Writer’s Strike Tuesday, Nov 13 2007
Razzle Dazzle 11:25 am
I’ve been wanting to learn more about the Writer’s Strike and what exactly the issues/terms/wants are and was just pointed to this blog by one of my students. It’s a frequently updated overview of what the impact of new media is upon the writers’ lives and an explanation as to why, in their words, they feel “a work stoppage lets the companies know how serious we are about getting a fair deal.”
Also, check out this short video to learn what it is the writers want and I think you’ll find that they aren’t asking for much!
November 19th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Great video. I’m going to have to forward this on to some of my friends!
One of the things this video didn’t mention about residuals is that sometimes they are just about all a writer gets from a production. The way writing contracts are set up is that you get paid an initial amount and then you get residuals for the movie and video/DVD rights. In my and my writing partner’s case the production company either did not or would not find a theater distributor so our movies went straight to DVD and download. So our big “pay day” that should’ve come with the theater release never happened and we get 4 cents for each video/DVD (and since the movies never made it to the theater that gets us each about $2 a year) and a whopping 0 cents for any downloads.
One of the things that I keep hearing on NPR that is beginning to irritate me are all these media critics suggesting that we show solidarity with the writers and turn off our TVs when the reruns start. In place of watching TV they keep giving out lists of things that people should rent/buy/download during the strike. Hello! The reason we’re striking is because we don’t get a fair share of the damn $$ from those things. That’s not solidarity. The studios will still be raking in $$ hand over foot while wrote it get anywhere from 0 to 4 cents a view.
For someone like me who does this type of thing on the side it’s not such a big deal–I eat no matter what (although during grad school some extra $$ would’ve been nice). But for those people who make a living at it–it sucks all around!