Many strikes present complicated issues. Then there is the Writers Guild of America strike, which began Monday and could mean even more TV reruns than usual. The Hollywood companies stand to make a fortune off DVD sales, Internet downloads and the like. Writers’ residuals should reflect the windfall. “They claim that the new media is still too new to structure a model for compensation,†said Jose Arroyo, a “Late Night with Conan O’Brien†writer. “We say give us a percentage so if they make money, we make money.†Problem solved.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/22
- Regular on Open thread 11/22
- Regular on Open thread 11/22
- Rage on Open thread 11/22
- cosmos_originally on Open thread 11/22
- Chas on Open thread 11/22
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/22
- Boxlock20 on Open thread 11/22
- satatom on Open thread 11/22
- JimJohnson on Open thread 11/22
14 Comments
I’m a union supported from way back, but I’m having difficulty finding sympathy for those scriptwriters. Maybe if there had been something on the tube worth watching lately…..
JED
IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT THE MARKET WANTS (I’M SURE YOU KNOW THAT) EVERY SEASON THERE ARE “HIT SHOWS” – WETHER WE LIKE THEM OR NOT. IT TAKES ALMOST AS MUCH SKILL TO WRITE A BAD JOKE / SCRIPT AS A GOOD ONE. INITIALLY I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH THEY WERE MAKING, THEN REALIZED THAT MOST WRITERS LIVE ON THE EXPENSIVE COASTS AND F/T WRITING JOBS LAST ONLY AS LONG AS THE SHOW ….. I DO BELIEVE THEY DESERVE MORE IN RESIDUALS THAN .3% —- IF THEY WROTE A BAD SHOW THEY WON’T GET MUCH IN TOTO.
WHICH REMINDS ME OF MY SHORT LIVED (5 YEARS) CAREER IN COMMUNITY AND DINNER THEATER IN ST. JOE, MO IN THE MID 90′S. WITH SOME INITIAL SUCCESS ON STAGE, I DEDCIDED TO APPPLY FOR A P/T JOB AS A SANTA IN THE LOCAL MALL — AT MY 2ND INTERVIEW THEY GAVE ME A CONTRACT TO SIGN IN WHICH IT IN MENTIONED THEY WERE OFFERING PARENTS VIDEO TAPES OF THEIR KIDS FOR $15 — I ASKED HOW MUCH OF THAT DOES SANTA GET? FIGURING HE WOULD GET 2-3 $ PER VIDEO — THE MALL HR WOMAN WAS STUNNED HAD NEVER BEEN ASKED THAT AND DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY I THOUGHT I DESERVED PART OF THAT?
IN MY UHHHHH…. NEW FOUND ACTORS EGO I TRIED TO EXPLAIN TO HER THE CREATIVE PROCESS INVOLVED AND WHY IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN YOU WORKED IN FRONT OF A CAMERA (AFTER ALL I (WITH A HUGE CAPITAL “I” HAD BEEN AN EXTRA IN A MOVIE WITH PATTY DUKE AND MARTIN SHEEN) WHY EVEN THE MAKEUP IS DIFFERENT — AND I WAS AS SERIOUS AS A HEART ATTACK (AND PRETTY MUCH CLUELESS). SHE PONDERED FOR A SECOND AND SAID — KEN — I’VE SEEN YOU AT THE ICE HOUSE (DINNER THEATER) AND AT RRT, (COMMUNITY THEATER COMPANY) YOU’RE OK BUY DON’T GIVE UP YOUR DAY JOB — (OUCH !!) $9 AN HOUR — GUARANTEE 25 HOURS P/WK 4 WEEKS .
MY EGO WAS SHATTERRED HAH!!!
This is RICH!
Rhonda doesn’t care much for unions usually.
But when it’s WRITERS who are getting screwed, then she finds new outrage and rises to the defense of the working man.
Nice. Real nice.
Ken–
Normally I read your posts, but the all-caps thing makes me feel like I should stand across the room to see it better.
Thanking you in advance for using the caps key SPARINGLY . . .
JM
I USE THE CAPS KEY SO I CAN SEE WHAT I POST — IT WOULD HELP IF OTHERS WOULD TOO ….
.. AND THE CAPS ARE NOT THAT BIG OR BOLDED ……
Because of the speed of new technology being introduced, combined with how quickly consumers are latching onto it, the “big guys” are making a bundle. Whether it’s the writers of TV scripts or books, their compensation to writers for sales of the new media is not keeping up.
Even in my little world we’re seeing it. E-books (electronic books, which are downloadable to electronic readers, computers, etc.) and books on CDs are carrying the same royalty percentage as print books, and the publisher won’t budge on increasing those royalties, even though “industry standard” with other publishers is almost double that.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg, but as we aren’t a part of the Writers Guild or any other union, we get to smile and nod our heads, happy to get anything.
Ken -
If you’re having trouble reading the text, perhaps you could increase the text size. If you’re using Internet Explorer, click on ‘View’ (in the menu bar at the top) > ‘Text Size’ > ‘Larger’ (or Largest). All Caps is actually harder for most people to read, and is generally interpreted as shouting. I don’t think that was your intention, but that’s how people will take it. Just a tip..
I find it eye-opening to see that Leno and Lettermen and everyone else on TV just read lines written by someone else.
Sock puppets. They can’t do anything without their handlers.
No creative or original thoughts of their own, though the guys and gals on camera are the ones that make the big bucks.
Appearance and Looks are EVERYTHING.
Substance doesn’t matter.
Sounds like Politics.
Jed: There is a LOT of television out there, and some of it actually is (IMO) quite good. The difference between TV dramas now verses the 70’s, 80’s and early ’90’s is remarkable (there was actually some very well done stuff in the ’60’s). The point is, writers are the people who create the product. A new show at least usually starts off as a writer’s idea.
Max: What you are providing is an extremely shallow analysis. Leno and Letterman are on their own writing staffs, but the idea that one person could come up with enough to keep a daily monologue going is simply ludicrous.
Leno and Letterman are on their own writing staffs, but the idea that one person could come up with enough to keep a daily monologue going is simply ludicrous.
Posted by: ksagnostic | November 06, 2007 at 12:00 PM
I would add that they are also part of the Writer’s Guild, so therefore, are not going to “cross the [picket] line”
Thanks I didn’t know I could do that (increase thetype size of posts on WE _— but it doesn’t seem to work while I’m typing in the box
That woman that played the role of Seinfield was walking the picket in support of the middle-class writers. Good on her.
. I was surprised Scarborough honored the pickets yesterday but not today …..
Ag,”There is a LOT of television out there, and some of it actually is (IMO) quite good.”
When I can watch the first 10min of a 1hr show and accurately predict the ending, it isn’t good writing, it’s just formula. Yes, there is occasionally something well-written on TV, but it’s difficult to find under all that dross.