Writer's strike & Union opinions

BRODEY1 · 11-05-07, 08:14

I know very little about the inner workings of Unions and how they weild power. Given the current writer's strike, I was "struck" with a thought (pun intended). Is there not a group of "2nd tier" writers, stand-up comics, protege's, young-fresh talent, etc. that could take advantage of this situation? Especially given that Hollywood is a cut-throat town by its nature.
Look at how many people have shows on-line via pod-cast (Tom Green), or movies basically made by college kids (Napoleon Dynamite), and TV shows made on the cheap by a group of actors (It's always Sunny in Philadelphia). I know that these are the exception and not the rule, but if MY studio is shut down and not making $$$, I think I would be very open to any new ideas from unknown talent.
I noticed that Jay Leno (car guy, yea) and Ellen Degeneres are both in support of the writer's.....are they postering, or will they benefit themselves down the road.
just wondering, Blain

paul34 · 11-05-07, 08:37

I didn't even know there was a writer's strike. I guess that goes to show how much "power" they have...

I have a feeling that no one really cares - so too bad for the writer's union!

Setec Astronomy · 11-05-07, 09:09

Being a "scab" and crossing a picket line can be a dangerous thing. I have been on both sides, having been a member of several unions. IMO, unions were a necessary entity way back, for a while became superfluous, and now, with corporate executives making dozens or hundreds of millions of dollars, I can't think of a better reason for the people doing the "work" on these shows to want to secure a small portion of the fortune that the studio executives are raking in. Unions came about almost a hundred years ago because of the greed of owners, today's corporate greed is no different and no less in need of being checked.

themightytimmah · 11-05-07, 10:03

The risk in crossing the picket line is that you will be blackballed when the strike is over - e.g. writers union members will refuse to work with you, and your career will be essentially over.

azenthusiast · 11-07-07, 08:22

They make too much already. When they get a real job, then they can gripe about their pay.

rjstaaf · 11-07-07, 08:31

I couldn't care less about either side in this issue. It is TV for goodness sake, is there anything on these days that is really worth watching? To me TV is just something you do when you are bored and there isn't anything else to do. I wouldn't really miss it if it were gone tomorrow...

Setec Astronomy · 11-07-07, 08:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by azenthusiast

They make too much already. When they get a real job, then they can gripe about their pay.

They're asking for 2.5% of the profits from new media...so let's see, the actors get 50%, the studio execs get 30%, 10% gets recycled into new development, the stockholders get 7.5%, and the writers are clamoring for that last 2.5% that the execs are going to take...that sounds like a legitimate gripe to me.

I would consider myself anti-union, but for an example, when Seinfeld released his series on DVD, the other actors on the show were going to get ZERO from it, so they refused to participate in the bonus features included on the DVD's. Is that in any way fair, that they get nothing from the 10's of millions of dollars of revenue from those DVD sales (they negotiated a piece in return for helping with the bonus features). On the other hand you could argue those actors got paid handsomely at the time they were making the shows, and shouldn't be entitled to any more.

These kind of intellectual property discussions are fundamentally different than the situation say, with a car company, where the product made is sold, and that is the only time that the car company makes money on the car (directly, I'm not going to veer off into extended warranties, etc.). With a TV show, it is made once and generates revenues for years or even decades thru reruns, syndication, DVD sales, etc.

Yal · 11-07-07, 09:31

That last season of Seinfeld those actors all got paid incredibly well per episode. I can't remember the numbers but it was significant and I remember thinking wait is that for the season? It wasn't it was per episode. The dollar amounts on a hit show are just off the charts! I don't blame these guys for trying to get some more of the cut.

Just don't mess with my show HEROES !!! lol

TortoiseAWD · 11-07-07, 11:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yal

Just don't mess with my show HEROES !!! lol

Too late. A Heroes spin-off called "Heroes: Origins" was shelved just from the threat of the strike, and last I heard, the series will have a shortened season, probably ending in early December. I read something about last night's ep being the start of a five-episode story arc; my guess is they'll finish those episodes, then go on hiatus until the strike is resolved.

Tort

SpoiledMan · 11-07-07, 11:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul34

I didn't even know there was a writer's strike. I guess that goes to show how much "power" they have...

I have a feeling that no one really cares - so too bad for the writer's union!

They have enough power to basically stop most of what you see on TV. This means more crap reality shows and repeats. It also means that those big studios will stop raking in the money that their hit shows bring in. From what I've heard/read they're not asking for much.

Yal · 11-07-07, 12:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by TortoiseAWD

Too late. A Heroes spin-off called "Heroes: Origins" was shelved just from the threat of the strike, and last I heard, the series will have a shortened season, probably ending in early December. I read something about last night's ep being the start of a five-episode story arc; my guess is they'll finish those episodes, then go on hiatus until the strike is resolved.

Tort

Darn! I hope they settle before it comes to that.

Could do without another season of American Idol though

Bunky · 11-07-07, 03:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

I would consider myself anti-union, but for an example, when Seinfeld released his series on DVD, the other actors on the show were going to get ZERO from it, so they refused to participate in the bonus features included on the DVD's. Is that in any way fair, that they get nothing from the 10's of millions of dollars of revenue from those DVD sales (they negotiated a piece in return for helping with the bonus features). On the other hand you could argue those actors got paid handsomely at the time they were making the shows, and shouldn't be entitled to any more.

As said earlier, unions had their place in time but bad management and union labor leads to trouble: GM, Ford, etc. With a global economy, you are competing with people in other countries and long term you will lose. I believe in the right to work laws found in many states (like the south where many mfg jobs are going) since you do not have to join a union to work. The funny thing it is not like they are not well paid they just want a bigger piece of action so it is all about greed.