Can someone please tell me why the TV writers are on stike?!
Question: I still don't know why and I hate it!
Answers: I still don't know why and I hate it!
There's a good video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jC... explaining the issues, but it boils down to money.
The Writers Guild of America is on strike. WGA members are screenwriters for both movies and TV shows. For the most part screenwriters are not salaried, they get paid based upon the scripts they sell. Like novelists, actors and others in the industry, they make residuals. This means they get paid a small amount of money every time something they wrote is aired or sold - they get paid when the show goes into syndication or reruns, or if the movie is shown on TV. This money helps them get through periods when they can't sell scripts - it allows them to have a small income so they can juggle writing with one part time job instead of having to work three shifts as a barista to pay the bills and give up writing. The problem is that their contracts were last written in 1988, 20 years ago, and things have changed. In 1988 they negotiated a payment for DVD/VHS tape sales. When you buy a DVD, you generally pay around $20. Of that $20, four cents goes to the writer. This amount has remained unchanged for 20 years. The WGA wants it raised to eight cents. The studios have refused, saying that's too much money.
The second big issue is the internet. If you watch a movie or TV show on a site like ABC.com, where it's streamed and supported by advertising, or if you buy a movie or TV show via iTunes, Amazon Unboxed or other similar service, the actors get paid. The producer, director and studio get paid. The writer does not get paid anything, because the 1988 contract had no payment guidelines for internet distribution (primarily because it didn't exist at the time). The WGA believes the writer should get paid for this use of their work. The studios, which have told their investors that internet distribution will make them billions of dollars, has told the WGA that they don't know if they'll make any money at all on the internet, therefore they can't afford to give the writers a cut of the profits.
The writers don't want to be on strike, but they're trying to make sure they don't end up effectively taking a pay cut in the future, and that they don't get ripped off. The greedy studio heads are unwilling to pay them what they're worth; I think they believe that TV audiences are all morons who will watch whatever reality crap they throw at us.
They want more of the money from online viewing and dvd sales.
..because the guys in tuxedos aren't giving them enough money. watch the news.
They want a cut of internet sales for the shows they write, basically. When the last negotiated their contracts the Internet was not included because there was really no market at the time.
there on strike because they dont have many fundings or money to produce there shows!!!
my understanding is that they arn't being paid for the use of there intulectual property on the internet. Due to this being an ever increasing market they demand a portion of the profits derived from it's use.
The people on the other side of the table, in general, don't want to pay them.
I'm sure there other things and not everything is so cut and dry but that's the main sticking point to my understanding.
My understanding is that they are strike primarily because the networks are showing the programs on the internet with advertizing and are sometimes charging for downloading the programs without paying any royalties to the writers.
The bottom line is if the networks are making money from the internet, the writers want a chunk of it. Another issue is that by making the programs downloadable, it is taking away from DVD sales and rentals that the writers are getting a royalty on.
It's what I call the Barney syndrome. Barney told kids for years that they are "special". Everyone goes through life now thinking they are special, so they get their panties all up in a bunch when someone has the audacity to tell them that they are not special and that they are no different than anyone else. Writers are now throwing a temper tantrum because they think they are worth more than they are being paid. It's the same with every strike, from boxboys to sports figures. It's why we have garbage collectors making 35 bucks an hour while teachers make half that.
They aren't receiving the enough money as the work for. I mean when writers write the scripts it is the whole episode and in a season dvd they only get 8 cents of 49.99 dollars. SO they want more knowing that they wrote the whole thing.
Oh, please.. Me Again is an idiot.
Writers are striking NOT because they are being selfish or consider themselves more important than anyone else.
They want to be compensated for their work. People seem to forget that every word that EVERY actor ever utters whether it be in movies, TV shows, cartoons and commercial all come from writers.
And it's these same writers that create lines like "Say hello to my little friend," that idiots all around the world continue to regurgitate ad nauseum.
They should be compensated for the work they do.