Comments on: WGA and AMPTP lift press blackout, but still no deal

By: GW

GW — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:59:33 +0000

“The entire value of the New Economic Partnership will deliver more than $130 million in additional compensation above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year,”
Sounds like millionaires fighting with millionaires. Too bad there are 150,000 working people out of work that will NEVER see a penny of residuals or any chance to recoup this Holiday sason. The writers are still getting paid residuals today, even as they walk the picket line demanding more. This without any risk or financial accountability to the products actual profit or loss.

By: Wowzers

Wowzers — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:02:24 +0000

Meredith44 – They DO GET THEIR FAIR SHARE! Not only do they get the scale that is posted BUT they get character payments for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER THEY CREATED, they get paid a program fee for each episode they write AND they also get a reuse/recap for any footage used in future episodes! SO that add’l $6k is the extra $$$ they get on top of scale! I’ve always supported union strikes but this is ridiculous!

By: Meredith44

Meredith44 — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:16:55 +0000

Yes, the writers make a decent amount of money, but that shouldn’t preclude them from getting their fair share of all revenue derived from their work. I am not happy about the strike, but I think that everyone who has a creative stake in a product should derive revenue from that product. Authors get paid every time a book of theirs is sold, musicians get paid when someone buys their songs, writers should be paid when people view their works. As far as quality goes, first of all, it shouldn’t matter. Second of all, how long have you been watching television? I think this is a time of very high quality on tv. I might not like everything offered, but there are some really amazing shows out there.

By: J C

J C — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:04:17 +0000

I say screw the writers. Most of them are arrogant elitists anyway. Only a few of them are worth any money i.e. the writers of Lost, The Office, CSI, House, and a few other shows. Most of the writers work for crappy shows like Law & Order, or Without a Trace.
Everyone talks about how great these writers are. What about the people that have been put out of work from this strike? The stage workers like the key grip, or the sound guys, or other ppl.
The only thing I care about is how much the good shows will be effected, such as Lost. Other than that I will enjoy a far better medium of Entertainment, Games. So while all these strikers are whining to the press, I’ll be having a blast playing Mass Effect, or Assassin’s Creed, or Super Mario Galaxy.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:11:10 +0000

The writers need to quit being so greedy. If you’re writing for money, do something else. In the meantime, due to your greed, thousands of peoples are without jobs. It’s robbery on a grand scale. I am a writer and the day I write just for a paycheck is the day I apply for a job at McDonalds.

By: RickJames

RickJames — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 07:20:46 +0000

first off everyone here is about as whinny as them stupid wga. i say its a privilage to get paid for what you love to do. let the wga starve or be thankfull for what they got. same geos thier big wigs. it would be a great opportunity for them toshow their appreciation for making their cable ratings, but their not so that shows how much the big wigs care about them. P.S. having a gay missionary. its no wonder why no one wants to take their kids to church anymore.

By: Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:22:43 +0000

Maybe this will force all the viewers to spend more time with their children, read a book, go outside, play a board game. Anything not involving a television. We’re all humans, notorious for our ability to adapt.
If I had to pick a side, I’d go with the writers. Each board member for each big company has a multi-million dollar salary. The CEOs and Presidents have salaries in the $100 millions! If us middle classers can live off of $50,000 a year, then I think the big wigs can sacrifice a little off the top. What’s the worst that will happen for them? They might have to sell a couple of their cars? Maybe one of the 5 houses they own? Spoiled much?

By: Don

Don — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 04:16:38 +0000

Heh, so if a writer writes 2 hours worth of TV, they make more than most middle-American families make in a year. Nice… way to “starve” there, writers.
Thanks Wowzer for putting it in a better perspective.

By: Don

Don — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 04:11:07 +0000

Maybe if they weren’t busy whining to the press about everything and basically SABOTAGING their chances at a decent deal at the table with this kind of press announcement.
What kind of moron goes and basically stymies any kind of amicable talks with this self-serving nonsense?
IMHO, they don’t deserve any “good will” from the studios after this round of sniveling to the press about how “poorly” they’re being paid.
For cripes sake, strikes only hurt people. They could have continued working at their current rate while the contracts were being renegotiated, with the contracts’ terms of compensation being retroactive to the point of the expiration of the original. They could have shown a lot more maturity and willingness to work things out with the studios in a more constructive fashion than this.
I have no sympathy for the WGA at the moment, because they are putting others out of work while they whine. The behind-the-scenes people have families to feed too!

By: Wowzers

Wowzers — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 03:25:05 +0000

For a 30 min episode a writer makes $20,956 for a 60 min episode a writer makes $30,823.00 for a 120 minute episode $62,367.00. Straight from the WGA 2007/2008 WGA Rates. Enjoy!