WGA Strike Thread

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A True Canadian

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The WGA strike happened yesterday, so I think it might be a good idea to have a thread about it.

With the WGA (Writer's Guild of America) on strike, it means that there will be no new scripts written for movies or TV shows made in the US for as long as the strike lasts. Movies won't be affected for a while because it can take several months to shoot and then edit the film once a script has been finalized. For example, movies like the fourth Indianna Jones and the new Batman will not be affected by this because a script had been written before this strike happened. However this could affect, let's say, Harry Potter 7 because the script hasn't been finalized yet.

TV on the other hand, will be affected immediately. Shows in mid-season like Heroes will be forced to stop shooting new episodes, and returning series like 24 and LOST may not even air at all this season.

I've found an article about what this means for the major networks and their shows:

Stephen Battaglio of TV Guide said:
ABC
Since the writers who work on reality shows (yes, they do have writers) are not covered by the WGA contract, every network will be heavily dependent on that genre. ABC's got a stockpile of Supernanny and Wife Swap to draw on, and more episodes of the summer series Just for Laughs and Oprah's Big Give.

While episodes from midseason series such as Notes from the Underbelly, Cashmere Mafia and Eli Stone will be ready, the network will have to make a decision on Lost. A few episodes have already been shot, but the network will have to decide if it will be worth it to run those eps if the full, season-long story arc can't be concluded. Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel Live, like the other late-night shows, will go into repeats.

CBS
While procedurals such as CSI and Criminal Minds tend to draw viewers in repeats ? giving CBS an edge over the competition ? the network has been loading up on game shows. Power of 10, a moderate success over the summer, will be back. CBS also has Do You Trust Me and a new version of Password hosted by Regis Philbin.

The network is also ready to let the cameras roll in the Big Brother house if necessary. On the scripted side, you'll definitely see all seven produced episodes of Jericho. The network will also have close to 13 episodes of The New Adventures of Old Christine ready to go. The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will go dark immediately, but the conventional wisdom is that Letterman will return after a few weeks out so that the rest of his staff can remain employed. Once he returns, so will Ferguson.

Fox
Even though it will run out of episodes of its fall sitcoms and dramas shows by January, Fox will make sure it has an original House to air following the Super Bowl.

Fox has also put its midseason shows into production as if they were fall shows, so it will have a healthy number of first-run comedies (Unhitched and Jezebel James) and dramas (New Amsterdam, The Sarah Connor Chronicles). But an extended work stoppage is likely to mean that there will be no new season of 24. Fox won't start the show if its story can't be completed in the real-time format (and 24 episodes) that viewers expect. The strike won't impact the production of American Idol. It's likely that a strike will unleash some new reality fare from Fox as well.

NBC
NBC could become the Law & Order network again, with about 10 fresh episodes of the mother ship already in the can. NBC also has the second run of USA's Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and the durable Law & Order: SVU will still be on the air in repeats.

On the reality side, the network has already expanded The Biggest Loser to two hours and has a full run of Celebrity Apprentice. It also has a few game shows ready to go ? the returning 1 vs. 100, the new Amnesia and a revival of American Gladiators. If the strike lasts for a few months, NBC will even look at running some of the reality shows from its cable networks such as Top Chef and Project Runway.

The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Later with Carson Daly and Saturday Night Live will immediately go into repeat episodes. But the feeling is that if one late-night talk-show host returns, the others will follow. ?They could come back without writers,? said an insider at one of the shows. ?But it will be tough.?

The CW
A full season of Everybody Hates Chris is already in the can. Otherwise, CW will depend heavily on reality shows, which typically do better than CW's scripted series. Ready to go are Farmer Needs a Wife, a mother-daughter beauty pageant competition called Crowned, and Search for the Next Pussycat Doll.

CW could also get extra cycles of Beauty and the Geek and America's Next Top Model ready. WWE Smackdown's writers also won't be affected by the strike.
Click to expand...

SOURCE

Hopefully this strike will end soon.
 
Bunch of wankers.

Stfu and write.
 
**** the writers. If Lost or Heroes are delayed I'll ****ing shot someone.

Fire the writers and import some from another country!
 
I don't think the strike will have a big effect. The US networks can either find non-WGA members, or simply outsource the script writing to other countries. I am sure the will be eager replacements from the UK, Canada, Australia, and other English speaking countries not affiliated to the WGA who would be willing to take up the slack.
 
Glad TDK was done with script changes, I don't think I could wait much more than July 08 for it!
 
Would this affect HBO at all? I don't want to wait longer for more information on the A Song of Ice and Fire series. :(
 
dal1978 said:
I don't think the strike will have a big effect. The US networks can either find non-WGA members, or simply outsource the script writing to other countries. I am sure the will be eager replacements from the UK, Canada, Australia, and other English speaking countries not affiliated to the WGA who would be willing to take up the slack.
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Not necessarily. I heard on the radio yesterday a message from the head of the Canadian version of the writer's guild saying that they were in full support of the WGA, and wouldn't take the jobs of those who recently went on strike.
 
There's a new article from IGN (well 2 days old, but still has some info) about the strike's impact. Looks like it's bad news for Heroes fans.

Heroes: As we reported Friday, Heroes is likely going to turn their December 3rd episode, the eleventh of the season, into the season finale. It was always intended as the end of the "Generations" arc, and a new ending has been written in order to turn it into a more solid conclusion for now.

Lost: ABC's big mid-season show was meant to be Lost, which was to return to begin a 16 episode fourth season early next year. Last week Eonline reported that Lost had been written up through episode 14, so that the majority of the season could be shot. However, IGN spoke to Lost star Michael Emerson this past Friday and he said, "You know, I know that's out there but I don't think that's true. I think that story is not true. To the best of my knowledge, they never have more than one episode beyond what we're shooting." Emerson told us he was currently shooting the seventh episode of Season 4 and that "We probably have enough material to complete the first half of their season." It's assumed that ABC will likely decide to at least air the completed eight episodes in the spring.
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More info here: http://tv.ign.com/articles/832/832730p1.html
 
I'm not near episode 11 of Heroes season 2, so I've no idea if it's really ready to conclude as of yet, but that seems so ****ing cheap to just end it so soon.
 
TheAntipop said:
I'm not near episode 11 of Heroes season 2, so I've no idea if it's really ready to conclude as of yet, but that seems so ****ing cheap to just end it so soon.
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Well seeing as the writers aren't writing anymore, how do you expect them to film anymore episodes?
 
These guys need to get their shit sorted out. I sympathize with the writers because they really are getting the shaft when it comes to DVD and online sales, but dammit they are going to come between me and 24 and that just won't do!
 
DiSTuRbEd said:
Well seeing as the writers aren't writing anymore, how do you expect them to film anymore episodes?
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No shit, that's what pisses me off - that they aren't doing their job and thus the show is going to end somewhat abrubtly compared to season 1 (which, although slow, was drawn for the best and did actually get a lot better later on due to how well it was paced)
 
the worst thing is...

this will mean more reality shows....
 
Can't the actors write the script? It's better than nothing...
 
Some more LOST news, as well as a bit of a summary about the cause of this strike:

I spoke to Cuse today, who was standing among a group of the most notable showrunners in television, picketing outside the Walt Disney studios. When I asked him if ABC was intending to air just those completed 8 episodes, he replied "I don't know yet. I think it'll depend on how long [the strike] lasts." But as to whether he'd want to see those episodes air without their intended second half ready, he firmly said "No. We'd rather them hold it. It would be like reading half a novel."

Lost aired a brief 6 episode run in the fall of 2006, which wasn't a popular move with fans or critics and Cuse thinks that while fans would be frustrated by the longer wait between seasons, it would ultimately be a bigger disservice to air only half a season. However, it's believed that ABC is likely to decide to air the episodes in the spring as originally intended, especially given how few scripted series will be available at that point, thanks to the strike.
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That would suck having to wait until the fall of 2008 to see Season 4 of Lost (or god forbid, February 2009).

Cuse explained that when it came to the reasoning for the strike "The crux of the issue is that the studios don't want to pay writers residuals for new media. And everybody understands where movies and television are going. Internet is the new TV and that's going to be the primary distribution mechanism for films and television shows."

Cuse said he felt the networks and studios were "using a technological change to try to skip out on the legacy of residuals, which has been a way that people who create products like movies and TV shows are connected in an ongoing way financially to the work that they create that generates billions of dollars in revenue for the studios. Without the residual system, basically the 11,000 rank and file writers can't make it."

Turning back to his own show, Cuse noted "Lost is a great example of how new media has changed. Lost is a show which is a top ten show, but it doesn't repeat on network television. There are no network reruns. People watch it on DVDs, they watch it on their DVRs, they watch it streaming on ABC.com or they download it from iTunes. And none of those formats pay traditional residuals."
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Read more about it here: http://tv.ign.com/articles/833/833445p1.html
 
No Stewart + Colbert is already getting to me.
 
Pay the writers more, they deserve it.
 
The Monkey said:
Fire the writers and import some from another country!
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Apparently they can't , because if they did, those wirters who are imported will be black listed from any further US productions

Pay the writers more, they deserve it.
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QFT, especially on productions such as Lost and Heroes, were they don't heavily rely on action or SFX
 
Now they've f*cking done it. They've pissed me off. Not only does it look like Scrubs will have it's end at episode 12 instead of a planned 18 but also season 7 of 24 has been postponed.

Alright, I support the principle behind the strike. I think it's only fair they get a cut. At the same time, there are these people called fans. They happen to be the people the writers are really working for. With them on strike they are sending mixed signals to the fans. Perhaps they don't realize that without the fans they don't have jobs. I know the studios should be well aware of this too, but they're in far less danger than the writers. The studios can always find new shows, but the writers don't have it quite so easy. If they're attached to a show, and it gets cancelled, they're out of work.

This strike isn't good for anyone. Someone has to compromise or risk alienating a very large portion of the fanbase. Keep at it studios and writers, see if I watch anything you produce again. Perhaps they forgot that people still write books and make small independent films. I would have no qualms about not watching network TV anymore. I'll always have The History Channel and Discovery channel to fall back on, even if it's all repeats.

EDIT: Reading more about it here and here has brought up something else to my attention. Everyone seems to be forgetting about all the other people working in the industry who are affected by this. There are tons of people working at the production level and other levels who won't be able to work because of this. Now I've really lost sympathy for the writers. It's great that they care about themselves, but what about everyone else? Bravo, writers, bra-f*cking-vo.

EDIT 2: Also, this is hilarious, mostly because it's true.
 
I think the strike is entirely justified, because of the direction things are heading and because the producers are being completely greedy. It's either do something now or suffer even more so down the line.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a press conference that he is "talking to the parties that are involved because I think it's very important that we settle [the strike] as quickly as possible, because it has a tremendous economic impact on our state." Nobody is sure where his sympathies would lie, but he certainly has strong ties to Hollywood, and a responsibility to protect the economy of California.
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Here's a chart showing the TV ratings for the major networks. Notice the decrease starting from 1988, when the last strike happened.

Primetimenetworkviewers0828.jpg



Some of you guys know of Damon Lindelof, one of the writers/co-creators/executive producers of LOST. He has this to say about the current strike:

In a 1,095-word op-ed piece for the New York Times, Lost cocreator/head writer Damon Lindelof weighs in on the WGA strike and "the guild's desire for a portion of revenues derived from the Internet." Lost, for example, "has been streamed hundreds of millions of times [on ABC.com], yet the writers get 'nothing' from the sale of surrounding ad content. We're also a hit on iTunes. Again, we get nothing."

Lindelof warns, "If this strike lasts longer than three months, an entire season of television will end this December," and any new series won't arrive until 2009. He describes himself as "angry because I am accused of being greedy by studios that are being greedy. [My] greed is fair and reasonable.... The studios' greed, on the other hand, is hidden behind... claims that they make nothing on the Web, that the streaming and downloading of our shows is purely 'promotional.'"

So is there any hope for resolution and a return to how things were a week and a half ago? "Things have gotten ugly," Lindelof opines, "and the lines of communication have broken down completely.... Perhaps it's not too late, though, for both sides to rally around the one thing we still have in common: our mourning for the way things used to be."
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SOURCE

I don't know why the networks are so hesitant about coming to an agreement. It's not like the writers are asking for much (apparently, the current WGA proposal was for writers to recieve 2.5% of a distributor's gross for new media sales and distribution). And if this strike ends up wiping out the 2008 season of television, going by the data in the chart above, the networks are only hurting themselves.



Finally, here's a link detailing the current status of some of your favorite shows: CLICK HERE FOR LIST
 
A True Canadian said:
quoted stuff
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It's not just the networks hurting themselves, the writers are hurting themselves too. The networks should give in, but the writers didn't have to strike. It goes both ways. This is not David and Goliath. This is Goliath and Goliath. It's not like it is individual writers against studios. It's practically all the writers against all the studios.

And as right as Lindeloff may be, he's hardly one of the poorer writers. Everyone involved is shooting themselves in the foot. The only thing is that the studios and their execs have a bit more to fall back on. They can weather the storm, but can the writers?

Like I said before, I support the principle, but I don't support the strike, because everyone's forgetting about the viewer, which is the only reason any of them have jobs.
 
Prison Break has now stopped and will continue in January. Great. As if the constant week breaks for some shitty sport or otherwise weren't enough to completly ruin the pacing of this series (seriously, I stopped caring about some parts of the plot simply because my excitement just... died down)
 
Some very disappointing news to pass your way:

Stephen Battaglio of TV Guide said:
With the Writers Guild of America strike entering its ninth day, network executives are now saying they don't expect a settlement until early next year. As of late Monday, there was not even a hint of the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, which represents the studios, returning to the bargaining table, as both sides are dug in on the issue of residual payments for DVD and digital distribution of programs.

"We're being told by our labor people that it won't be resolved before the end of the year," says one network executive.

There are also no signs that any of the late-night talk-show hosts will return to their desks without writers. Several network insiders said published reports about a scenario where substitute hosts fill in for Jay Leno on NBC's Tonight Show and Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien was unlikely. "It would be hard for any late-night host to go on without writers, but someone who's never hosted before?" said one exec. But the hosts will clearly feel the pressure to return as the staffs of those shows could be laid off after this week.
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SOURCE

Well so much for the 2008 TV season. Say hello to the resurgence of game shows and Reality TV.

And not only that, but it looks like Icarusintel was right about the mass layoffs that will result from this strike. The sackings will commence after this week if not sooner.

:|
 
I'll be pissed if the Scrubs series is never finished, but at the VERY least we'll get a script or episode release online or something from the sounds of what Bill Lawrence said.
 
Exactly what are they striking about? Hmm. Without writers, TV is shit. All of it.

I'm not that bothered since I rarely watch TV - and even if I did, I would simply take this as an opportunity to watch more old shows and films I've never seen before. There's a lot of them!
=
 
There's also "webisodes" like Battlestar Galactica's "Resistance" and "Flashbacks" or the mini-episodes of The Office that were produced and distributed via the broadcasting company's website. The websites to access them had a so-and-so long commercial ad that you can't skip, so while they (NBC, Sci-Fi channel whatever) make money off of it, the producers, writer, actors etc get no payment for them, because they're considered "promotional material" or some such.

Personally, I fully support the strike. Writers go pretty much un-appreciated in the TV industry and they get paid way too little for the amount of effort they put in.
 
Actors join the picket line:

When big names like Matthew Perry and Ben Stiller showed up, they were besieged by press, what appeared to be fans and perhaps an autograph hound or two, as well as fellow actors who just wanted to say hello. It quickly brought into focus the logistical hurdles a celebrity faces when trying to show support for a union at a picket line. At one point, someone said "Jack Black is over there!" And the whole throng of people moved like the changing of the tide towards the supposed "there."
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http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/835/835077p1.html
 
This sucks.

I don't see why it's so ****ing hard for Hollywood to just pay the ****ing writers 2.5% of their DVD/online sales.

God damn it, I want Heroes : Origins!
 
I say that all 7 billion of us potential reality TV actors and writers should strike. We're quite obviously getting a terrible deal.
 
It's been a while since an update, but some good news for a change.

Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Guide said:
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and WGA have agreed on a date to talk turkey... after having some turkey. The following statement was released late Friday: "Leaders from the AMPTP and the WGA have mutually agreed to resume formal negotiations on Nov. 26," aka after the Thanksgiving holiday (aka after the tryptophan has worn off and everyone is alert and perky again).

Let's all cross our fingers and hope that the remainder of the TV season can be salvaged and that we won't, in fact, have to rely on such fare as "My Father Can Beat Up Your 5th Grader." (Which, as I type it, actually sounds fun to watch. But you get my point.)
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SOURCE
 
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