Striking Out

The level of discussion here seems to be slipping below the waves. The producers and conglomerates are the rich guys any way you calculate it. The writers only have what they have now only because of the union. The industry conglomerates need to let go of a small portion of the megabucks they're planning to hoard when it comes to web distribution . Here's the fact: These writers are the golden geese who lay the golden eggs that enrich the studios' corporate coffers. (And enrich our lives with their unique ideas.) It's the ultimate stupidity to kill and eat golden geese!

The level of discussion here seems to be slipping below the waves. The producers and conglomerates are the rich guys any way you calculate it. The writers only have what they have now only because of the union. The industry conglomerates need to let go of a small portion of the megabucks they're planning to hoard when it comes to web distribution . Here's the fact: These writers are the golden geese who lay the golden eggs that enrich the studios' corporate coffers. (And enrich our lives with their unique ideas.) It's the ultimate stupidity to kill and eat golden geese!

As we all already know, there is certainly no business like show business. As Americans, we have the luxury of becoming anything we are capable of becoming??? and God willing, some of us may actually succeed. Yes, this may require some hard work and less bitching on our part. Regardless of our dreams and ambitions, if the talent isn???t there we won???t make it. Yes, I enjoy sitting down in front of the ol??? boob tube as much as the next guy after a hard day of actual labor, but I can think up half the nonsense the WGA pumps out in a workweek in a day. It???s nice going home and not hearing the noise pollution rattling out of the television. I???m a daydreamer. I always have been and always will be which proves to be quiet promising these days. It???s alarming when our social order falls apart due to the fact the latest episode of ???who slept with who??? isn???t readily available. Boys and girls, I could wade through our gene pool.

Well, everybody can say whatever they want about whoever they want. People who write shows work just as hard as those who do physical labor... blah blah... But the simple fact is, no one gets paid what they think they're worth. But we still have to go to work. I feel for the writers that they feel they deserve more, and maybe they do. I also feel a lot more for the people this strike is putting out of work who get no benefits once it's over. I know plenty of people who are getting used to not watching TV and some have decided not to go back. The Golden Globes didn't make nearly the impact you think it did. If it wasn't for reading it in the internet I would've never known what happened with it. No one in my office cared, no one I've spoken to cared. I miss my shows, but to see how rediculous people can be makes me not care if my favorite shows ever come back on. I've gotten used to them being gone and what-do-you-know? Life does go on without TV!!!! Who would've guessed. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise for people to get their butts away from the TV and get to know their families again. Or get to the gym, or take up a hobby! You'd be surprised how much we don't need TV. The only left who care anymore are the people fighting about it. The general public has lost interest.

leighjamesleigh, you may be a writer, but you are not much of a proofreader. Also, you obviously don't know much (if anything) about the life of a Hollywood writer. You are just some bitter person who can write articles for the AMA newsletter and thinks you are so awesome at that gig that a good screenplay would be a snap.

Making it in Hollywood does take a lot of luck, but it also takes a lot of hard work. Some people do the hard work, but I know plenty who washed out because they did not. I'm damn tired of people like you who sit in your cubicle in some suburban office park, pass judgment on an arena for which you have no facility and a town you do not know, and play the whole "wa-wa Hollywood people don't know about real people" card. This is why people on the coast refer to the rest of America as flyover country: because whiny, deluded, bitter failures like yourself make it an enormously unappealing place to ever spend any time.

P.S. As someone who's had ample up-close involvement in issues the columnist spoke about, I would disagree with those here who've questioned his level of understanding. He makes sense to me.

I have worked in Hollywood since 1982 on both production lines and in business end. I just can't type very well... But I think I have a pretty informed view. There are a lot of people suffering right now- neither side gets much empathy from me at this stage though initially my support was for the writers. I think they need to regroup and approach negotiations with more flexibility. Easy for me to say, I realize.

The idea that every writer in the entertainment business is making a lot of money, or that it's always fun, it naive. People get the silliest ideas from Entertainment Tonight. If a writer is doing as well as Alan Ball -- winning Oscars, getting a TV series on -- you might see his face. If he's struggling, or just doing middling,, you won't. People have to THINK a little, not just assume that whatever they read about is all that is. If you have a romantic idea of Hollywood or New York, don't impose it on the people who actually work there, and who know how unromantic it actually can be.

Seth- You are in LA LA Land if you think that your job is more physically demanding and hazardous than many blue collar professions. Opening your mind and getting real will only enhance your writing output. Please do ti.

Those poor writers, making a lot of money for having a fun job with benefits and numerous perks is really tough. They need more money, they deserve it. Actually, none of you in the entertainment arena deserve the ridiculous amounts of money you're paid. Try working in the real world for one week like any working class or middle class *** who works like a dog, is usually offered no benefits and barely makes enough to life in today's poor economy. There are a million talented writer, I'm a writer too, and myself and others were never lucky enough to make it into the industry. And it is luck. You're all spoiled babies. R. Nourse, RN, CCRC, medical writer, medical protocol writer

Hire permanent replacements? Yeah, Aaron Sorkin is so easy to replace. That just shows how ignorant people can be. If you think good writing is so easy, try writing a movie or a tv series. And if you think it's hard, what makes you think that thousands of equally talented non-union writers are willing to accept these positions without any union to protect them and without reasonable compensation? The producers are stupid, but not as stupid as the people who just say "hire scabs."

I think it's time the studios started doing like other businesses when their employees go on strike....Hire permanent replacements!

You have got to be kidding me with the position you take on this issue. Despite whatever "cushy" ideas you have about the jobs that working tv/film writers do, the fact remains that they are laborers at the mercy of massive multinational capitalists. Regardless of whether it's a long day at the rock quarry or a long day in front of a computer screen, all workers want fair and equitable pay for the jobs they do. Why should the corporate profiteers, no matter the industry, be allowed to enjoy all the spoils? They way our neoliberal economy works today, it is demeaning to pit workers in various industries against each other. Rather the striking writers should serve as an example of solidarity for the fortunate few who are still represented by unions in this country.

Furthermore, awards shows in the past have always been about celebrating cinematic and artistic achievement. It did not used to be about red carpet fashions, marketing, and glorified self-promotion, which is what shows like the Golden Globes and Oscars have essentially become. The decision to change the format of the Globes to a news conference so that it can still be aired, rather than foregoing the broadcast so that the awards ceremony itself can proceed as planned only confirms this very fact. NBC, instead of taking the high road and canceling the broadcast, chose to be greedy and deprive the nominees of an opportunity to share in an industry celebration. Of course, that's to be expected given that they could care less about television and film and instead are only focused on commerce.

The actors aren't attending the Golden Globes because many have publicly stated they do not want to cross the WGA's picket lines, lest they not receive the writers' support of their own union when it negotiates its next contract with the AMPTP. It has nothing to do with the reasons you stated. As for the Globes themselves, the show is essentially a promotional tool for the movies and TV shows they honor. Why would the writers help the companies they are striking to promote more sales of productions that the producers don't want to pay them for?

Finally, please do not compare yourself to TV and film writers. It's apples and oranges. Entertainment industry writers work in a completely different environment. Their work is used in completely different ways than that of an entertainment reporter at Newsweek. I'm not going to sink to the level of the name-calling I'm seeing on this board, but I'm disappointed you don't have much understanding of the issue you're covering. You do a disservice to your readers by explaining the strike in such a flip and incomplete manner, and you call your own motives into question.

Josh... No wonder you do what you do and we do what we do. You're an idiot. Letterman owns his shows, Leno does not. Why aren't you asking the question - Why doesn't NBC make a deal with the WGA so Jay can make his show with his writers? It's always about the WGA and who they will or will not give a waiver to. Why is it never about the congloms when you idiots write a piece. You make the case for the blue collar guy who wants to watch "Two and Half Men." Why not pound Les Moonves for being the reason that show is dark instead of the WGA? Oh, yeah... We're the one's who called the strike.

As for Dick Clark... Don't be a douchebag and pretend you don't get it. High profile events like the Globes bring this strike to the fore-front of the public. They want to see the celebs and pretty dresses. We need to make sure that they know about this strike and our soladarity with our SAG bros and sisters. The Globes aren't happeneing, the public gets a huge awareness and NBC loses 20 million in ad revenue. Again, why don't you bash NBC for not making a deal with the WGA so the Globes can go on? Is it because Newsweek as of 2002 has a huge deal with NBC with regards to your online presense with nbc.com and msnbc.com? You're a fake and a mouthpiece for the congloms... You know it, everyone knows it. It's sad that you call yourself a writer.

Dear Josh, you are yet another mistaken pundit who doesn't have a clue about the players or the situation you are writing about. So you think it's harder to do physical labor than it is to write a movie or television episode? Yeah, we have "cush" jobs? YOU COULDN'T BE MORE WRONG. Writing of any kind is stressful. Being a screenwriter here in Los Angeles is incredibly stressful. The pressure the studios and networks put on writers is crazy. And the thing babout most physical labor is that whoever does it, the results are nearly always uniform. Automobile factories churn out makes of cars that are exactly the same. But when you hire any screenwriter, or for that matter, director or actor, each of these artists does their creative task differently than any other person who could have been hired for that job. Another thing you don't have a clue about is how screenwriters are treated in
Hollywood. People who do physical labor, in fact people who work at almost any job anywhere, get a paycheck shortly after they do their work. But not screenwriters. We generally get paid three or four months after we have completed our work..
There might be 300 people working on a movie, all drawing a paycheck every two weeks, and the writer whose script they are shooting hasn't been paid yet. This is STANDARD INDUSTRY PRACTICE. You're killing yourself writing a script for for some huge movie... And you've never been more broke. Pretty cush, huh?
j

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/8/185438/7845/186/433066

RON PAUL'S RACIST NEWSLETTERS REVEALED. and he ADMITS IT!

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/8/185438/7845/186/433066

RON PAUL'S RACIST NEWSLETTERS REVEALED. and he ADMITS IT!

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/8/185438/7845/186/433066

RON PAUL'S RACIST NEWSLETTERS REVEALED. and he ADMITS IT!