Writer's Strike

L

Lou

Scooby
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Does anyone know if there is a way us lowly, peons can help with the strike? A petition, an email address, a message board that no one important will read where we can voice our opinions to the Big Wigs?
 
Petition:

United Hollywood


from the WGA site:

solidarity and support



The network big wigs:

NBC
Jeffrey Zucker
Chairman/CEO
NBC Universal
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Ben Silverman
President
NBC Entertainment
3000 W. Alameda Ave
Burbank, CA 91523

CBS
Les Moonves
Chairman/CEO
CBS Entertainment
7800 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

ABC
Stephen McPherson
President
ABC Entertainment
500 South Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521

Robert Iger
President
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521

Fox
Peter Chernin
President
News Corporation
10201 Pico Blvd., Bldg. 128
Los Angeles, CA 90035

VIACOM
Phillipe Dauman
President/CEO Viacom
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036

Warner Bros.
Barry M. Meyer
President/CEO
Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc.
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522
 
There's also this...

fans4writers.com - don't write until it's right!

Joss is nursing a cold. He had time to post this one at Whedonesque.com where he discusses among other things fan input in the writer's strike.

I have news... that I might have news!

PURPLE PROSE: because you (meaning “I”) demanded it!

Friends, Echo, Bunnymen, lend me your ears. Well, eyeballs. It’s been a few days and I wanted to tell you what’s the what in me-land. Yes, I’m still sick (@#$&#!). Yes, I’m still striking… ly handsome! Zing! Still got it! I haven’t been on the front lines as much as I’d like but I do have some reports.

PICKETING WITH THE STARS! Unbelievable! An amazing experience. Wasn’t there.

PICKETING WITH THE WRITERS at Fox. Still a good experience, though starless. The oddest part of the strike to date: A man came up to us, expressing sympathy and wishing us success and handing out his card… for his jewelry store. I guess he thinks we’re gonna win big. Or maybe he was handing out his card to the wrong side. SO random.

(After picketing I went to an acupuncturist for the first time ever in order to help beat this terminator-like cold. A warning to the uninitiated: this is not like visiting a typical Western physician. Do you have any idea what goes on at an acupuncturist’s office? For the love of God, they PUNCTURE you with needles! They really ought to make that clearer in the name.)

But the big event of the day: got together with a bunch of showrunners whose fans have significant online presence. I won’t say which shows, as the meeting was tippety-top secret, but I will tell you – JUST BETWEEN US – that one of them rhymed with “Cattlecar Flalactica”. And one rhymed with “Gyureka.” And one sounds just a little bit like “Fritz Galway’s Bunny is Really Wealthier”. MORE I CANNOT SAY. And Jane and Marti were there. And a lot of others. There was no food.

The point of the meeting was that the WGA is aware of – and a little blown away by – the passion, tenacity, and organizational savvy of the online community. The “Jericho” nuts are the stuff of legend. Whedonesque and the creation of Fans4Writers were spoken of in awed whispers. I’m not kidding: one of the WGA workers asked me, “So, your fans. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?” I swear, having you guys in my corner is like being friends with Zorro. People in the community are amazed.

We met to see if there was some way for US to organize the way YOU have – to use the nettyweb to show the studios that there are no longer two sides to this struggle; there are three. The audience has a voice, and a right to be heard. We talked about different ideas that have been floated by fans to make some kind of nut-like show of unity and support. How can we do something so noticeable it might even get into the mainstream press? I’ll let you know when it’s worked out – should be within a day or so. Should be fun, too. Hell, it was fun just being in a room full of smart writers again, pitching ideas. (Also fun was typing “Hell”. Makes me sound butch.)

I also asked about a Mutant Enemy strike day, and the WGA peeps said they had no problem with that. We still don’t have a date (I still don’t have a lung) but I’ll be organizing that soon. Here’s the deal for whomever can come: Bring a sign, walk the line. (If you can’t make one there’ll probably be extras, but I think it’s more fun to make your own. Nothing rude, please.) I’ll get as many M.E. writers (and hopefully a few actors) as I can to walk outside one studio for a four hour shift alongside… well, any fan that carries the banner. More on that as it develops. Back to you, Bob.

Jaime Paglia of “Eureka” – I mean Flaime Flaglia of… florget it – talked about getting this movement into the non-California-or-New-York states, and I thought that was wisely wise. There are shows shooting in Boston, Rhode Island, Philadelphia – and there are fan-bases in EVERY state. We talked about getting some rallies going at local affiliates all over the country. I, of course, got to boast about the Browncoats and the “Serenity” screenings… The idea of people massing in different cities, whatever their fan-affiliation, is exciting, newsworthy, and let’s face it, fun. (Personally, I’d like to do a whistle-stop tour of the country, but right now that may be a bit ambitious for a man who can’t stand up for more than two hours.) (Still, standing at the back of a train, waving – and the WGA offered to provide bunting. Who doesn’t love bunting?)

The point is twofold. The first is that we expect this to take a long time. We want to make an impression NOW, but we also want to keep thinking of ways to spread awareness and keep you all engaged and, frankly, entertained. Because the second point is that there was no one in that room who didn’t understand that they were there BECAUSE OF YOU, because you guys have already proven yourselves not just dedicated fans but an active, forceful community. Take a moment to be all up in yourself. Now get over yourself. Now doubt yourself. Now hug yourself. Now touch your knee – Hah! Didn’t say “Simon says”. Like, ever. FOOLS! It’s you unauthorized-knee-touching fools who are proving that the internet is indeed the line in the sand (“…must be drawn Heah! This fah! No fuhther!”), for it’s the one medium the congloms don’t control. Televised news is largely ignoring us, the print media is eating Nick Counter’s astonishing lies like candy they get paid to eat, but you upon the ether… you haven’t been silent and you can’t be silenced. Go ahead. Touch that knee. Simon be damned.

It’s nice to blog sans rage for a change. Better for the immune system, too. Thanks, all, and keep watching the skies.

-j.
Click to expand...

Whedonesque : Comments on 14745 : More from Joss.
 
Although I support the writer's wishes for a bigger cut of the residuals, I don't completely support this strike. The so called "below the line" crew who work on television series and movies such as electricians, camera-man, and hair & make-up people are being laid off without compensation for the duration of the strike. They earn lots and lots less than the writers who are demanding extra money. Sure studios and networks are losing money during this strike, but the these crew-members are the real victims. So, although I hope that the writer's demands are met by the studios and networks, I also hope that the strike will end soon and not just because I can't wait to see Dollhouse.
 
thanks for the addresses gb. Might send a postcard to some Fox executives from Oz. I suppose all the studios are unified in stalling to make deals with the writers though, guess I'd have to read more to full understand how that all works.
 
I was told that one of the writers requests was to get some payment from the films that are downloaded from the internet.

Good luck with contacting Fox kanga. I tried a while ago, the Fox Studios in NSW turned out to be a distribution warehouse/ supplier.
I tried for two years to get an answer from Fox USA, writing letters, phone calls, E-Mails. What a total waste of time, ignorant load of cretins - so if the writers can get some money from them....GOOD !
 
Buffy Summers said:
I read somewhere that they get paid for downloaded material, they just want to double what they get paid.
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No, they only get paid for DVDs bought, and THAT'S what they want to double. They don't get anything at all from iTunes downloads, Amazon Unbox downloads, streaming from the websites, etc. And the companies make money off all those, and the networks make money from streaming the episodes because the streams are ad-supported, THAT'S why the writers want to get paid.
 
Nah. Nothing can kill new media. The genie's out of the bottle. It might put some restrictions on big corporate new media, but it's progressed to this point without that, and there's nothing that can stop it.

Personally I'd be more worried if big corporate were allowed to continue unrestricted, and wipe out the independents.
 
Call me old fashioned, but I doubt new media are gonna work. Most people I know still prefer to watch their movies on a TV. And there's something to be said for owning a DVD; you can hold the case in your hands, admire the artwork. Zero's and one's on a computer hard drive aren't really the same. And if people do want to go the digital way then... well, we all know how many illegal channels there are for obtaining movies or TV series (not that I'm endorsing).
 
That may be true but the fact of the matter is despite this comapnies are raking in LOADS of many off of the internet and I firmly believe that the writer's should be allowed to profit off of their own work instead of corporate hounds taking away their hard earned money for their own selfish gain!
 
I pull in a modest salary but to earn that I have to work 50 plus hours a week and my only outlet is a great TV show to watch.

These writers already get paid quite handsomely and they are wanting my sympathy by making me have boring evenings of repeats?!?!

Granted it's their material but honestly, with greater injustices in the world a few extra coins in their wallet is low on my priorities of caring.
 
Old Master 3.0
Old Master 3.0
Well done. You and I appear to be the lone gunmen on this issue.
Oh, I disagree. Writers get a raw deal. The amount of crap you have to go through to get a network to even give your show a chance (or in the normal world get someone to publish anything you wrote) is insane.
Heck, we have an example with Firefly of all the hoops Joss had to go through while they were butchering his show while he had TWO hit shows on the air and had proven himself to be a good writer.
You have to practically BEG to get someone to give your ideas a chance. You have about 20 minutes to be excited and party and then you have to cross your fingers that they get the right cast, that the cast "gets" the characters. MOST of the time, you have to cross your fingers that you get the right director who "gets" your idea.

Then you have to hope you get a good time slot, or at least a CONSISTANT time slot. And that it's put out at the right time to grab attention. And even then, there's no saying it won't get canceled. Due to promoting, critics, and occasionally the random whims of Fox...(or I guess other networks too.)

FRIENDS is a better example than Buffy, really. Maybe because Buffy was the first show that I felt I would actually USE the DVDs. I don't want ALL of Friends on DVD. But, there are a few episodes I could see me downloading from i-Tunes and putting on DVD to keep. It's INSANE that all the cast of friends was making MILLIONS an episode and that the writers get 4ç a DVD and NOTHING if it's downloaded from i-Tunes.

There is something to be said for the real DVDs, but iTunes is not exactly sub-par. No DVDs to scratch, I'd have it here to put on DVD after DVD if my kids decided to toss them around the room.

And I think it's EASILY foreseeable that in the near future, they'll be making the downloads on i-Tunes and Napster available earlier. Where I can come home and say, "Oh Pickles, the VCR didn't tape last night's CSI" and go spend$3 to get it.
I could say, "I want all the episodes of CSI with the miniature killer on it." And instead of having to buy the whole season, I could just pick and choose the ones I liked and have THOSE on DVD and not have to deal with the rest.

The whole idea of the writers not getting anything for the new technologies seems like a bigger kick in the pants than bootleg. Stealing is one thing and obviously bad, but when and if they get caught at least they can comfort themselves with prosecution. To have the networks LEGALLY be getting all the money for this and they're getting nothing is just insane.
And 4ç extra a DVD that the writers get instead of the network just seems fair. The NETWORK didn't create the show, the writer did. A poorly written show will get canceled, so we'd have to assume that a show that's going to DVD and people are buying it means the writer did a good job.

The networks are saying they aren't MAKING any money off of the electronic media. Which makes the whole thing even more ridiculous. If they REALLY weren't making any money off of it, then why not say the writers could have 50%? 50% of nothing is still nothing.
 
Dlou444 said:
The networks are saying they aren't MAKING any money off of the electronic media. Which makes the whole thing even more ridiculous. If they REALLY weren't making any money off of it, then why not say the writers could have 50%? 50% of nothing is still nothing.
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True, and this is what makes me suspect from the conglomerate's standpoint it isn't really about the money (at least not only about the money). What it's really about is getting control of the new gateway. They want to control the new delivery system the way they controlled the old one. They don't want unions interfering with that control.
 
Tim Minear made the point in that geekerati podast thing that this strike is critical, inevitable"”especially as the importance of broadcast continues to wane...speculating that "entertainment delivery" will eventually all coalesce into one system. One system that's Internet-based.
 
nerd4hire said:
Nah. Nothing can kill new media. The genie's out of the bottle. It might put some restrictions on big corporate new media, but it's progressed to this point without that, and there's nothing that can stop it.

Personally I'd be more worried if big corporate were allowed to continue unrestricted, and wipe out the independents.
Click to expand...
Dude, this has nothing to do with independents. The independents ARE getting wiped out. But the thing about new media is that it's been developing so quickly because it's relatively cheap - you make it more expensive and we're going to see a major slowdown. The writers we're talking about here are not the indpendents - they're the union writers.

Edit:

Dlou444 said:
Oh, I disagree. Writers get a raw deal. The amount of crap you have to go through to get a network to even give your show a chance (or in the normal world get someone to publish anything you wrote) is insane.
Click to expand...

Which is why this strike is bad. If writers have to be paid more, then there will be fewer of them hired and much fewer "unknown" writers given a chance.

Edit:

Dlou444 said:
The networks are saying they aren't MAKING any money off of the electronic media. Which makes the whole thing even more ridiculous. If they REALLY weren't making any money off of it, then why not say the writers could have 50%? 50% of nothing is still nothing.
Click to expand...

No, it's that someday they won't be worth nothing. Like Amazon or Google lol
 
Buffy Summers said:
Dude, this has nothing to do with independents. The independents ARE getting wiped out. But the thing about new media is that it's been developing so quickly because it's relatively cheap - you make it more expensive and we're going to see a major slowdown. The writers we're talking about here are not the indpendents - they're the union writers.
Click to expand...

I think that makes a lot of hasty assumptions. It assumes we know the future of the technology (we only have hints), we know exactly what an independent is (only the future will tell), and in the face of a corrupt, single, controlling force such as big media there's a distinct line between what independents want, and what organized labor wants.

You have to consider this stuff.

The future of the technology - We're only witnessing the birth at this point. Much is to come. Here's an example. Delivery of streams, with an option to download by bit torrent is something we've seen a bit of with stuff like Joost, but more is coming. We'll soon see independent filesharing of streams. Groups and individuals will stream everything from copyrighted works to independently produced stuff via bit torrent networks. It will be free.

Also, it's like Minear was saying, we're moving towards a time when all media, including the internet is simply managed from a single location in every home - not just viewing, but recording, and distributing.

What an Independent is - We don't know what the future holds here. If big media doesn't gain complete control of the gateway a network can be anything in the future from a family, to a large interwoven network of intertwining sub-networks. Opportunities will be created for anyone, even those who don't necessarily want to move through the gateway of the old guard. What kind of opportunities might open up for creative talent unionized, or other can only be guessed at. Unionized talent, can also be independent. Independent networks are evolving, and once all media is centrally and easily, recorded and distributed through a single location in a person's home talent can work independently through those evolving networks.

The Media Giants Desire for Control - First of all if you don't think there's enough money here to give the unions a fair chunk, and still operate, I think you're wrong. You're only possibly, kind of right if things remain at the status quo. That won't happen. If big media gains control of the gateway there is gigantic scads of money to be made by them in ways that haven't even been thought of yet. The media companies have shown in the past they don't play nice when they're the only pigs in the trough. They want a contract system with creative talent, and an ability to overprice customers while stifling competition. They'll work towards this by lobbying for corrupt laws to control the customers' ability to deal independently, and the creative talents ability to create and offer work independently of their control. A strong union will hinder that process. I'll give you an example of the latter. For an example of the former just look at what we have now.

I'm fuzzy on the dates and details here, but I'm confident on the basic process. There was some new copyright law coming out at one time. The music company lobbyist were manipulating it. The night before it was to be slipped through to pass into law they snuck a little a line or twelve into the middle of the document. It said all music produced by any label would be considered a "work for hire". In other words the people who created the work no longer owned it. However the musicians were able to organize and quash that section once they figured out it was there. That's why the big media companies don't want organized creative talent to have input into the governance of new media. They don't want them interfering with their devious plans. The pittance of extra nickels and dimes they might lose today isn't what this is really about.
 
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