I'm not going to lie to you. I'm unhappy. I've been out of the country and/or away from home for three out of the past four weeks. I thought, I hoped, I prayed that at some point during my travels I would hear that the WGA (Writers Guild of America) and AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) had worked out their differences and that production on scripted television shows was going to ramp up once more. I was hoping to hear that everything had been solved in term for cast and crews to return to work come the beginning of the New Year.
Sadly, my wish did not come true. The groups haven't even talked to one another for more than two weeks. It's somewhat disgraceful. How will this get sorted out if they aren't even talking to each other?
Now, to be clear, I'm not putting the blame on any one side. Both groups have valid concerns. Neither group wants to make a bad deal and be stuck with it. Even so, shouldn't they be talking about their differences?
I'm beginning to feel like a teenager caught between two divorcing parents - each side keeps on telling me how the other is wrong. They refuse to talk to each other, but dad insists that if mom would only take out the garbage once in a while everything would be hunky-dory. Mom, on the other hand, wants dad to man up and do the dishes once a week.
Both parents, however, are only too happy to tell me that it's because of the other one that I'm not going to get my Christmas wish, that if the other one really cared about me they'd buy it for me.
The worst thing about it is that not only has this Christmas been ruined, we're rapidly ruining next Christmas too because no one is making deals for next fall's pilots.
Oh sure, some work is taking place. For instance, the AMPTP web page has this clever little ticker counting dollars lost due to the strike and a cute ad explaining how the average working writer makes more than a surgeon. The fact that corporations like GE, News Corp, Viacom, Disney, and Time Warner (the companies who produce the vast majority of television shows and movies in this country), and their executives do rather well seems to be missing from the ad. The WGA website, on the other hand, is quick to claim that 46% of writers didn't work last year (hence AMPTP using the "working writer" claim), and that the average writer's salary over a five-year period of employment and unemployment is $62,000.
Article comments
1 - tgpo
I thought the worldwide pants deal fell through.
2 - Saltire Flower
This is worse than no TV shows. What the hell am I going to watch at the Golden Globes? If it's two random dudes from My Name is Earl, it just makes the award show pointless and unwatchable.
3 - El Bicho
Read a book
4 - Josh Lasser
The Worldwide Pants deal did not fall through and watching TV does not preclude reading books.
5 - Alec
RE: Now, to be clear, I'm not putting the blame on any one side. Both groups have valid concerns.
Well, no. In the past, the producers said, "we don't know whether this video stuff will pan out," and then stiffed writers when video and DVD exploded. Currently, the producers are showing in various ways that they do not understand, and cannot control, future developments in technology. It would be very easy for the producers to agree to offer writers a percentage of future revenue streams and then work to make future streams as profitable as possible. However, not too long ago I listened to a producer on a local radio interview show claim that producers were responsible for the success of Apple's iPod. What does this tell you?
But this myopia is par for the course. There is a wonderful clip on YouTube of a rock singer being interviewed by a Cleveland TV host in 1968. The singer is asked whether he is worried that his group might be hurt because the AM Top 40 radio stations won't play his songs, and the record companies wont support him.
The singer says, no, he's not worried, because the new progressive FM radio stations are playing his stuff, and the hip listeners are behind him.
The group was Steppenwolf, and the song "Magic Carpet Ride." The video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM_cBS_k9aE
RE: The WGA reached an agreement with Worldwide Pants (Letterman's production company) and both the Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson are going to go back on the air with their full writing staffs. See, talking can make a difference.
There is more to it than this. Back in the 70s, Johnny Carson wanted to cut back his weekly stint on The Tonight Show to 60 minutes from 90 minutes. The Network suits gave him a hard time until he started mocking them without mercy in his monologues. They also realized that his show was responsible for 25% of the profits of the parent company which owned NBC at the time. They soon cut him a new deal and also gave him ownership rights over The Tonight Show.
When NBC made Jay Leno the host of the Tonight Show, they made sure that he did not own any parts of the program. By contrast, Johnny Carson was very fond of Letterman, even gave him his old Karnak costumes, and also imparted a little financial advice. When Letterman jumped to CBS, he made sure that his production company, Worldwide Pants, owned the show, and not the network. So Letterman and Craig Ferguson (produced by Letterman's company) were able to hammer out a separate agreement with the WGA and may be able to resume with writers while Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will still be without writers.
If producers weren't so intent on controlling every last dime, they might find that there is enough money for everyone.
RE: Think of the children.
Screw the children. They can watch reruns of past hits on Nickelodeon.
6 - cathy
what alec said!
7 - joaquin
Very interesting conversation.