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.
In short, kick the friggin' moneychangers out of the temple of the Self.
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
We all need a good tick dip, so we can all start fresh, parasite-free!
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.
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.
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]!?