WGA set to strike - TV Season could be truncated/delayed (1 Viewer)

[Louis C]

Yep, we may be approaching the end...now this piece too:

UPDATE 1-Major progress reported in Hollywood writers talks | Markets | Markets News | Reuters

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

LA Times now joining the choir, noting that "striking writers and major studios have reached the outlines of a new employment contract."

Sources also tell the Associated Press that both sides have agreed on terms for internet compensation.

I think I can join the chorus in hoping this is the real deal.

 

[Scott-S]

Sigh.

Now that they have destroyed half a season. Things will just go back to normal like nothing happened.

I can only hope that since a lot of the contracts were voided, that the studios get different writers. The ones they were using shouldnt be allowed to come back to work as normal after causing all those people to be unemployed for so long. I know If I had to go without a paycheck for 4 months because of someone elses greed, I would be a bit pissed off.

 

[Jason Seaver]

So you'll want different producers, too, because it takes two sides to create a labor dispute, right?

 

[seanOhara]

Considering every script writer in Hollywood was on strike, that'd mean having to go out and hiring people with no experience whatsoever. If they were going to do that, they should've done it when the strike started; it's too late now.

Besides, do you really want Lost written by people who have no idea where the show is going?

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> because it takes two sides to create a labor dispute, right?

It only takes one side to strike.


> Besides, do you really want Lost written by people who have no idea where the show is going?

I thought that's what was happening since episode 1.

 

[Francois Caron]

With the end of the strike, the talk shows will finally be able to have REAL guests instead of all the "substitutes" they've had for the last month. Waaay too many animal acts on Leno!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

On the other hand, there have also been some really interesting and out there guests like the Guy from Boston that never would have gotten on otherwise and really break up the monotony of endless celebrities.

 

[Malcolm R]

x 2





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[TravisR]

If you watched Lost, you'd know that you're wrong.

 

[Brandon Conway]

And it only takes one side to make lopsided demands of their workers.

 

[Firebee]

Amen!

 

[Will_B]

I'm glad that some actors got an extended vacation. Everyone on Battlestar Galactica reportedly looked rather tired last season, and a couple extra months of rest may mean that the final episodes will actually be better than they would have been otherwise.

 

[Chris]

I agree. Fire all the producers. Wait, no.

Fortunately, they won't go back to work like nothing happened. They will go back to work like something major happened, a deal was put into place that they feel protects their interest.

And, just as a reminder, there are several shows where the writer IS the director and IS the show. So, while it's good for you to voice your opinion, I'm sure that ABC will welcome back Shonda Rhymes (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice); there will still be a bidding war for the services of Sorkin; Joss Whedon will write and direct his next project (Dollhouse), and so on.

Maybe we'd want to fire all the producers for laying off people and so on... but it takes two to tango, and the neither the writers or the studios can be held blameless (whereas your comment seems to infer all blame belongs on the writers; the writers demands were made more then a year ago, before their negotiated contract came up, and the production companies could have spent months before then negotiating a deal.. that didn't happen.. in general, in my shop, if an employee wants a raise, they come to me BEFORE their yearly review to try to negotiate for it so that I know what their expectations are and they know what mine are)

 

[Walter C]

And TV Guide reports that some of the ABC shows will return with new episodes this season.

Looks like some will resume this season, while others will be held off till fall.

 

[Brian W. Ralston]

So...when SAG strikes in June (which it is looking like they will because their initial royalty demands are exceeding what the writer's initial demands were and they are asking for much larger increases in their DVD royalty...which was a sticking point in the WGA strike at first)...after SAG strikes...will you also demand that ALL of the actors in Hollywood not be able to come to work as normal after causing the same people to go for probably months without a paycheck again?????

When SAG strikes...nothing happens. Not even old scripts lying around. WGA will support them since SAG has supported the WGA so well in this strike too. And it will all begin again in a couple months.

As of right now...I know for a fact that pretty much NO film production or show can get insurance for filming past April for fear of a SAG strike in June. Once you start paying people...you have to keep paying them till the show is wrapped...or you terminate the contract under preset rules for a work stoppage. (That is kind of overly simplified, but close). This is one of the things insurance is for. In case an actor gets injured and you have to hold production for a few weeks...or months...etc...

So...If you are not filming something with the guarantee you will not need any SAG participation past June (which means anything that starts April or later)...you will not get insurance and you will not have a shoot. So...even though there is no SAG strike yet...things will start to stop again in April or later for fear of one. (probably mostly seen in film productions this time as TV is more current) And if there is a SAG strike...who knows how long that one will last.

I have to wonder who will be blamed for that one at that time? {rolling eyes}

 

[todd stone]

great more retarded episodes of LOST

 

[Travis_S]

Retarded episodes that you are forced to watch :rolleyes

 

[Yee-Ming]

I didn't think BSG's timeline had been affected by the strike? Even before the strike they were always going to return only about now, once the strike started about half of the 20-episode order (or slightly more) had been written, so the strike just guarantees that we'll get another split-season, since the rest of the scripts aren't ready for shooting. Which is what Sci Fi probably wanted anyway.

 

[Louis C]

Lost has some of the best writing I have ever seen on TV.

And yes, I think Lost is currently the best show on TV too. Flame all you want because most readers here figure that if you have been watching the show you would never be spewing such harsh criticism.