The powers-that-be at the WGA (Writers Guild of America) met last night and called for a strike. The union was unable to reach a contract agreement with Hollywood studios as of midnight on October 31st. WGA leaders may decide today when their strike will begin. The announcement was supported by an an enthusiastic crowd at last night's meeting.So far, Hollywood writers are back at work today but union reps hinted that they might be asked to stay home from work beginning on Monday morning. Union leaders did say that there are some "back channel" negotiations happening so a strike could still be averted.
The Hollywood Reporter has an interesting little story about which networks are screwed if the writers do go on strike. Basically, FOX and ABC are sitting pretty. ABC made the unprecedented move of ordering 14 scripts for several series way back in May. ABC also has the most to lose because its new fall schedule is doing so well (Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Samantha Who?) that viewers may forget to return to those programs when new episodes begin airing again.
FOX is in the best shape because it has fewer hours to program, airs a bunch of reality shows, and can schedule American Idol for three nights a week. FOX also has six scripted series are ready to go for the midseason. The nail-biter for FOX is with 24, which is only two-thirds of the way through writing and filming of this season.
NBC and CBS are looking at having the least new programming on the air if the writers do strike. According to The Hollywood Reporter, CBS will be alright because its many procedurals do well in reruns and the network has a couple of un-scripted programs in the works. At NBC, reruns are also in order and the only new programming will come from Deal or No Deal unless the network can speed up production on American Gladiators.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-02-2007 @ 11:33AM
Scott said...
The studios and networks are going to get what they deserve. The writers get 4 cents for each DVD sold. No percentage, just 4 cents. Their contracts are completely outdated and unfair.
I've got TV show DVDs and my Netflix account to keep busy with. What I WILL miss is "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report". I have enough trouble when they're away for a week or two. I'll be having some serious withdrawal after that. They're the only shows that help make the news & the world we're living in tolerable.
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11-02-2007 @ 2:39PM
Oreo said...
You are wrong Scott. They get .3% per DVD set, that just happens to equal 4 sets. They want that doubled to .6% for DVDs.
The for online viewers they want 2.5%, 2.5 cents per dollar. The networks want .3%. The writer of the article thinks it will be 1.5%.
Talk about the networks being greedy! It's 4 whole more cents out of 10 dollars!
Take your time writers, I hope you fuck over the networks, but you know most will think it's the writers fault and not the networks.
http://www.unitedhollywood.com/2007/11/short-version.html
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11-03-2007 @ 12:28PM
Danielle said...
Does anyone know what this will do to The Office?
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