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It's official: Hollywood writers say they'll strike on Monday

Nov 2, 2007, 09:53 PM | by Lynette Rice

Categories: Strike, TV Biz

Wga_l The Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America, West, and the Council of the Writers Guild of America, East, have unanimously decided to strike, effective at 12:01 a.m., on Monday, Nov. 5. According to a statement released by the WGA, which included remarks from WGAW president Patric Verrone (pictured), the decision was made following more than three months of negotiations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers (AMPTP).

"To date, the studios have not responded to a single one of the WGA's important proposals, including Internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs, and jurisdiction," the statement said. "On October 18, WGAW and WGAE members voted by an overwhelming majority of 90.3 percent to authorize a strike if a fair deal was not reached by the October 31 contract expiration date."

AMPTP President Nick Counter responded with a statement of his own: "The WGA's call for a strike is precipitous and irresponsible. … Instead of working toward solutions that would give the industry the flexibility it needs to meet today's business challenges, the WGA leadership continues to pursue numerous unreasonable proposals that would result in astronomical and unjustified increases in our costs, further restrict our ability to produce, promote and market TV series and films, and prohibit us from experimenting with programming and business models in New Media."

It's unclear whether the two parties will resume negotiations over the weekend. Stay tuned...


Tom Mon, Nov 19, 2007 at 07:47 AM EST

If the writer's terms are reasonable, then the studios should and will have to eventually give them their due, or rework the way that people are paid and IP is controlled so that the old arguments won't apply in future negotiations.

Other than that, if the strike goes on for much longer, I'll gravitate towards online media, gaming, and any other venue that doesn't hold me hostage to the spat. What will we do two years down the line with the studios strike against the writers for whatever reason they devine?

Kortni Wed, Nov 14, 2007 at 10:39 AM EST

WoW!!!
i'M ALL FOR THIS STRIKE!I'f i could, i would so be out there with them! =)

kelly Fri, Nov 9, 2007 at 01:58 AM EST

no dumby..not movies..its for sitcoms! no more tv shows..it means more reality shows and more game shows...and whole lot more re-runs

Lacey Blanchar Wed, Nov 7, 2007 at 07:22 PM EST

Something new..

Last night I got a chance to see a pre-screening (only 10 screenings total accross the US) of a movie called "The Human Experience"


Please check out the trailer Spread the news if you can. This movie will be coming out soon, but it is not sure in what capacity...

From Grassroots Films of Brooklyn, New York comes THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE – the story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the burning questions: Who am I? Who is Man? Why do we search for meaning? Their journey brings them into the middle of the lives of the homeless on the streets of New York City, the orphans and disabled children of Peru, and the abandoned lepers in the forests of Ghana, Africa. What the young men discover changes them forever. Through one on one interviews and real life encountencounters, the brothers are awakened to the beauty of the human person and the resilience of the human spirit.

http://www.grassrootsfilms.com/thehumanexperience/

Kevo Mon, Nov 5, 2007 at 05:10 PM EST

The studios need to suck it up and give the writers' their due. The demands do not seem that unreasonable (.06% of DVD sales seems like nothing to me). However, I do hope this strike is resolved soon, if only because of the thousands of people not involved in the strike (grips, cameramen, catering, lighting, props, extras, even the overpaid leading actors) will be out of work.

Leigh Mon, Nov 5, 2007 at 04:36 PM EST

Nick Counter reminds me of Rush Limbaugh in his bellicose rhetoric - and the whole producers/studios would be the right-wing side of the Republican Party - while those representing the WGA remind me of the Democrats and Harry Reid - they want what's fair and right but do they have the backbone for the long haul? We'll find out.

Kirsten Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 08:23 PM EST

Go writers. You deserve what you've asked for. And if the teamsters follow, producers are screwed.

charlievince Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 02:44 PM EST

noooooooooooooooo
my lifeeee suckssssssssss
I WANT MY SHOWSSSSSSSSS
GIVE THEM WHATEVER THEY WANT JUST LET THE STRIKE ENDDDD

theshark Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 01:12 PM EST

He looks like the guy that played Robin Colcord (Roger Rees) on Cheers.

Kevin Smith Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 11:06 AM EST

Screw the writer's strike! It got my Heroes: Origins episode canceled. I guess I'll just go laminate more of my reviews.

Robert Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 09:57 AM EST

I'm completely on the side of the writers on this one. TV especially is a writer-driven medium. Directors dominate movies, but writers dominate TV (the executive producers are just the head writers). The studios are obviously jut playing hardball to try and force the writers to accept as little money as possible. Meanwhile, the entire TV season will be in the toilet.

What I really hope is that the other Hollywood unions refuse to cross the picket line. Rumors are the Teamsters won't. I would really like to see the studios take it on the chin on this one.

audreymt Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 09:22 AM EST

There would be no shows, no movies if it weren't for writers. Their brilliance is where it all starts. They deserve a piece of the pie of their success - and part of all of those secondary sales. So people will watch reruns for awhile. Or better yet, will pick up a book or spend time with kids, pets and friends. Heck, maybe we'll see a rise in volunteering!

Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 03:48 AM EST

I'm chines.I like it .

Writer Fan... Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 03:19 AM EST

Here's what writers go thru...

They work unpaid for years on their samples, hoping to get them read and possibly (if there's a miracle) made into a movie. Or they toil for equal years trying to get on the staff of a TV show. These gigs usually end quickly, with work extremely hard to find afterwards. Without residuals to keep them going during this time, writers won't be able to work on future scripts. The writer/creator of Desperate Housewives lived off his residuals for years so he could create a show that millions of people love and one that makes the studio even more millions.

Writers just want tiny tiny tiny piece of the huge pie they help create. Heck, they don't want a piece, just some crumbs.

Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 03:11 AM EST

Patrick is happily married. And he's also not in the least a millionaire, so he wouldn't be on that site. He, like most writers in Hollywood, and most Americans, is middle class and working hard to not go below it.

bigfan Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 02:28 AM EST

This strick is not wise! Hope they can end it. Just a bit curious... Is Patric single again? I saw his profile on millionaire dating site http://WealthyRomance.com last week! I heard that he has a major crush on young beauty!

Sun, Nov 4, 2007 at 01:02 AM EST

I posted this elsewhere but can't say it enough. As a WGA writer, I wanted to say big THANK YOU to all the Teamsters out there. You are putting yourselves on the line, risking huge financial hardship, to support us in our greatest hour of need. Your support and brotherhood will never be forgotten.

Know that at the big general membership meeting we held the other day, the Teamsters rep got a long standing ovation by the 3000 writers in attendance.

Again, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Mike Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 09:57 PM EST

The scripted prime time shows have a shows already filmed. The first casualty are the topical late night shows. How long before we see the Daily Show and the Colbert Report?

Cleve Gallat Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 08:40 PM EST

Don't worry folks. The worse thing that could happen is we'll all have time to put a dent in that stack of novels on the bedside table.

EF Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 08:25 PM EST

Monday, Nov 5 is my birthday. This isn't a very nice birthday present.

Rey Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 06:32 PM EST

some tv shows anticipated this and tried to film as many episodes as possible before the srike.
the shows that will suffer the most will be talk shows since they are on every day.
also dont think we will are going to see a rush of reality show either. those shows have writers as well.

Kid Hill Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 06:11 PM EST

If the Teamsters don't cross the picket lines, then this strike probably won't last that long, otherwise I could see this dragging out for awhile.

As for Lost, I've read somewhere that they've written 14 of the 16 episodes, and they've shot about 7 episodes, so Lost may be in a pretty good spot even with the strike.

Steve Golden Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 03:22 PM EST

So begins what will be the longest 6 months of our lives...

jaime Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 02:05 PM EST

This won't affect us till the beggining of january if it takes them a while to resolve the issue. Scripts and episodes have already been taken and recorded so NOV sweeps will be ok and then DEC and JAN will be here and the shows go into rerun mode anyway. They will need new scripts for FEB sweeps. . . I agree with the writers im sorry but the networks are making MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS IF NOT BILLIONS IN REVENUE FROM EVERTYHING (advertisers, merchandising, syndication, dvds ect. . .) They are doing the right thing we just need to be patient as viewers and wait it out.

Its like when the cast of FRIENDS was going to strike if they didnt get a raise. . .um hello they deserved it and NBS was making millions off them world wide.

Susan Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 12:57 PM EST

It will affect cable too, any scripted tv.

kiran Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 12:18 PM EST

NOOOOOO...no more HEROES, GOSSIP GIRL, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, THE OFFICE, UGLY BETTY, GREYS ANATOMY!!!

LOST AND BATTLESTAR GALACTICA better come back midseason!!!

Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 11:27 AM EST

This. Is. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Timothy Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 10:52 AM EST

This will be a huge disaster for the networks. This will annoy viewers, who will blame the networks for being greedy, and viewership will drop sharply as people find other things to do (or cable shows to watch instead).

Jenny P Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 10:45 AM EST

I wish I understood this more, but it doesn't sound like the WGA's demands are unreasonable. Of course I've only been reading screenwriting blogs, so maybe that's a little biased. clearly. but seriously, they better resolve this before they start LOST.

lawrence Sat, Nov 3, 2007 at 07:03 AM EST

He looks so familiar. Seems saw him on a celebrity and millionaire dating site called wealthymingle.com. I'll help you guys check it out. What if it is true. That would be great.

nancy Fri, Nov 2, 2007 at 11:06 PM EST

uhh... so does this mean no more movies?


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