Writers Strike In Hollywood

[DudeAsInCool]

The New York Times takes a look at "Who Won the Writer's Strike?":\

Tony Gilroy, the writer and director of “Michael Clayton,” who was there as a nominee, argued that, while the strike had been punishing, it was clearly necessary.

“As writers and directors, we have our nose in the tent for real for the first time,” he said. “There are question marks about how it will be implemented, but there is no one who can argue that the strike was not necessary. We would never be in the position we are without it. Anybody who says the strike was a bad idea is dead wrong.”

It is equally true, however, that the strike was bad for writers in the short term. The delays caused by the strike prompted the studios to ask themselves a fundamental question about the need to finance all manner of pilots for a traditional upfront extravaganza followed by a traditional introduction in the fall. That system, fairly unchanged through the years, has historically been lucrative for writers.

In addition, "Some 70 development deals in which writers were essentially paid lucrative stipends to come up with shows that might not ever be broadcast are now gone, and they will not be coming back any time soon."

Read More

[DudeAsInCool]

Ars Technica also takes a look at the the new deal:

"Under the proposed three-year contract, the writers share of movies and televisions shows sold online would be doubled," the AFP reported. "For content streamed free over the web, writers will get a fixed payment of $1,200 per year for one-hour webcasts for the first two years, followed by two percent of any revenues earned by the distributor in the third year."

The agreement means that writers will get paid more for Internet streams and downloads, the two main points of contention. But while the deal was hashed out over the last three months, it may have done severe damage to the industry. We've already reported on the way that other media such as video games have been gaining at TV's expense during the strike (2K, would you kindly get cranking on a BioShock sequel?), but the Hollywood Reporter also notes a more direct cost: the strike has kept $2 billion out of LA's economy. That's bad news for the caterers, florists, and others who make their living on the margins of the entertainment business.

Read More

It could also be a Pyrrhic victory for the writers. As Michael Hirschhorn writes in this month's The Atlantic, the strike might be "a final, great battle royal over content profits at what might be the last moment when such profits are worth fighting over—like steel workers' strikes in the '80s." As digital downloads have cut the legs out from beneath the major label CD-sales machine, downloads and streams could pose the same threat to TV networks by making the show far more important than the network.

[DudeAsInCool]

Writers Vote To End Strike

As expected, the strike is over:

"A devastating, three-month walkout that brought the entertainment industry to a standstill ended Tuesday when Hollywood writers voted to lift their union's strike order and return to work Wednesday.

The move allows some TV series to return this spring with a handful of new episodes. It also clears the way for the Academy Awards to be staged on Feb. 24 without the threat of pickets or a boycott by actors that would have dulled the glamour of Hollywood's signature celebration.

"At the end of the day, everybody won. It was a fair deal and one that the companies can live with, and it recognizes the large contribution that writers have made to the industry," Leslie Moonves, chief executive officer of CBS Corp., told The Associated Press."

Read More

[method77]

can you please explain in one sentence what happened? Too lazy to read

[DudeAsInCool]

Due to being emotionally and financially fucked by previous deals with the MPAA on previous videocassette, cable and dvd deals, the writers vowed to strike this time over future internet revenues...and gained some ground.

[method77]

I mean who won now that the strike ended dude

[DudeAsInCool]

I mean who won now that the strike ended dude

The writers got some guaranteed revenues, but the membership and the studios lost a lot of dough during the strike. The jury is out as to how much of the audience they both lost.

The writers had to draw the line at the internet, because everyone believes that is where the future of tv revenues is going.

[DudeAsInCool]

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County officials were still working to tabulate the cost of the strike on the local economy. About $3.2 billion was the latest guess from Jack Kyser, the chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

Read More