CBS series "Joan of Arcadia" and "Judging Amy," told the Times, which said ABC executives gave her the news Friday. "I am not entirely sure what their strategy is, all I know was that I was a casualty of it."

The newspaper said more than 65 deals with writers have been eliminated since Friday.

Didn't see it coming? Really? You're on strike... they should continue to pay you to strike?

The strike is really getting interesting. Both seems seem bound and determined to destroy the other side instead of giving in. Of course, with this strategy, both sides are going to be destroyed.

This strike sucks, I miss the Office so much. Its gonna wreck the season of Lost etc.

It's not surprising at all the studios are terminating all these production deals. These guys aren't writing or developing anything right now, so it's a waste of money to continue paying them to do nothing.

The studios are saving money in the short term, but with hardly any ad revenue coming in now, they are going to start feeling the pinch very soon.

Black Monday at TV studiosBy Nellie Andreeva

Jan 15, 2008

Hugh Jackman (Getty Images photo)
STRIKE ZONE: LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES

UPDATED 5:02 p.m. PT Jan. 14

The force majeure ax swung wide Monday as four TV studios -- CBS Paramount Network TV, Universal Media Studios, 20th Century Fox Television and Warner Bros. TV -- tore up dozens of overall deals.

All four issued similarly worded statements blaming the writers strike for the terminations, which are expected to save the studios tens of millions of dollars. But none came close to the nearly 30 overall deals axed at ABC Studios on Friday. CBS Par and 20th TV each dropped half that number. UMS and WBTV stayed in the single digits, with WBTV's termination tally said to be less than five deals. Like ABC Studios, CBS Par, UMS, 20th TV and WBTV mostly went after writers, producers and directors with no active projects.

CBS Par's force majeure list includes some high-profile writing and nonwriting producers: Hugh Jackman, whose Seed Prods. inked a multiyear deal at the studio in August; "The Chronicles of Narnia" producer Mark Johnson; veteran writer-producer Rene Echevarria, who co-created CBS Par's USA Network series "The 4400" (he will continue his services as exec producer on the studio's NBC drama "Medium"); the Emmy-winning "Sopranos" writing duo of Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green; Barry Schindel ("Numbers"); and John McNamara ("Fastlane").


Scribes Jennifer Levin ("Without a Trace"), Liz Astrof ("The King of Queens") and the team of Aron Abrams and Greg Thompson ("Everybody Hates Chris") also received termination letters from CBS Par.

"Production companies in the entertainment industry continue to feel the impact of the ongoing writers strike," CBS Par TV said. "As a result of this change in development and production activity, we have made a difficult decision to discontinue overall deals with a number of writers and producers whose talents we greatly value and respect."

In a clear sign about the future of Fox's "K-Ville" and NBC's "Journeyman" -- two low-rated 20th TV-produced freshman series whose ultimate fate has remained in limbo because of the strike -- the studio terminated the overall deals of "K-Ville" creator/exec producer Jonathan Lisco and co-exec producer Lawrence Kaplow as well as that of "Journeyman" creator/exec producer Kevin Falls.

Also axed at 20th TV were director-producer Greg Yaitanes ("Drive"); writer-producers Chris Black ("Standoff"), Paul Redford ("The Unit"), Barbie Adler ("My Name Is Earl"), Kristin Newman ("How I Met Your Mother"); and the writing duos of Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts ("Women's Murder Club") and Matt Silverstein and Dave Jeser ("Drawn Together").

"Because of the adverse effects of the ongoing WGA strike on our business, we have been forced to terminate overall deals with a number of talented writers and producers," 20th TV said. "We regret these circumstances and wish these creative individuals the best."

Among the writers with force majeure letters from UMS were Moses Port and David Guarascio, creators/exec producers of CW's freshman comedy "Aliens in America," which is now produced by CBS Par and WBTV after UMS dropped out after the pilot. Alex Herschlag ("Will & Grace") and Cheryl Holliday ("Still Standing") also were dropped from the studio's roster of overall deals.

"The duration of the WGA strike has significantly affected our ongoing business," UMS said. "Regretfully, due to these changed business circumstances, we've had to end some writer-producer deals."

And there was more regret in the statement from WBTV.

"As an unfortunate but direct consequence of the strike, we have been forced to release some of the valued members of our roster from their development deals," the studio said.

ABC Studios on Friday became the first TV studio to invoke the so-called force majeure provision that allows them to terminate overall deals four to six weeks into a strike.

Among the talent let go at ABC Studios are veterans Nina Wass and Gene Stein, "Brothers & Sisters" creator Jon Robin Baitz and "Borat" director Larry Charles.

With Kevin Falls production deal now terminated, Journeyman is now as good as dead.

So it seems like the studios are terminating deals with writers and producers who currently don't have anything on the air right now.

Wow. This is just going to get worse, before it gets any better.

i heard they are both playing hardball... oh well... ignorance is bliss

I hate for the Latrell Spreewells of the WGA to go hungry.

I can't blame the studios to kill these deals, but I wonder if this means that shows like Everybody Hates Chris and The Unit listed above are now effectively canned or if that article was just pointing out what shows those who had the overall deals in question worked on as their highest profile project.

I also have to wonder how this will shake out when the strike is done. I imagine the top talent didn't have their deals killed, but I could see this eventually enriching some writers and being a real shot to the heart for others who might not have been pulling their weight.

The Unit isn't dead yet. Unless that person is named Shawn Ryan or David Mamet, the show is still alive.

Producers make A LOT of money if a show/movie is successful. They lose a lot (and not always their own money, producers go to investors (read: networks) a lot of times to fund the shows). Obviously if you're George Clooney, you can bankroll "Good Night and Good Luck," but not all producers are loaded like that. Producers are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of a show. They are the manager.

That being said, they take home a LOT of residuals. That's where their money comes in. Top level EPs can easily make a couple of million a year. Their lower level producers (APs, etc) don't take home as much, but aren't as "responsible" for the end result.

But you have to look at this from a percentage perspective. Writers are getting $.04 per $20 DVD, and are asking for $.08 (at least that was originally what they were, who knows now). If a producers take home $1+ (or more) residuals from each DVD... $.04 isn't asking for a lot.

And I support the WGA, and I want to be a producer. Keep in mind that "producers" is a tricky term here as well, because NBC considers themselves a producer of Heroes, but they're not THE producer on the show. The AMPTP represents STUDIOS, and the PGA (Producer's Guild of America) represents PEOPLE who are producers. Many of the members of the PGA, such as the showrunners, and the writer/producers on the Office (for example) are striking as well.

I know they're the names attached to the show, but is the show actually a part of an overall deal that either or both have with Paramount? I'm not certain of that. I certainly hope it's not dead because the most recent season has been head and shoulders above where it was even last year.

I think at the rate things are going, we're going to have a WGA strike at least as long as the 1988 strike. The result--the 2008-2009 TV season might not start until at earliest November 2008, and we could see a dearth of good movies in the summer of 2009.

FOX actually produces The Unit and since Mamet & Ryan are essentially the head honchos of the show, their deals are intact for now.

Show's like this has many producers, executive producers and probably the other person mentioned has a side deal with the network to produce their own show.

Summer of 2009...we're going to start seeing the crap come through by next summer/fall. The script is never set in stone, on-the-set re-writes are a big part of the process - and thats not happening. So if something doesn't come off as well as it should, they can't change it.

I demand updates!!!

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Well, the DGA reached a tentative deal yesterday:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...5d3b7aed?imw=Y

That's all I got.

DGA reaches deal with AMPTP

I think that's going to be the end of it. I predicted that the DGA would strike and collectively bargain with the WGA, but it looks like they managed to break a deal without striking. The WGA will have to follow in suit.