WGA Strike: How Things Have Changed

Speculation about the WGA strike, when it will end and how, seems like such a waste. An understandable one, but a waste nonetheless. What's important is understanding how things have changed.

Corporations that once controlled so much of the movie, television and record industries could afford to lavish their talent, craftspeople and themselves with generous, if not mind-boggling, compensation. When three networks called all of the shots, when movies were made with more of an eye toward content than marketing, when popular music uplifted the soul rather than deadened it, it seemed that everyone was paid a lot of money, from the grips to the drivers to the stars to the studio heads.

However, when Bruce Willis was paid $5 million for a movie, things began to change. We entered a period wherein everyone wanted, and got, more. You knew that things were distorted when agents started getting rich. Not the owners of the agencies, not the Norman Brokaws on the scene. Regular Ten Percenters began making seven figures. That was a big change. Once agents saw salaries rise and their own income potential with it, the old school practices of developing clients began to die. If you want to get repped by a good agency today, you have to walk in the door printing money.

Willis' salary seems modest by today's Hollywood standards, and that may be the problem. The writers deserve a piece of the digital pie, but how much? How much do any of the elements who work in the industry deserve, management included? There will always be bidding for services of stars, great directors and gifted writers. But does the suit who follows the fashion and signs the $20 million star also deserve $20 million?

Pressures to maintain high salaries, industry-wide, in such diverse sectors as commercial aviation, entertainment and automobiles are taking their toll. I predict that in the next ten years, a major auto manufacturer or a major airline or a major television network will fold. Perhaps, one of each. In the meantime, the Writer's Guild needs to replace their negotiators and now. The AMPTA does not give a damn about what is on the screen or what happens off of it. The men who run Hollywood now do not call the shots. The Jeff Zuckers and Brad Greys of the world ultimately answer to men who do not even live in Los Angeles. They live on yachts or in the clouds. They don't know how painters and costumers are suffering, because they've never met one. Get rid of Verrone. And try to have a Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday/Happy New Year.

Read more about the strike on the Huffington Post's writers' strike page.

Comments

[SILVANUS]

I frankly wish Hollywood would fall in the frigging ocean. I don't watch TV and the only films I watch are made abroad or by persons like the Coens who can work independently. And if Everyman suddenly didn't have anything to watch, perhaps it would be a more creative and dynamic country where "music that lifts the soul" reigns again instead of corporate, manufactured cynical porn-rock and thug crap.

In short, kick the friggin' moneychangers out of the temple of the Self.

[slgalt]

Since you haven't got a clue, and I assume you would never actually read these comments, I will leave these facts for those who may not fall prey to the AMPTP propaganda.

Verrone isn't even on the negotiating committee, here's a list of the members and the link to their bios:

http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2352

John F. Bowman, Chair
John Auerbach
Neal Baer
Marc Cherry
Bill Condon
Carlton Cuse
Stephen Gaghan
Terry George
David A. Goodman
Carl Gottlieb
Susannah Grant
Carol Mendelsohn
Marc Norman
Shawn Ryan
Melissa Salmons
Robin Schiff
Ed Solomon

[bettersaid]

A lot of people not in the entertainment industry are watching this strike. Did everyone forget that strikes are hard? That nothing that we get where the people at the top have to give up something is ever just given. I trace the problem back to the eighties where a lot of college educated people thought we didn't need unions and believed in the trickle down theory of economics. Along the lines of, if the business makes money, everyone will make money. Somehow, the businesses have been making money and cutting back on benefits and salaries too. We need to squeeze back. Unions are needed.

[splashy]

Yes, the parasites have really latched onto the producers of products in our society (and in many places in the world, for that matter). They contribute nothing, but are trying to suck the hosts dry, not realizing (or not caring) that they are killing them.

We all need a good tick dip, so we can all start fresh, parasite-free!

[JaseAllen]

If the writes are going to make more money, can we expect more of them? Frankly, I stopped watching most TV and movies years ago. One can only take so much the same old jokes served up on copy-cat TV programing and rehashed, remade, and over sequelled movies.

[slaughterhouse]

It is a tempest in a teacup by any real measure. This lament of the Eloi falls silent on the ears of the Morlocks.

[divadarya]

Thanks, Alec.
I'm very much committed to cause of organized labor, but note the word "ORGANIZED". I agree with you, Verrone is nuts and has no idea how to negotiate. I hope for all of our sakes that DGA sets the pace and Alan Rosenberg and your leadership can make a decent deal. I'm just afraid that next year's TV season is screwed no matter what happens now.

[hopeless277]

Would that the military had a union.

[arvo]

I think we've all lost sight of the fact that this is not simply a war against writers, but a continuing of the war against organized labor as a whole. We sell out and abandon the writers at our own risk.

[TedKamp]

Alec, I like the fact that you point out that the AMPTA doesn't care what is on the screen. To me, that is the key point in all of this. The agents, executives, managers and lawyers simply make a fortune on each deal they do, week in and week out. Once that deal is done, they bank their money and move on to the next deal. Anything that happens with any production is pretty much an afterthought. They will keep doing this until it all collapses because is is working for them, the handful of people who are getting incredibly rich from this lucrative industry. This strike is the first attempt to interrupt this process. I have no idea if it will succeed.

[wrabbitt]

The greed of "Hollywoods" royalty, will cause the strike to end sooner or later. Although I sadly think that the goals will not be reached by the writers. As the source of fame for some lackluster want to be actors,writers are the unremembered talent in any movie. At the Awards ceremony the odds of hearing "thank yous" to our writers, is small. I was guilty of thinking that the writers were the greedy part of this mess, But, between the agents,and Prima-donna actors, the pie has been cut,with no room for the real talent. Without a good story, you might as well let the Muppets star in the movie. At least they only have one face!

[morris1030]

again, a good mediating group is needed asasp.

strike loses momentum if nothing concrete appears to happen and if actual change in negotiations don't occur. public must be engaged for strike to succeed but public must feel union is doing their share to mediate.

this is not the 40's.

[JPWinnon]

I think both sides are going at this the wrong way. The model should change. There are quite a few movies that do not even break even (profit = cost) in movie theaters. However, the profit is made in the DVD sales -- 5 to 10 times the profit is made versus the cost of production.
With HD-DVD, Blu-Ray DVD, DVD, (one could include VHS; but that's almost entirely gone), iTunes, Apple-TV, Netflix..... the list goes on. Companies are making a lot more off of movies and content in the after-market digital media sales. That's a fact.
Family Guy was actually brought back to TV due to the after-market digital sales phenomenon. Futurama is being brough back to TV also! That is triggered by the digital sales, people.
The WGA is right. They are not getting paid for the digital sales.
I think the best way is to set up a new model.
Treat the work like a corporation and divvy up the stock accordingly.
Now, when the work gets released, the amount earned is based on total sales (on TV broadcast, movie, DVD sales, internet sales). That amount is then redistributed back to the stock holders of the work.
If the work is good, everyone makes money.
If the movie is a flop, everyone loses.
If the work is a phenomenal success, everyone walks away with bazillions!
While that suggested model is the most fair and has the potential of creating a millionaire out of a grip, I doubt either side would ever agree to it. I mean, it works for major corporations like Microsoft and Google.... and even worked for the movie Star Wars. How could it work for them[the WGA and AMPTA]!?

[pizzmoe]

All the writers are asking for is their fair share. Doesn't seem like too much to ask. The suits don't care, since they think they can air American Idol 24/7, but even fans of that crap will tire of it.

[mellene]

The writers need their share. Get it to them and get this strike over. The entertainment business like pro sports is so over-paid anyway, what's a few more bucks to the writers. The stockholders won't notice, but the guys at the top earning the mega bucks might have to eat a little less caviar and (maybe more crow).