Writers Strike

[msg4real]

IS NOW OVER

 

ANY Thoughts?

[Chiggy]

The word 'pointless' comes to mind.. I dont live in the US and dont watch US Sitcoms. We get all the US shows years or months after in the UK, it just means we are going to have to wait a little longer.

 

If the Writers arent happy with what they get paid then I would suggest they find another line of work. From the material I have seen from these striking writers I dont particulary think they deserve more money from DVD's and streaming online video. I say give some of the new generation of writers fresh from university a chance and bin the older writers in favour of people with new ideas. Aferall thats how it works in the Marketing industry...........when your marketeers are dry of ideas you find new ones.

[GorunNova]

It isn't only 'old writers' that are in it.  I'd rather have an annoying union that occasionally goes on strike for possibly less than good reasons then have writers get screwed over by big media conglomerates.  I can see where the writers are coming from here... if the people they write for are getting a profit from online media they wrote and the like, it's only reasonable that they get a portion of that profit... it IS their work that the companies are making a profit off of, after all.

 

Also, non members can register their scripts with either the west or east guild for protection, so it's not as if they're useless to non-guild members.

[Chiggy]

If it is the these new writers also protesting then I suggest the media conglomerates seek out writers from other countries. I`m sorry but this whole writers strike does appear to us folks in the UK as something exclusive to the United States.

 

The fact of the matter is it is not the writers who have to gamble thousands of millions on their scripts being successful.

[Ulysses]

well if we all go by this strike, Im gonna go on strike coz of the company I work for making money on there website.....erm I think not....its simple...if you dont like it there are always other jobs if you dont move jobs then stop bitching about what you get paid lol

[GorunNova]

The fact of the matter is it is not the writers who have to gamble thousands of millions on their scripts being successful.

 

No... but without the writers, there is nothing to gamble on.  Besides, shouldn't writers get some of that money if the gamble pays out?  You can bet that without a union, the writers would get squat.  That's why there are unions in the first place... to keep people from getting exploited and discarded.

 

Ulysses: As for the website thing... did you make the website?  Were you paid for designing it?  If not, your argument doesn't hold.  These people wrote the words the actors speak, and created the scenes that the actors eventually play out.  They deserve some credit and compensation for that if those scenes and settings earn money.

 

ARE writers really as interchangeable as Chiggy suggests?  Would a show be the same if it were written by entirely different people?  Besides... it's not as if the writers make anywhere near as much as many actors do even with the union.

 

Would the new Battlestar Galactica be the same if Ronald D. Moore had been ditched in favor for some other writer, for instance?

[Ulysses]

The fact of the matter is it is not the writers who have to gamble thousands of millions on their scripts being successful.

 

Ulysses: As for the website thing... did you make the website?  Were you paid for designing it?  If not, your argument doesn't hold.  These people wrote the words the actors speak, and created the scenes that the actors eventually play out.  They deserve some credit and compensation for that if those scenes and settings earn money.

 

ARE writers really as interchangeable as Chiggy suggests?  Would a show be the same if it were written by entirely different people?  Besides... it's not as if the writers make anywhere near as much as many actors do even with the union.

 

Would the new Battlestar Galactica be the same if Ronald D. Moore had been ditched in favor for some other writer, for instance?

 

My point is part of my job ensures that some of the stock on that site is available so does that mean I should get a cut out of the sales ...erm not it dont.

 

My point is that when they start working they have terms and conditions for there employment which would state there pay and what they are entitled to just like any other job, if you decide you dont like it then you either go on strike or leave your job.

 

If I was freelance artist or something like that and produced a product that someone wished to buy, once I have sold it to them then my ownership or copyright of that item has gone. 

 

You stated about Ronald D Moore in favour of some other writer, the ownership of that franchise does not belong to RDM but probably Universal Studios or the orginal creator i.e Glenn Larson.

 

My point is these writers know what they write will be broadcasted does it matter if its on tv or over the internet?

[GorunNova]

My point is part of my job ensures that some of the stock on that site is available so does that mean I should get a cut out of the sales ...erm not it dont.

 

My point is that when they start working they have terms and conditions for there employment which would state there pay and what they are entitled to just like any other job, if you decide you dont like it then you either go on strike or leave your job.

 

If I was freelance artist or something like that and produced a product that someone wished to buy, once I have sold it to them then my ownership or copyright of that item has gone. 

 

You stated about Ronald D Moore in favour of some other writer, the ownership of that franchise does not belong to RDM but probably Universal Studios or the orginal creator i.e Glenn Larson.

 

My point is these writers know what they write will be broadcasted does it matter if its on tv or over the internet?

 

So... they're taking the strike option.  It's their right.

 

As for the Ronald D. Moore thing... I'm saying that the series would not be the same series if there were another writer.  Writers are not interchangeable, and are as valuable to a series or movie as the actors, imho.  Shows that play musical chairs with writers often go to crap quickly, in my experience.

 

Writing (books or scripts) doesn't work in the same way as graphic art does.  Writers typically get royalties depending on how much was made by their work, whereas graphic artists typically sell entire pieces to clients with no further payment.

 

It matters if internet distribution is not part of their current contract with their employer, which is the case here.  TV broadcasting is not the same as internet broadcasting, and the current situation is that they get money from revenues made by televised TV shows, but NOT if they're shown on the internet.  This means that the companies get advertising revenue without giving any royalties to the people who wrote the show that they would be paying if it were on TV.  This doesn't really matter if the company isn't making any money on online broadcast, but how many also broadcast pre-show ads when letting you watch them on their site?  Like TV, Internet broadcast gets ad revenue, but unlike TV the writers aren't getting royalties on it... hence, the strike.

 

A summary of why they were striking.  Other countries already have more equitable arrangements for royalties than the US has... hence, why they're striking in the US.

[Chiggy]

Ronald D. Moore going on strike, is like Ronald D. Moore getting a gun and shooting himself in the foot. The New Battlestar is his creation, does he really want to shut his own show down and deprive himself of any income at all......I think not.

 

Would BSG be better or worse if new writers were brought into the show? Thats a question we will never know the answer to until it happens and it probably wont.

 

Writers get paid for scripts and any additional consultation they give. No they should not get more money if one of their scripts become successful because they have already recieved a pay cheque for that script prior to production. Yes, they should get a pay rise if they are writing for a show which is constantly gaining popularity.

[Ulysses]

lmao well to be honest most of the people are over paid in the film industry and I also have a shite view of people that strike as it normally counter productive as when its over pay who ends up paying for it...yeap thats right US the consumer who work a damn load harder for alot less money just to line the pockets of the film & tv industry.