The reasons why hollywood writers have gone on strike
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Stumble ThisA 4 minute video, clearly outlining just why it is that the writers have gone on strike in Hollywood.
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strike,hollywood,writers strike The reasons why hollywood writers have gone on strike
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bloodymario - did you have a direct hand in making 100% of your company's sales? Or even a demonstrably influential role in just one sale? and after that sale was made, does the company continue to get paid every time the customer uses the product? thought not, so clearly you wouldn't deserve a raise. have a problem with that? form a friggin' union and get on with it.
the point here is: since studios continue to profit from the intellectual property of the writers long after the work was originally created, then the writers deserve a reward for that. residuals are nothing new, writer's just feel that the current system is unfair to them. they have the leverage b/c studios can't produce without them. so let them strike, and when you can't watch the next episode of lost or prison break or whatever it is you like, i'm sure you'll start becoming a bit more sympathetic.
For example, software developers are usually paid either salary or via a one-time payment. If anything, software developers may have a stronger moral claim to the fruits of their labor. Writers of a sitcom are a part of a long chain, whereas software can often be attributed completely to a single person or team.
I wonder if we'll ever see a programmer's union... it's not like EA hasn't done their best to motivate one.
Isn't it amazing that these hucksters pull off having a "union" when there are literally thousands of unpaid writers (and actors) willing to take their place overnight, working for probably half as much money?
Bless youtube and cheap media equipment. Hollywood has maybe 30 years of dominance left, if that.
TV writers? Boo fking hoo. Try digging a ditch or carrying a rifle.
but it already does! how many remakes are there out there?
Either way, I have a lot of good buddies who are feeling the pinch from this strike, and my heart goes out to them.
this includes all the ancillary help, out of a paycheck or two, and without backup....
They'd be like those emergent grass roots metal bands that lose their drive and start pumping out homogeneous nu-metal garbage to a mainstream following.
Anyone have more info about writers and writing career?
I believe the writers have a valid argument. As they sold their intellectual property, they deserve a portion of the money made off of it. Sounds like the technology of today has allowed a loophole for the corporations that own this intellectual property.
Time to renegotiate and strikes are (unfortunately) one of the few effective ways of getting an industry like this one to listen.
Look at it like this: Say back in 2004, I owned the domain "Videosift.com" - I thought of it, I launched a site. Then I sell it to Dag. Does that mean I should get paid 2.5% of all the money that this site pulls in?
If somebody sells something, it's no longer theirs and they have no control over it unless it was clearly spelled out in a contract.
Just don't fuck with my Heroes.
Now, if writers - for WHATEVER REASON - gain a percentage on TV, then it's clear that they MUST gain the same with Internet.
With that said, there are many many artists/workers/whateverers on other areas, as someone else pointed out, that gain NO PERCENTAGE AT ALL, think of software developers, scientists, etc.
The thing that's unique about mass media, is that it can be reproduced as needed at very little cost in order to meet demand. When you pay $3 to download a TV show it's understood that it's primarily the CONTENT that you're paying for, not the (tiny) expense of copying it.
This puts creative professionals in a unique situation, they're selling an unknown quantity of their product. When a writer sells a movie script, they can't know if they're selling ten thousand copies, or ten million. That uncertainty is what makes it necessary to use residuals rather then a lump sum.
The only other fair way to handle it would be for writers to say "Here, I'll sell you 1 million licenses to use my work. If the show is a hit, come back and buy more from me. If you can't sell that many ... well, there's no refunds". This, of course, would just be stupid.