Gizmo

Same actors who are now out of jobs because of the strike are joining? I’m shocked! They want this resolved so they can get back to work and not lose out on their shows which are already set to have reduced episode counts (aka less money). I am shocked! It’s clear how hard the entertainment industry is pushing the writers narrative because they have nothing else to report on as the industry (in America) has shuttered.

Gizmo

Everything strikes you has anti union when you are pro union. Meanwhile many of the crew and other businesses will suffer so the writers can get some more money for the limited amount of work they currently do. How many people do you need to write an episode of Law and Order? Well they want 12 per episode. Why? So they can get more work when it’s not needed. Why not have 20 people work the register at McDonalds? Because it makes no sense. What business will pay that extra expense?

I’ll continue to laugh at their demands and watch as many others lose their jobs, homes and cars so the writers can make some extra money.

Decker

For some perspective on these residual checks writers get :

Twitter

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Jay G.

Are you thinking that stating writers shouldn't strike because they get AC is, what? pro union? neutral union?

It's not "per episode," but per season. To have a writer's room of 12 people, the show would have to produce over 18 episodes per season. The upcoming season of L&O will have 22 episodes; nearly enough for every writer to write 2 on their own. However, L&O has never had episodes written by a single writer as the norm; if you check the past episodes credits, it's typically at least two, sometimes three writers per episodes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...Order_episodes

The way a writers room works, all the writers in a room will help "break" the story for a particular episode, developing the major plot points, character moments, etc, and then one or more writers will go and write the full script. The work is divided up, but no episode has 12 people actually writing the script.

What's more, shows like L&O have had large writers rooms for decades. You're acting like a writer's room of 12 is some new, unfathomable thing, when it used to be the standard, and it's only recently that studios have tried to trim down to "mini rooms" to pay for less writers.

And, just to put the demands in perspective, the WGA has this post showing what their demands would cost the studios, as a percentage of revenue. The most costly is to Paramount, where it'd cost a whopping 0.148% of annual revenue. A fraction of a percent.
https://www.wgacontract2023.org/anno...st-of-settling

Josh-da-man

I hate to say this, but it's kind of weird seeing the writers out there striking and demanding more money considering how wretchedly awful the recent MCU and DCEU output, Star Wars output, Rings of Power, Picard's first two seasons, and final seasons of Games of Thrones were.

Kind of like going to a restaurant and having a waiter demand a bigger tip after spilling scalding soup on your baby and putting her in a burn ward.

JeffTheAlpaca

I hope once this is settled they take into consideration A.I. and if that will affect their wages and residuals in the future so there is not another strike for that.

Coral

It's not about quality, it's about how much money the movies and shows made and them wanting a cut of that money.
From every angle this is all about business.

Troy Stiffler

I think it’s more about trying to cover a cost of living. Google says that staff writers get paid around $65k per year. But higher up writers (writer-producers … the kind of names you see in credits) can get $300k or $500k per year … $30k and $40k per episode.

They’re trying to add approximately $450M per year to their members pay. They already countered at $90M. I mean, the math either works or it doesn’t. That’s a lot of profit to hand out without any additional profit expected to come from it. It too complex to assume anything. But the money is either there or it’s not. If they max themselves out, then they’re at the whim of the other unions.

To me, the numbers either work or they don’t. I’d love to see simulated models but I doubt anyone will release that kind of info.

Troy Stiffler

Also that writer above can say whatever about residuals. But the world changed. Content is everywhere. The point he makes has a bigger problem with technology and the era we are in. I don’t foresee this strike changing the nature of residuals.

I used to know a guy who had a patent on swirling laser beam guns in movies. Yes, he made good money in the 70s and 80s. By the end he would get $5 or $10 checks here and there.

80% of the US population is broke and exploited by capital itself (the capital ROI itself has priority over employee pay). Yes, I hope they can work in a raise. I love film and tv. But I dont really care about this issue. The strikers shouldn’t open their mouths and let the WGA take care of thing. Because these people are coming across as entitled and pretentious.

Jay G.

They're already addressing AI in this negotiation/strike:
https://www.wgacontract2023.org/the-...as-of-5-1-2023

Jay G.

Patents only last 20 years, and only cover a specific process. You can't patent "swirling laser beam guns," but you can patent a specific method for creating that effect, and people will pay you to use it, up until someone invents an alternate method that's better, or at least cheaper. At the least, CGI would've killed any analog method of creating a swirling laser beam that was created in the 70s, but it's possible some other analog method came along even before CGI was viable, or the patent just expired and people started using the original method for free.

Copyrights for content created by corporations last 95 years, and people will pay for as long as they want to view that content. There's no reason that residuals, a share of the revenue the content generates, can't cover any and all methods of distributing that content. However, up to now, streaming was treated differently, with some exceptions, due to being "new" at the previous contract negotiation, and not generating the same sort of revenue as theatrical, network, and cable at the time. Now, it'd be very hard for anyone to say with a straight face that streaming still isn't generating much revenue, and isn't the future of movies and TV shows, but the studios like the current situation where they pay writers less, can hire less of them, can get free rewrites, etc. for streaming content, and don't want to cough up more to make it a sustainable career. The writers aren't fooled though, and they know streaming is the future, so are striking to make sure that streaming going forward pays writers fairly.

DJariya

I know you don't care what the writers are fighting for as you stated. Most of us are just casual outsiders looking in. But, someone who chooses to become a television writer should be able to have a sustainable career out of it and not have to get a 2nd or 3rd job to survive living and working in Los Angeles or New York. That's where all the jobs are at. It takes years for someone to become a top TV writer and be able to earn a 6 figure income and get development deals. Most staff writers don't even earn close to that much. And I don't think they are entitled. They joined the union for a reason to help fight for better pay and better working conditions.

Gizmo

Bro, many of us also have second and third jobs to make ends meet in this economy. But we do that along with the 5 day a week 9-5 job and not the 8-10 “project” getting at bare minimum $1,000 a day and the other 9 months “between projects” and working on your spec script.

Meanwhile, businesses without production going are suffering and crews are all delivering DoorDash to hopefully pay the rent.

but yes, let’s make sure someone who wrote an episode of Speechless 5 years ago gets that $10,000 a month residual check because 12 people streamed it on Hulu last month.

In about 2 months everyone will turn on these writers when NCIS and Law and Order are not back in the Fall and wondering why these writers are striking while they have to watch Some ABC gameshow bullshit. The solidarity from Actors (who can’t act because of no scripts) and crew (who can’t work) will start to wear thin.

meanwhile, TV will adapt to cheaper imports, reality, unscripted etc and when the strike ends, many shows will produce less episodes going forward and less shows will be ordered in general. It’s such a Win for no one.

Gizmo

Many shows have been pulled from streaming because they are losing money on them. Subs are down. Studios shoulder ALL the costs of making the show. How much do you think a writer deserves vs the studio who is doing ALL the other work?

Why doesn’t someone who works construction and builds an apartment complex get a percent from every tenant going forward? Seems fair to me! What about the kid who stocks the toothpaste you buy from Target?

Public opinion has already changed now in week 4 and the only ones reporting on the strike are the ones whose job is on the line with no real entertainment news. Expect layoffs when these places have no news to report besides “Actor who makes $300k an episode made a speech in support of writers” (who now loses said money with no scripts)

Why So Blu?

I hate posting Instagram links, but there's a pixelated pic of Kal Penn.

windom

^ Is that sign supposed to be funny or clever or something? Is there some reference there? I honestly don't get it.

Why So Blu?

You get it, you just don't think it's funny. I understand. I like juvenile and petty humor like that, which is why I laughed at it. I also know why he's saying that. It's about the residuals that streaming companies are trying to avoid paying their writers.

windom

Sure, I've heard plenty of "Deez Nuts" jokes, but there's always some setup that leads to the "Deez Nuts". You can't just say "[Blank] Deez Nuts" on its own.

Gizmo

Salty all his shows get cancelled after a single season? Dunking out of HOUSE at its height was such a bad decision.

Why So Blu?

Well, what else would it mean if he's at the WGA protests with a sign saying Stream DEEZ on it? I mean, it's self-explanatory, unless you already forgot what the WGA protests were about.

windom

I guess I'm really slow because I honestly don't understand what it means. Basically what is "deez nuts" replacing this case? It must be a common phrase about streaming, but I can't think of anything. Is it a reference to the South Park Streaming Wars episodes?

cultshock

It's not that clever. Damn, I'll miss his comedy writing skills.

JeffTheAlpaca

Kal Penn did a one week hosting stint for the Daily Show this year.

Count Dooku

I think what he is making is a comment on the theoretical question of what kind of streaming content would there be without writers, and he is saying they can steam his balls. Basically, the strike sign version of walking around, grabbing your crotch and shouting, "STREAM THIS!"

Jay G.

This just reads like the crab bucket effect, i.e. "if I can't have it, neither can you."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_mentality

Like, nobody should be having to take multiple jobs to make ends meet. A single full-time job should provide a living wage. The difference is that the writers have a union under which they can all unite and collectively bargain for better compensation for their work, work which is the foundation for billions in revenue. I don't see a reason to begrudge writers taking efforts to make their careers and livelihood better, just because others are worse off.

I watched this video yesterday. There's a portion that specifically talks about the WGA strike at the 24:50 mark, but the overall point of the video is that unions basically make life better for everyone, even those not in unions. The only ones that unions make it worse for are corporations trying to exploit their workers, and billionaires wanting to increase their wealth even more at the expense of the workers.