The Writers Guild of America is on strike. For more than 50 years, TV and film writers have been entitled to a small cut of the studios' profits from the reuse of their shows or movies (syndication or DVDs). But the greedy studio executives are refusing to apply the same rules to internet-based airings and downloadings, despite acknowledging that internet-generated income will be substantial:
Cheers to the others in the industry who are not crossing the picket lines. This includes Jay Leno, David Letterman, The Office's Steve Carell and 30 Rock's Tina Fey.
And jeers to the heartless NBC studio executives who have announced that they intend to fire all of the production staff members on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as a ploy to get Leno to cross the picket line and return to his show without the writers. This technique worked 20 years ago during the 22-week-long writers' strike from 1988 when both Johnny Carson and David Letterman returned to work under like-threats.
4 comments:
So, at the same time these guys went on strike, so did a bunch of lawyers in Pakistan because a guy is trying to be a dictator. yes, I will miss the office but I have to say, "come on guys"
Melody, I'm not seeing your point! Please elaborate.
I understand the need to monetize the web for screenwriters, kind of. But in light of the lawyer's protest it just sort of seemed - I don't know - trivial?
To me, life is full of all sorts of concerns and issues, each of which, in different contexts, can be argued as being less or more relevant than something else.
But even if one were to accept that the Pakistan lawyer's protest is absolutely more relevant, that doesn't mean, in my book, that the writers' strike doesn't have some degree of relevance in and of itself.
So I will say to the writers "come on, guys" -- hold to your convictions in this strike. Your livelihoods are at stake.
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