Shooting oneself in the WALLET !

I go with what I have said in earlier posts. Let the writers have the profits but they should also take the risks. IF the show is a flop then tehy don't get paid. One story I heard was that Gary Cooper read the script of fHigh Noon and thought it would become a classic movie and offered to take the lead for a much smaller salary but retained a percent of the movie royalities. It seems to me that the writers want to get paid up front and get paid down the road with out taking any risk. He who takes the risk shoudl make the profit.

Hello Red, Hmmm, your question raises a number of interesting points & questions. Not the least of which is that I imagine that more people are picking up books these days. That is rarely a bad thing! However, this strike reminds us all that the powers that be in this country (and internationally) have only begrudgeonly acknowledged what the internet might mean to the status quo of the business world. To the best of my knowledge, one of the big issues with the writers is their ability to be compensated for downloadable, copyrighted material. Which, is a biggie! The internet is more and more becoming the most favored medium for all manner of information and entertainment. If it is not considered when negotiating contracts, then the writer risks having to idly stand by and watch his or her work not only stolen, but bastardized, with zero recourse. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that the internet is all things to everyone today. Yet, the realities of the free market must be considered. Congress has been woefully negligent in it's recognition of the power of this fourth dimensional tool. Although I fear the day that the idiots in Washington endeavor to tackle this invisible beast, that day is looming. I would much prefer to see the writers and the publishing/production houses hash this out without the uninteligable droolings of D.C., than to see D.C. step in with all manner of ridiculous oversight. I secretly wish that this strike causes both the production houses and writers to realize a greater reality; t.v. is losing its influence and attraction. News channels are increasingly seeing dominance over entertainment stations. This is the case for two reasons, primarily because the quality of the work is dauntingly uninspired, and because the number of episodes produced per series is insufficient to maintain year wide interest. So, your point is valid. Both sides are shooting themselves in the wallet. Not only because of this strike. But, because of the overall lack of commitment to the viewer. If t.v. were truly captivating, then video games and internet gaming would not have the allure that they now enjoy. As such, writers would not be worried about their labor being capitalized on by internet actionaries.

As more and more people are choosing to watch television on the internet, the writers are foreseeing a situation in which they may not get paid at all, unless some compensation for streaming video of their shows is added to the contracts. I don't blame them for insisting that be done. You can debate about how greedy they're being for asking the video rental rate to be raised back to the previous rate, but this current lower rate was supposed to be temporary, and I *know* the heads of the TV networks and film companies are lying when they say they're broke.

I thought it was brave of the writers. Their bosses didn't wanna pay 'em a few extra pennies, is what I heard. So though it seems a bit superfluous they're going on strike over not getting paid a few extra cents for their work, it's no les ridiculous that their bosses refused to give them a few more cents. And as I understand it, that's exactly the amount they're on strike for. Not a few more dollars. Cents. They're going on strike over the principle of it. Which is, of course, a good thing. In my opinion anyways. I mean...what if, perhaps the writers accepted the fact their bosses wouldn't pay 'em that little bit more, and their bosses would later get the idea that they could tighten the pay a little more in different areas. In my experience, the only way to keep a good thing is to remain vigilant on it. Which was why I'm so proud of them. I can only hope their bosses see sense soon and just give in.

Well, it's affecting me directly as I work as a background actor whenever I can. I think the sticking points are a little more complicated than the media is reporting. I'm on the side of the writers, though. It seems to me that the producers can spread the wealth a little. The people who are suffering the most are the technicians and makeup artists who are now out of work. I'm optimistic that the strike will not go on as long as it did back in 1988 (close to 6 months, I believe). Cheers!