A Post with a Variety of Random Topics as is Befitting for This, a Very Random Week
First off…let me just say to Spookymuffin that I would dance around like a freak to that Feist song if that were the type of thing I did…which it totally is NOT…seriously, there is no incriminating video of my attempts to recreate that video in my backyard while wearing nothing but a snorkel mask…so don’t even try to find it…
Here’s a version of the song that is, I think, even better than the one on the album…
And to c, I’m not sure where you live, but here in Southern California, as you might imagine, the WGA strike is a pretty big deal since most of the WGA members live and work here (yeah, yeah, New York, calm down). I suppose you could live here and have totally ignored it, but I get the sense that is not the case…In any event, here’s the basics:
The writer’s are looking for two things, essentially. First, an increase in the residuals that they receive on the sell of DVD’s, and some sort of agreement on getting compensation for work produced for “new media.” Let’s take each of those points separately…
Under the current (or I should say, expired) contract whenever a DVD is sold, the writer of that DVD is given .04 dollars. That wasn’t a mistake, on a 20 dollar DVD, the writer gets 4 cents. The WGA would like this increased to the whopping amount of…wait for it…8 cents. A few points on WGA union history…That 4 cents deal was originally “sealed” in the early 80’s. At the time the studios were claiming that is was not possible to know how profitable (or, if at all…PALEASE!) the video market might be, so they convinced the WGA to take 4 cents a video. The WGA consented on the basis that they would take it as an interim deal, and after the video market had a few years to further establish itself, then the video residuals would be re-negotiated. This, of course, never happened. So the WGA took a deal, 20 years ago, they knew was a little bogus, in an effort to help stabilize the video market but never got the deal they wanted, and had been promised would come at some point. I think all sane and rational people can agree that the 4 cents to 8 cents jump is reasonable.
The “new media” thing refers, specifically to the internet. The studios are claiming that (just like with the original video deal) that there is no way to know how successful the internet will be in generating revenue for video content produced or distributed there. Several studio executives, however, have touted (on video, man are they dumb) how much money they have made/will make from internet revenue. Probably the most well known case of this crap came from The Office. A couple of years ago the show produced some 5 minute webisodes during the summer. These were written by the show’s writing staff, acted in by the actors, etc. The writer’s got paid 0 dollars for their work…that’s right, not a single penny, because the studio claimed it was some sort of promotional material, and therefore, they weren’t required to pay the writers for it. Of course, that didn’t stop NBC from force streaming a commercial to anyone who wanted to watch the webisodes in question….
Basically, the WGA is saying, money is being made on internet stuff and we deserve our share as the people WHO WROTE THE SHIT!
And the fact of the matter is we are going to see that, over the next couple of decades, more and more people are going to “consume” their entertainment online. So that, essentially, is the more important issue of the two.
Here’s something that tells it much better than me, and it’s got a great soundtrack (one point, the video states that a song writer gets paid anytime his song is performed…that is not, actually, true…any one can perform any song live, without having to pay a usage fee because congress, in a rare act of sanity, thought it sensible that if you wanted to hear a Barbara Streisand song at your wedding you didn’t need to hire HER to sing it, or pay an exorbitant fee, but could just hire the nearest cover band, but I digress…)
And here’s one on the more specific details surrounding the writers of The Office…
One last point, lest you think WGA members are all money grubbing, as the first video points out, about 1/2 of all guild members are usually unemployed (thus is the nature of the entertainment industry). One point it doesn’t make, however, is that the average salary of a WGA member is in the 35,000 dollar range (that’s including the residuals). There are some who are ridiculously wealthy, yes, but the overwhelming majority are solidly in the middle class.
As my previous post suggested, the book is done, the deadline has been met and I have a very real sense of…nothing. My wife asked how I felt and I couldn’t really respond. Not empty, per say, but not triumphant either. In reality, the book still needs some minor tweaking before it starts going off to agents and publishers all over, but for where it was going, it’s probably all right. That final 20 pages, that I’ve been meaning to get to for 2 1/2 years (hey, get off my back I’ve been in grad school) actually turned out to be 150, but what’re you gonna do? The ending certainly works better, I think, having gone in the direction it did…and I guess, as much as I hate to admit it, deep down…like, REALLY deep down…I’m an optimist…who knew?
And wouldn’t you know it, in this week where I was already sleeping about 2 or 3 hours a night, the kid runs off and develops an allergic reaction to penicillin. Currently, her face resembles a half squished melon, and this morning she could open her eyes about half way. According to the doctor, it can take up to three months for hives to disappear completely…damn does it suck to be 1 1/2! See what you have to look forward to gilgrim and april? Aren’t you so totally psyched!
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February 1st, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Ouch. I’m allergic to penicillin as well as a few other common antibiotics. Hives suck. Huzzah on completion of the “Book.” We have waited a long time for this day.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:54 pm
i do in fact live here in southern california, i did not choose to ignore the situation however. i do not watch news or read the news papers at all(for many reasons) so becoming informed on this matter by a reasonable person(a writer like you) is hard to do and also why i chose to ask you the question. i am in mortuary school so our discussions do not hold these types of current affairs in them as you may imagine and the majority of students(as small as it is) choose to talk about how hard core they were over the weekend so finding decent conversation about this can be difficult. i did not grow up here so my friends are limited. i currently hold many conversations with the wall and ceiling, they are both great listeners but the response time can be a bit slow. you did anwser the questions i had and thanks for giving a few resources to look at, i do appreciate the information and time you gave.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:47 pm
My pleasure…as a one day aspiring member of the WGA I certainly take their side…as an interesting sidenote the Director’s Guild, whose contract was due to expire in July (i think) have already finished re-negotiations. Of course, directors generally get a better break (money wise) in the production of TV and film, so I guess that’s not that surprising.
A lot of people were thinking the WGA strike might get resolved quickly because the Screen Actors Guild contract is also coming up for renewal. I told honestly think that the WGA will be on strike when the SAG goes on strike (if they do) but it certainly would be interesting to have the DGA able to work, but no one to write or act for them. Also, we’ve already seen a few smaller studios and production companies (specifically, Letterman’s Worldwide Pants, United Artists and The Weinstein Company) work out agreements with the WGA, so it can’t be too far off when the strike is done completely.
One thing I didn’t put in the poll, because it’s too depressing to think about, is all the crew that got laid off because of the strike. I know that most of the crew unions were in full support of the WGA (like SAG), but it still sucks for just about everyone involved.
Except for the studios…you know, back in the day, when a studio did only one thing, produce TV and film, a strike really hurt them. Now, though, most of the “studios” are just divisions of larger multi-national and multi-industrial corporations, so the companies can take a bigger financial hit and still not feel it as badly as the studios of old.
So you mean that people in mortuary school aren’t anxiously awaiting the news on the writer’s strike?! I am shocked and amazed!
February 2nd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Its okay killian, we all know you do it, no need to deny it.