MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
Hollywood writers in contract showdown
By Anthony Breznican and Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
You couldn't script this showdown.
Hollywood writers are facing off against networks and studios in a test of wills that could play havoc with the TV season and disrupt the flow of movies to local theaters.
Tensions are high as the TV and film writers union contract nears its end on Oct. 31. The last writers strike, in 1988, lasted six months.
Audiences would see the effects of a lengthy strike on television first because of tighter production timetables. Even then, they probably wouldn't notice the absence of prime-time favorites before early 2008.
A work stoppage would first hit "programs that are done nightly like The Daily Show and The Tonight Show and Letterman," says Patric Verrone, president of Writers Guild of America, West. "Then the comedies and dramas that have some lead time, but not much, would go into reruns and eventually be all reruns — or a test pattern."
A divisive issue in the talks is digital media — downloads of TV shows and movies — and whether creative workers will get a portion of this evolving moneymaker.
Actors and directors guilds are facing the end of their own contracts this summer, which could result in walkout on top of walkout.
Producers have taken action to blunt a potential strike, including hurrying more films into production and starting filming earlier on midseason TV series.
"Our members have been preparing for months for the possibility of a strike. Screens will not be going to black," says Barbara Brogliatti, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios and networks.
A look at some of the dynamics:
•Television. A strike could result in fewer new episodes this season, and a longer walkout could hamper the selection and production of new shows for 2008-09, since scripts for new pilots are submitted this fall.
If there is a strike, expect new reality shows, which aren't subject to the writers' deal and can be made faster and less expensively. Episodes of other unscripted shows, such as American Idol and Dancing With the Stars, could be expanded. Schedule holes also could be filled by sporting events and game shows.
Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse say there's a wide gap between the studios and networks and the writers regarding what constitutes a reasonable deal.
"I remain hopeful there won't be a strike, but things will have to change demonstrably in the next few weeks," says Cuse, who is on the writers guild negotiating committee.
•Movies. The average moviegoer would see a thinner slate of new movies, and the quality would suffer, says Marc Norman, who won an Oscar for co-writing Shakespeare in Love and also is on the writers guild negotiating committee.
If there is a strike, he says, "there will be, in a year, a spate of hastily thrown together movies. They will suffer from having gone ahead with incomplete scripts that haven't gone through the level of care they normally would.
"They will be less than exciting movies — boring movies."
How likely is a strike?
No one is certain, but the union has felt burned by deals of the past, and it says it is ready to fight harder this time over downloading.
Norman, author of a new book about the turbulent history of Hollywood writers, What Happens Next?, says: "Writers have never gotten anything out of the system by asking for it. They always had to pound their fist on the table and demand it."
By Anthony Breznican and Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
You couldn't script this showdown.
Hollywood writers are facing off against networks and studios in a test of wills that could play havoc with the TV season and disrupt the flow of movies to local theaters.
Tensions are high as the TV and film writers union contract nears its end on Oct. 31. The last writers strike, in 1988, lasted six months.
Audiences would see the effects of a lengthy strike on television first because of tighter production timetables. Even then, they probably wouldn't notice the absence of prime-time favorites before early 2008.
A work stoppage would first hit "programs that are done nightly like The Daily Show and The Tonight Show and Letterman," says Patric Verrone, president of Writers Guild of America, West. "Then the comedies and dramas that have some lead time, but not much, would go into reruns and eventually be all reruns — or a test pattern."
A divisive issue in the talks is digital media — downloads of TV shows and movies — and whether creative workers will get a portion of this evolving moneymaker.
Actors and directors guilds are facing the end of their own contracts this summer, which could result in walkout on top of walkout.
Producers have taken action to blunt a potential strike, including hurrying more films into production and starting filming earlier on midseason TV series.
"Our members have been preparing for months for the possibility of a strike. Screens will not be going to black," says Barbara Brogliatti, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios and networks.
A look at some of the dynamics:
•Television. A strike could result in fewer new episodes this season, and a longer walkout could hamper the selection and production of new shows for 2008-09, since scripts for new pilots are submitted this fall.
If there is a strike, expect new reality shows, which aren't subject to the writers' deal and can be made faster and less expensively. Episodes of other unscripted shows, such as American Idol and Dancing With the Stars, could be expanded. Schedule holes also could be filled by sporting events and game shows.
Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse say there's a wide gap between the studios and networks and the writers regarding what constitutes a reasonable deal.
"I remain hopeful there won't be a strike, but things will have to change demonstrably in the next few weeks," says Cuse, who is on the writers guild negotiating committee.
•Movies. The average moviegoer would see a thinner slate of new movies, and the quality would suffer, says Marc Norman, who won an Oscar for co-writing Shakespeare in Love and also is on the writers guild negotiating committee.
If there is a strike, he says, "there will be, in a year, a spate of hastily thrown together movies. They will suffer from having gone ahead with incomplete scripts that haven't gone through the level of care they normally would.
"They will be less than exciting movies — boring movies."
How likely is a strike?
No one is certain, but the union has felt burned by deals of the past, and it says it is ready to fight harder this time over downloading.
Norman, author of a new book about the turbulent history of Hollywood writers, What Happens Next?, says: "Writers have never gotten anything out of the system by asking for it. They always had to pound their fist on the table and demand it."
Maybe it'll encourage people to get off their asses and do something besides watch tv.
.
. Hopefully that extra support from the big names will help the writers out a bit more. Good luck to everyone in the strike, may a proper solution to the problem be reached as soon as possible.
