Writer's and Actor's Strike 2023: Aaaaand Scene...That's a Wrap!

[EzekelRAGE]

I can't believe the Knicks didn't just try to play Fournier at some point in this series. The lack of shooting on the floor is downright appalling.

Sir this is a Wendy's.

 

[Big Boss]

 

[Canada Goose]

I think that was always the case with broadcast channels getting lots of syndication but I don't know why. I don't understand why someone like USA wouldn't rerun Burn Notice, Mr Robot, Suits, Psych, or Royal Pains instead of Law & Order SVU all day everyday. If someone knows why let us know please.

Those shows I do see alot. Also add Chicago PD.

You can watch a random episode of SVU and understand what's going on as the plot is usually contained to one episode (one case is wrapped up in one episode) Can't do that with Mr Robot as you gotta watch it from S1 EP1 to understand the plot.

 

[jwinfield]

You can watch a random episode of SVU and understand what's going on as the plot is usually contained to one episode (one case is wrapped up in one episode) Can't do that with Mr Robot as you gotta watch it from S1 EP1 to understand the plot.

And Law & Order has a 30+ year history.

Even if you've never watched an episode, you know someone that's watched it, parent, co-worker, significant other, so it's easy to say fukk it, I'll watch an episode.

 

[steadyrighteous]

I think that was always the case with broadcast channels getting lots of syndication but I don't know why. I don't understand why someone like USA wouldn't rerun Burn Notice, Mr Robot, Suits, Psych, or Royal Pains instead of Law & Order SVU all day everyday. If someone knows why let us know please.

Those shows I do see alot. Also add Chicago PD.

I can't speak for the rest of the shows. but I'll use Burn Notice as an example

Burn Notice is not owned by USA, it was made by Fox and licensed to USA while it aired

In that era, and before that era, basically for most of media history, studios made shows and sold them to any and every network who wanted them. So Fox Television Studios and Fox the channel are separate entities. Fox Studios made Burn Notice, USA were pitched the show and aired it. USA made money while it aired from ad sales, Fox made its fees for having a show licensed by USA to air.

In order to air it again, it's not as simple as USA dusting off the DVDs and popping it in, they'd have to cut a deal with Fox, because Fox Studios owns it.

But slowly, mostly because of the streaming era, networks and studios have seen the benefit of owning what they air and airing what they own. When you own it, you put it where you want when you want (namely, on your streaming service) and don't have to pay anybody else shyt or have someone benefit from the popularity of a show that's technically yours.

So nowadays, people don't want to make stuff and then sell it to someone else. People want to own everything they make these days.

That's not even all of why its complicated, and I'm sure I've got some shyt wrong, but that's the long and short of it.

It's complicated

 

[the elastic]

AMPTP Hits Back, Making Its Case For “Generous” Contract Offered To The WGA

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers struck back today, providing answers to the WGA’s talking points about the failed negotiations that led to the ongoing writers strike, …

deadline.com

AMPTP Hits Back, Making Its Case For “Generous” Contract Offered To The WGA​

Here are the AMPTP’s positions on the key issues:

Mandatory Staffing and Duration of Employment
The WGA’s set of demands includes proposals regarding mandatory staffing and guarantees of employment. These proposals require studios to staff a show with a certain number of writers who will be hired for a specified period of time that may not align with the creative process. If writing needs to be done, writers are hired, but these proposals require the employment of writers whether they’re needed for the creative process or not. While the WGA has argued that the proposal is necessary to ‘preserve the writers’ room,’ it is in reality a hiring quota that is incompatible with the creative nature of our industry. We don’t agree with applying a one-size-fits-all solution to shows that are unique and different in their approach to creative staffing. Some writers are the sole voice of a show and others work with only a small team. The WGA’s proposals would preclude that.

Overall Numbers
The WGA claims that the companies’ most recent offer on minimum wage increases adds up to approximately $41 million per year. Based on information available from the pension and health plans, the companies’ offer on minimum wages is closer to $97 million per year. And that doesn’t take into account the additional outsized wage increases and residual increases that the companies have offered.

Wage Increases
The first-year general wage increase currently on the table is the highest first-year increase offered to the WGA in more than 25 years. In addition, the companies have offered to create an entirely new category of rates that will establish a new and higher floor for mid-level writers’ compensation.

Streaming Residuals
In the most recent contract (2020), the WGA negotiated a 46% increase in residuals for streaming programs to take effect starting in 2022. In many cases, writers have only recently begun to see these increases in their paychecks. Under the current formula for a one-hour series produced for Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, a writer receives $72,000 in residuals for one episode over three years. Over five years, that amount grows to $99,000, and then to $114,000 over seven years. The companies’ most recent offer further improves on these amounts.

The WGA’s proposal on foreign streaming residuals represents a 200% increase over current rates and treats foreign subscribers the same as domestic subscribers. However, subscription fees vary from country to country, and in many countries, the subscription fee is substantially less than it is in the U.S. Nevertheless, the companies have recognized the importance of foreign streaming and have offered to increase the residual. These improvements apply to all types of streaming programs, including all feature-length streaming programs.

The “Gig Economy”
The WGA claims that companies are treating television writers’ jobs as if they were part of a “gig economy.” But employment as a writer has almost nothing in common with standard “gigs” jobs. For one thing, most television writers are employed on a weekly or episodic basis, with a guarantee of a specified number of weeks or episodes. It’s not uncommon for writers to be guaranteed “all episodes produced.” Plus, writing jobs come with substantial fringe benefits that are far superior to what many full-time employees receive for working an entire year, including employer-paid health care, employer-paid contributions into a pension plan and eligibility for a paid parental leave program.


● Longer Employment: The WGA’s own published data shows that the median number of weeks of employment for a writer engaged on a streaming series is between 20 and 24. A staff writer engaged for 20-24 earns between $91,000 and $109,000 when paid at scale minimums. Writer-producers (the largest
category of television writers) earn between $150,000 and $180,000 when paid at scale for that period of time. These figures assume the writer is paid at scale, but frequently writers’ weekly fees regularly exceed these scale amounts. These figures also do not include residuals or any additional fees writers receive for
scripts. Currently, writers earn more than $28,000 for a half-hour script and more than $41,000 for a one-hour script.

● Benefits – Eligible writers participate in benefit plans that are the best in the industry.

● Pension Benefits: A writer only needs to earn $5,000 in a calendar year to qualify for pension benefits, and vests in the Pension Plan after earning only $5,000 per calendar year over five years.

● Health Benefits: Another important factor to consider is that a writer only needs to earn approximately $42,000 over the course of 4 calendar quarters to qualify for the WGA’s superior health insurance plan, which is free with no participant premium. To put it another way, a staff writer who works 8 weeks at the current weekly rate, or any other writer who works 5 weeks at the current weekly rate, will qualify for one year of free health coverage under the best health plan in the industry. (A writer will be able to qualify with even fewer weeks of employment under the companies’ most recent offer for outsized wage increases.)




● Paid Parental Leave Benefit: Any writer who qualifies for health benefits is also entitled to a paid parental leave benefit.

Artificial Intelligence
We’re creative companies and we value the work of creatives. The best stories are original, insightful and often come from people’s own experiences. AI raises hard, important creative and legal questions for everyone. For example, writers want to be able to use this technology as part of their creative process, without changing how credits are determined, which is complicated given AI material can’t be copyrighted. So, it’s something that requires a lot more discussion, which we’ve committed to doing. Also, it’s important to note that the current WGA Agreement already defines a “writer” to exclude any “corporate or impersonal purveyor” of literary material, meaning that only a “person” can be considered a writer and enjoy the terms and conditions of the Basic Agreement. For example, AI-generated material would not be eligible for writing credit.

Script Fees for Staff Writers
The WGA makes light of the fact that the parties have a tentative agreement to pay staff writers script fees on top of their regular weekly compensation. This is a proposal that the WGA has pursued for decades. The companies’ agreement to the WGA’s proposal means that a staff writer who writes an episode of a one-hour series will be paid an additional $42,000, which is the equivalent of 8 weeks of pay at the weekly rate and, by itself, enough to qualify for one year of health coverage and paid parental leave benefits.

Development Rooms
In response to the WGA’s concerns about development rooms, the companies agreed to introduce an entirely new payment structure for writers employed before a firm commitment has been made to produce a series. That offer included substantially increased minimum rates for those working in development rooms (from $10,798 to $11,554 per week in the first year of the agreement). In addition, the companies agreed to pay writers employed before a firm commitment has been made to produce the series a 15% premium on script fees and increase fees for a pilot script by 50% for high budget SVOD series.

Non-Dramatic Programs (Appendix A)
The companies’ offer to establish a minimum weekly rate for comedy-variety programs made for SVOD is unprecedented. The companies have never agreed to establish a minimum rate for this type of programming under any other collective bargaining agreement; the WGA would be the first.

 

[the elastic]

I really want the AMPTP to fully define what they consider the "creative process" and "creative nature of the business" is

They use those terms to chastise the WGA like we're all supposed to be in agreement on the definitions of those terms

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

so millie bobbi brown will be a divorced single mother by the time ST season 5 drops?

 

[VegetasHairline]

Why is there a writer's strike? It's not like these bozos come up with anything good or original. Everything is a remake or a sequel nobody wanted or asked for!

 

[Brandeezy]

I remember reading a comment from someone who was apparently a PA on Vampire Diaries. He said one day one of the staff writers was like "Hey, you know what we should add? A car crash, with a flip and explosion." Everyone agreed so they added an extra day of filming and the staff writer wrote the new scene. They ended up having to close 2 roads, have the police/firefighters/EMT on hand and do a bunch of stunt rehearsals. On top of that, it was raining and cold, and it took all night just to film that small sequence. The writer then said "Man guys, If I knew that it was going to be this complicated, I wouldn't have wrote this scene." The PA said he was very close to breaking his jaw on set

 

[steadyrighteous]

Why is there a writer's strike? It's not like these bozos come up with anything good or original. Everything is a remake or a sequel nobody wanted or asked for!

The writers aren't the ones who want to make sequels and remakes. The studios believe that any past IP has more value in the market than original ideas so that's what they commission. They dictate what gets made, not writers.

Original ideas are floating around all the time, but original scripts get writers in the door and then they ask them to repackage their original idea into an already existing IP or gtfo.

Writers hate the fact that the only things the people with the money want to make are remakes and sequels

 

[steadyrighteous]

I remember reading a comment from someone who was apparently a PA on Vampire Diaries. He said one day one of the staff writers was like "Hey, you know what we should add? A car crash, with a flip and explosion." Everyone agreed so they added an extra day of filming. They ended up having to close 2 roads, have the police/firefighters/EMT on hand and do a bunch of stunt rehearsals. On top of that, it was raining and cold, and it took all night just to film that small sequence. The writer then said "Man guys, If I knew that it was going to be this complicated, I wouldn't have suggested this scene." The PA said he was very close to breaking his jaw on set

This is also a part of the problem.

Mike Schur is a veteran showrunner and he explained that because of the current system, writers don't get to go on set after they write a script so they don't get the experience of how things actually work on the ground.

A veteran writer who knows the ins and outs of on set production would think twice before suggesting something off the cuff like the example you outlined. But these days writers don't get anywhere near the set so they do shyt like that and it costs time money and effort that isn't necessary.

 

[voltronblack]

I remember reading a comment from someone who was apparently a PA on Vampire Diaries. He said one day one of the staff writers was like "Hey, you know what we should add? A car crash, with a flip and explosion." Everyone agreed so they added an extra day of filming and the staff writer wrote the new scene. They ended up having to close 2 roads, have the police/firefighters/EMT on hand and do a bunch of stunt rehearsals. On top of that, it was raining and cold, and it took all night just to film that small sequence. The writer then said "Man guys, If I knew that it was going to be this complicated, I wouldn't have wrote this scene." The PA said he was very close to breaking his jaw on set

You mean they did not ask some kind of stunt coordinator to tell them all the work that would have to go in to make that scene happen

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

It's about to be a wrap on some of those Fall TV shows especially ones on the bubble once those reality TV ratings trickle in.

 

[steadyrighteous]

You mean they did not ask some kind of stunt coordinator to tell them all the work that would have to go in to make that scene happen

Because the way the system is set up the writers are cut off from the production, which means they are cut off from members of the production team and crew.

But one of the demands the WGA is currently negotiating for is to make it mandatory that the writer of a script has to be on set for the entire production of that script.

If the writer was on set every day, they’d be able to talk to a stunt coordinator who would tell them why it’s not a good idea, then they could go back to the room with the other writers to think of an alternative solution.