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I know this is a tanget, but... who in the world is still buying DVDs of TV shows? I can understand movies, but how many times do you really need to watch an old season of Desperate Housewives? TV shows are why you get Netflix.

I don't and never will do Netflix, so count me in the 'buying DVDs' contingent.

Really? Why not? Moral opposition or collector's impulse?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Understood. I was a collector until I realized that over half of my sizable DVD collection is still in its original shrink-wrap.

Ha, I only have a few like that. Mostly it's that, if I want to watch something, I don't want to have to wait until it arrives in the mail.

It is interesting that nobody on this site wants to ever really discuss the strike, though.

I would guess because not many people really have more than a passing knowledge about the issues.

I think it's because the people here are often either critics/journalists (not affected) or people on the production end (lips shut).

i buy series (and yes, i have the shrink wrap ones collecting dust). i buy mostly shows from other countries though. and it's fun to watch episodes back to back to back. right now i'm into "davinici's inquest," a canadian show made in the late 90s. and like jeff, i'm obsessive/compulsive. have to watch from beginning to end. i can't just jump into the middle.

as for no strike talk, that's easy. david seemed to brook no deviation from his own opinions (ie he believes writers would not have been locked out, but gives no reason for this and there are a few compelling for the AMPTP to do so after mid-march). i got tired of beating my head against a brick wall a long time ago.

I'm too livid to discuss it.

I'm disgusted by the writer's arrogance and the fact that when we'll all go back to work we will step into a decimated industry.

No matter what Working AD says, reality is, whatever the writers (and anybody alse getting residuals) will get more, it will be taken out of the BLT's pockets.

And that's the unfortunate truth that nobody wants to admit.

And how do you figure that?
Decimated?

although unintentional, that's probably the right word. reduced by one tenth fits the bill.

looking at the network's development chart, we're probably only going to get about a tenth of the pilots that would've been made.

hend you are saying two different things, the first paragraphs says that the industry will be reduced by 10% and the second says that pilots will be reduced by 90%.

I've never particularly cared for discussing the strike because a) I'm not that knowledgable about it, b) I'm torn on what I was knowledgeable about and c) I have other things to think about other than the strike, which isn't even in my own country and a strike, which we all knew would be resolved at some point.

Oh and on the matter of DVDs of TV shows I buy them from time to time. Mostly it's shows that I know have rewatchability. Sitcoms like Friends, Golden Girls, Futurama, Arrested Development and drama shows that I just love so much I could watch over and over like Twin Peaks and The Closer.

I haven't been buying regular DVDs much at all, lately. Just the occasional one that I know I'm going to watch. Unlike about half of my collection which is filled with completely random stuff that I like well enough but have never had the desire to ever want to watch again.

pat:

yup, saying two different things. about two different things. the industry as a whole and the smaller portion of it that is pilot season.

Why unintentional? That's exactly what I meant.

There will be less pilots in production, tons of crew jobs will be disappearing; the number of scripted shows, therefore union jobs for crew, will diminish too.

Plus, in features, schedules are going to be shortened, more productions will be out of LA to save money, since profit
participations and residuals to be paid will be grown.

Sure, that was the trend already, but now, because of this bloody strike, it's been accelerated.

So thanks so much writers, the extra crumbs in your pockets are costing our livelihood.

It's easy for outsiders to embrace the rhetoric idea that writers deserve their "fair" share. It's what happens when you don't have the bigger picture.

Do you think the extra money to be paid will come from the studio's pockets? Think again. The pie is what it is. Bigger piece for ATLs, smaller for us.

But who cares, right? We're just road kill.

If you want to blame the writers you also have to blame the producers. It's a two-way street.

And you know, IATSE can also strike too.

The producers? It's their money. They are expected to do what they are doing.

Some people fail to understand that once entertainment will migrate to the internet there will be the end of big paychecks.

Killing the cow that gives you the milk (in advance) is stupid.

So we can blame writers for wanting more money, but we can't blame producers (or ourselves) for the same thing?

wanting more money is not wrong.

wanting more money and damaging your brother to get it, it is.

I disagree with you.

I guess we're not ready for the macro questions quite yet...

The sad part of it, David, is that the comments here have actually been quite reserved and polite, particularly when compared to the stuff flying at UH and at Nikki Finke's gossip blog.

I have to again disagree with BTLine in that the additional residuals that come out of this deal will be coming from new revenues, and as the older revenue streams slow down, the newer ones will pick up. But I agree with him/her in that there will be economic consequences in the short and long term for this strike. I just got a call from a friend who works on Heroes, who had just read the item in the Reporter that his/her job may have just disappeared until July, even if the other shows come back right away. And there will certainly be fewer pilots this year and from now on. I've also heard the possibility that the number of staff writers on TV series may get reduced by the studios as well. And I tend to doubt that many of the deals that got cancelled due to force majeure will be brought back.

I continue to hope that the moderate members of the WGA will take an honest look at what gets presented to them this weekend. If it's a fair deal, and it appears to be one, then there really is no advantage to staying out for another five months in the hope of another couple hundred dollars on streaming residuals. Yes, the deal won't have reality or animation, and it won't double the DVD residual rate. Yes, the deal was patterned from the DGA deal. But the bottom line really should be, does the WGA deal as presented work for the moderate majority of its membership?

I also fully expect that several members will take the leadership to task over the health care fiasco. (And that's a source of pressure that's far stronger than anyone is currently admitting.)

What's most remarkable to me, WAD, is that when I suggest to working writers I know that the tone at NikkiVille is even the minority position, they continue to deny that this attitude even exists.

I think they are wrong. I think there is a group of hysterics and like the extreme right wing, they are louder than others. But I do think that they are a minority and that this deal, which as you say, will not have a lot of room for positive movement, will get approved.

If it doesn't, somehow, I suspect that there will be no "3 more weeks of negotiation" position. If this effort fails, I would expect AMPTP to retreat again... until SAG.

As I have said for a while now, there is no satisfactory answer for the riled up members after all this endless hate speech about AMPTP. Even getting exactly what they asked for in November would be too little to feel victorious.

Of course, Nikki's "the DGA is a shitty deal" ranting is strategy from the person planting it. And now, as that template becomes the deal, Nikki is backing off and others are writing about how WGA is changing the deal... DUH! It was never going to be the same exact deal. Anyone who had any concept of things knew that before the DGA deal was done.

Anyway... I would love to think that just a little harder push from WGA would change the dynamics of the deal. But that's not reality. Never was.

Moreover, if the membership was to reject a deal offered by the Negotiating Committee, the question would become, "Who is in charge?"

And who is probably least pleased with a deal getting done? Alan Rosenberg, who gets cornered if the WGA and DGA deals are done.

Nikki has been downplaying the merits of the deal because she wants the strike to go on forever. It has made her an internet sensation, the queen of the new media Hollywood journalists. But when it's over, she goes back to simply being crazy Nikki.

The "writers" who would vote no on this deal are loud but small in number. They have praised Young and Verrone from day one... and now they want to portray them as surrender monkeys. Give me a break. The deal isn't great but it's the best the guild is going to get unless... well, unless what? They strike forever? They blow up this town and the guild so they can have an identity other than an out of work writer?

Ain't gonna happen.

i agree. this is the last chance til july and SAG.

that's the problem with demonizing a side. sooner or later, a deal must be struck and then you have to convince your constituents that they may not be so bad.

p.s. still not convinced rosenberg and hollywood board won't push for a strike, even if both WGA and AFTRA settle.

I fully agree that Nikki Finke's behavior during this situation has been abominable. I really hope people remember the very negative role she has deliberately played when she attempts to rewrite the history either in her column or in the book she'll eventually peddle. The fact is, she's spent most of the strike posting gossip and rumors, usually intended to embarass and anger the moguls. And the strike has certainly boosted her readership, so I agree that she's not going to be overjoyed to lose the status she thinks she's gained once everyone goes back to work.

And I agree that the consequences of snubbing this offer will be a strike/lockout that extends all the way to the summer, by which point the damage done to all the guilds will be fairly extensive.

I'm not convinced that SAG is prepared to go on a protracted strike. Given that they haven't even prepared for their negotiations, much less begun organizing for pickets, it seems more likely to me that they've been waiting on the sidelines to see what deals the other guilds get before putting forth their own strategy. Rosenberg and Allen's unfortunate comments about the DGA deal only underlined this. And Michael Apted easily batted away their complaints by contrasting their dismissal of the deal with their admission that they didn't really know what was in the deal.

Working AD:

you see their lack of preparation as a sign they won't strike. i see the opposite. that they are willing to comment on a deal despite their ignorance of what is in the deal is indicative of acting first, thinking later.

if WGA deal is even slightly better, that sends the signal to SAG that striking will at least getting them moderate gains.

"...is indicative of acting first, thinking later.

if WGA deal is even slightly better, that sends the signal to SAG that striking will at least getting them moderate gains."

Absolutely.

Rosenberg seems like a crazy horse fretting behind the gate waiting to open for the race.

Fasten your seatbels, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

If Rosenberg and Allen take SAG out on strike without any preparation, the result could be as much of a disaster as the Commercial Strike or the infamous 1985 WGA Strike. A good chunk of the SAG membership seems convinced that these guys are totally disorganized, and pulling a move like this would completely backfire on them.

i didn't say it wouldn't be a disaster.

and, yes, a good chunk is against the leadership. of course, a good chunk is for them too (hence getting elected and re-elected). the two sides are very polarized against each other.

Actors are feeling ansy:

"To: Alan Rosenberg and Doug Allen
Re: Screen Actors Guild Negotiations

Given the hardships that so many people in our
industry have endured over the past several months, it
is my strong belief that the Screen Actors Guild needs
to proceed as soon as possible with the negotiation of
a new agreement with the AMPTP. The employment of any
actor past June 30th is currently non-existent because
no production entity will risk shooting after the
expiration of the current contract. This situation is
preventing potential employment for an exorbitant
number of individuals, not only actors, but the
thousands of others whose livelihoods depend on the
film and television business. We must try to
circumvent this problem and attempt to resolve this
situation sooner rather than later. If an agreement
cannot be made, I can understand the need to support
our union, but why wait? I implore you to start now.

Sincerely,"

BTLine:

my understanding is that letter is not coming from SAG membership. it's being sent by people affiliated to the industry to SAG members to try to raise support against a strike. i got a copy this morning urging me to pass along to any SAG members i knew.

you are right.

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