How long do you the the WGA strike will last?
 

Lets make it a poll to see who is closet.

8 months or 20 months, either way I see it being resolved in June (either of 2008 or 2009).

I'll come out of the closet and say more than 3 months.

Chris

Three months or longer. Neither side is even close to budging.

Thanksgiving. Uhh, 2007 that is.

it would be more interesting if people would include what they think the end result will be

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/fa...=1&oref=slogin
pretty funny blog from a striker.

3 months or longer. I think the WGA will get most of what they want but not all.

I think that it will either be settled within the next two weeks (pretty unlikely but possible), or else it will go for three months or longer (possibly much longer). For every ray of reasonable hope that emerges, there seems to be twice as much bombastic vitriol that fires up the troops to even greater levels of anger (and we all know what Master Yoda said about anger... ;)).

I just read an article where they interviewed Joel Surnow (24), and his prediction was several months from now at the extreme detriment of the writers (which will have a cascading effect with the SAG and producers).

Netflix and BBO should do well.

I believe if the Writers Guild gives in during this strike, then they will never be fairly compensated in the future.

They might as well make a stand now because 5 years from now DVDz may not be the dominant way for consumers to buy movies, television shows, etc. And they should wrap up fair compensation for all other types of media now before it becomes more difficult after their future contract expires.

Chris

I do not think they will have to give in, if the actors continue to join in with the writes they will have to give into them. Next summer I think it is time for the actors to strike, so they better get this done quick.

I'm gonna go with 3 months or longer.

i was thinking Youtube should be doing really well right now. Now if someone wanted to capitolize and create a Youtube Talk Show it would make a killing because all those actors with movies coming out and bands with new albums need a place to promote them now.

Good for you!

Having made it this long, it will go over 3 months.

Most strikes are either settled quickly, or take a hell of a long time.

True. The remaining third fall somewhere in between.

I don't think the studios will budge until they know what the DGA and SAG want in their new contract. If it's as unreasonable as they appear to think the WGA's demands are, I can see this strike going on until the end of next year. If they appear amenable to the DGA and SAG demands, you'll see pressure on the WGA to settle.

From a blog I occasionally read..



Fan, meet Shit. Shit, meet Fan.

Nov 1, 2007 in Work with 9 Comments

Well, it’s official. The writers are going to strike.

Since today’s work was on a stage with internet access, everyone who had a computer kept checking every 90 seconds to see what was going on, and we got the word via the LA Times website around 8 pm.

This show will finish it’s current episode (which runs through Friday), and after that who knows what will happen? It depends on if they have a script that they can shoot without re-writing it (which is absurd - stuff gets rewritten on the fly all the time).

By 8:05, a couple of people were starting to really freak out, but I’m just going to try to scrounge enough work to get me through the next couple of weeks and then hope for the best.

I suppose the next few weeks would be a great time for me to get the bunion surgery that I need (and the accompanying 10 - 12 weeks of disability), or I could go get a regular construction job, or go pull cable on one of the event crews.

I guess that’s where those of us that are below the line have an advantage (and it’s probably the only advantage we have) is that the skills we have translate into being able to go and get a job somewhere else if we absolutely have to.

Who am I kidding? Although I like to think I’d be able to march up to a construction site and get a decent paying job that uses a similar set of skills to mine, the reality is that I’ll probably end up back on the low budget non-union movies.

Who, when you think about it, are going to be the clear winner in this mess. They’re going to get the crews (and the writers) they normally can’t afford, and none of us can leave and go work a ‘real’ show because there won’t be any.

Gods, I hope this gets settled quickly, although the pessimist in me is pretty certain it won’t.

I have to work tomorrow night, and the best boy’s already warned me that the location is full of poison oak.

Awesome.

I've noticed that a lot of the actors from The Office have allready joined in, presumably since so many of them write for the show as well. Is that common among shows or is The Office unique?

:lol:

If this doesn't get resolved by the new year, the 2008-09 TV season will be in serious jeaporady....as well as every movie in development for 2009.

I predict 2-3 months.

As I understand it, that's more or less what happened in 1988. The WGA caved and the Producers have been paying pennies on home video residuals ever since.

I think we're looking 2 or 3 weeks before the DGA and/or SAG deals expire.

I thought the SAG/DGA stuff ended in June 2008.

when this happened last time, what was on tv?

I have heard it's about 6 months. I'm just not sure if they are over at exactly the same time or if there is a little window between the two. I think this gets done with just enough time to get a deal done with the other two.

They need to start thinking about playing football everyday of the week. :)

I hope it lasts a long time. More reality TV!

If this thing doesnt get resolved in the next couple of weeks..This thing is going until June, when the SAG contract is up.

It seems to me that the studios and writers just aren't on the same page at all. The writers and showrunners better be careful...as they may not have a show to come back to if the studios decide to cancel their shows to punish them.

I think it'll last well into the new year. The rest of the '07-'08 TV season is likely toast. The real question is will this last long enough to affect the '08-'09 season and '09 at the multiplexes.

That's a pretty extreme step, but I worry about it happening with The Office in particular. That's a hangout for people who have a slash in their title and would be the perfect show to kill to make a point.

According to TV Guide:

I wonder if Conan would technically be in breach of his deal that gives him either the Tonight Show or a hefty buyout in 2009 if he doesn't return. If so, that could give NBC a hefty amount of ability to pressure one of Jay and Conan to return. They could give Jay the carrot that if he comes back, they'll void Conan's deal and Conan the stick that they'll kill his deal and not give him Tonight if he stays out.

Giving Conan "the stick" before his 2009 stint even begins is not a great way to start what I assume NBC hopes will be a relationship that continues for a solid decade or two.


I doubt very much that networks will start playing hardball by making threats or taking actions that have such wide-reaching impact.

Maybe NBC is having second thoughts about forcing Jay out, particularly if Conan isn't willing to show the Carson-like ability to tough out a writers strike.

I think the only result of such an action would be to anger both of them.

The networks are nuts to let this strike drag on until next year. They're only going to hasten their own demise.

No, they aren't. I'm not taking a side, I think both have their pluses and minuses, but there couldn't be a better time of year for this to happen from teh point of view of the studios. December is typically filled with repeats due to the holidays (Tgiving is next week as well!). There seems to be enough new material to carry them through November sweeps.

However, the writers will have to spend xmas out of work and on the picket line, and that might have a demoralizing effect, no matter how you cut it.

And there's no way the networks/studios will EVER suffer a "demise" of any kind. They still control the airways, and being in Hollywood will always be the dream of millions more than can ever achieve it.

If they settle in January, you'll be right. If they settle in July or later, it's a totally different story.

More networks are fighting over diminishing audience share- that's just a fact. The big media companies that own them are diversified and will be fine, but the networks could be in for a lot of pain.