Writer's Strike

[oaken1]

There is so much quality content being made it is unreal. Most of it isn't on network TV, though.

i just dont see it... Netflix is swamped with Baliwood and Korean ...fortunately I enjoy Korean TV... but the baliwood stuff is just unwatchable.
Prime has a couple decent shows, but then they completely destroy existing IP;s by hack writers inserting their personal politics into once fantastic literature.
I have 7 apps on my phone and had to go back to rewatching old stuff like Breaking Bad and Voyager to find anything worth watching.

side note... Alchemy of Souls on Netflix is amazing...and they just got season 2 dubbed into english.

 

[Stout]

i just dont see it... Netflix is swamped with Baliwood and Korean ...fortunately I enjoy Korean TV... but the baliwood stuff is just unwatchable.
Prime has a couple decent shows, but then they completely destroy existing IP;s by hack writers inserting their personal politics into once fantastic literature.
I have 7 apps on my phone and had to go back to rewatching old stuff like Breaking Bad and Voyager to find anything worth watching.

side note... Alchemy of Souls on Netflix is amazing...and they just got season 2 dubbed into english.

Well, if you think Netflix is just Bollywood and Korean, I don't know what to tell you. I'm curious to hear what shows you think have ruined books by writers inserting their personal politics.

What kind of stuff do you like to watch? What (besides Bollywood) don't you like?

 

[Brian in Mesa]

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[Stout]

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[Stout]

Yeah, this is not okay. This is garbage. We're not talking some defunct 80's show here.

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[Brian in Mesa]

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[Dback Jon]

Yeah, this is not okay. This is garbage. We're not talking some defunct 80's show here.

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Each of those checks probably cost a total of five dollars to process including labor

 

[Stout]

Each of those checks probably cost a total of five dollars to process including labor

Seriously.

Listen, tiny residual checks are definitely normal, and I've seen friends post a lot of small once for less than a buck, but we're talking old Syfy shows and whatnot and re-runs.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

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[Cheesebeef]

Yeah, this is not okay. This is garbage. We're not talking some defunct 80's show here.

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Peacock has literally paid me NOTHING for streaming three seasons of Necessary Roughness of which I wrote or co-wrote 5 episodes.

Started streaming in Summer of 2020. It’s now Summer 2023. Not a penny.

Union is finally taking them to arbitration… which won’t happen until 2024.

CBS All Access was streaming over 60 CBS SHOWS, most of them Five seasons each, 24 episodes each season, for Five years… paying ZERO RESIDUALS TO ANY WRITERS. FOR FIVE YEARS until they were finally taken to arbtitration. I worked on ONE season of NCIS NOLA, wrote 2.5 episodes… and got a check for 10,000. That was ONE writer on ONE show who only wrote 2.5 episodes. For people who had been on all five seasons and wrote 3 episodes a year, you’re talking about the studios ripping you off for 50-60K. Now extrapolate that over 60 shows, God knows how many writers/episodes. And they were trying not to pay ANYTHING.

What they’ve been doing to us is beyond criminal.

And the AI thing… folks, this isn’t just about writers being replaced in TV/Movies. This is part of the fight against automation that has already decimated jobs in manufacturing and the service industry with Kiosks, etc. it’s an issue that will impact… EVERYONE.

“The First Skirmish in a New War”: Why AI Should Be Central in the Writers Strike

The picket lines in Hollywood could be a harbinger of future fights over industries threatened by AI. Will it take writers, directors, and actors to save all of us from the robot apocalypse?

www.vanityfair.com

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Peacock has literally paid me NOTHING for streaming three seasons of Necessary Roughness of which I wrote or co-wrote 5 episodes.

Started streaming in Summer of 2020. It’s now Summer 2023. Not a penny.

Union is finally taking them to arbitration… which won’t happen until 2024.

CBS All Access was streaming over 60 CBS SHOWS, most of them Five seasons each, 24 episodes each season, for Five years… paying ZERO RESIDUALS TO ANY WRITERS. FOR FIVE YEARS until they were finally taken to arbtitration. I worked on ONE season of NCIS NOLA, wrote 2.5 episodes… and got a check for 10,000. That was ONE writer on ONE show who only wrote 2.5 episodes. For people who had been on all five seasons and wrote 3 episodes a year, you’re talking about the studios ripping you off for 50-60K. Now extrapolate that over 60 shows, God knows how many writers/episodes. And they were trying not to pay ANYTHING.

What they’ve been doing to us is beyond criminal.

And the AI thing… folks, this isn’t just about writers being replaced in TV/Movies. This is part of the fight against automation that has already decimated jobs in manufacturing and the service industry with Kiosks, etc. it’s an issue that will impact… EVERYONE.

“The First Skirmish in a New War”: Why AI Should Be Central in the Writers Strike

The picket lines in Hollywood could be a harbinger of future fights over industries threatened by AI. Will it take writers, directors, and actors to save all of us from the robot apocalypse?

www.vanityfair.com

@cheesebeef So, how does being paid for writing work? Are you not paid for actually writing the shows when you write them? Do you rely only on residuals or are they just a bonus? Is it like a waiter/server who makes very little, and the residuals are like tips to make up the difference? Honestly just not aware of the behind-the-scenes workings in Hollywood as far as writers go.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

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[Cheesebeef]

So, how does being paid for writing work? Are you not paid for actually writing the shows when you write them? Do you rely only on residuals or are they just a bonus? Is it like a waiter/server who makes very little, and the residuals are like tips to make up the difference? Honestly just not aware of the behind-the-scenes workings in Hollywood as far as writers go.

So it depends. When you’re actually writing on staff during the season, it’s really good money. But those times can be few and far between. What supplements the income has always been residuals. On air residuals for eons, then DVD boom. But since streaming, on air residuals have cratered and DVD are a complete thing of the past. So the streamers and studios are still making major profits off our work by making all shows available to all
Subscribers and at all times, but paying the most miniscule fraction of a fraction of what they used to there.

But even with that said, episode orders aren’t close to what they used to be. So instead of working on a 24 or 13 episode show, if you’re working in streaming, you’re now looking at 10/8/6. And the studios can hold you over without picking up a next season meaning you can’t go work on another show once your season is done. And then if you’re show doesn’t get picked up.. guess what… sucks for you!

And it used to be that the writer stays on during production and gets to produce their episode and then stick around to continue to help the room in breaking. Now more and more you have what are called “mini-rooms”… which are 20 weeks where the entire season is quickly broken and then everyone writes their scripts and then… you’re done. This not only puts MASSIVE pressure on the Showrunner who’s left with a bunch of scripts and no writers to cover set, but it also creates a system where it’s almost impossible for writers to advance to Showrunner level because they’ve never had experience producing on set or in post/editing.

There’s so many other issues but shrinking writer’s rooms, streaming residuals are just crushing people right now and with AI looming, it’s a battle not just for the present but the future of the really the entire business.

 

[Cheesebeef]

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Some of the signs are pretty awesome.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

So it depends. When you’re actually writing on staff during the season, it’s really good money. But those times can be few and far between. What supplements the income has always been residuals. On air residuals for eons, then DVD boom. But since streaming, on air residuals have cratered and DVD are a complete thing of the past. So the streamers and studios are still making major profits off our work by making all shows available to all
Subscribers and at all times, but paying the most miniscule fraction of a fraction of what they used to there.

But even with that said, episode orders aren’t close to what they used to be. So instead of working on a 24 or 13 episode show, if you’re working in streaming, you’re now looking at 10/8/6. And the studios can hold you over without picking up a next season meaning you can’t go work on another show once your season is done. And then if you’re show doesn’t get picked up.. guess what… sucks for you!

And it used to be that the writer stays on during production and gets to produce their episode and then stick around to continue to help the room in breaking. Now more and more you have what are called “mini-rooms”… which are 20 weeks where the entire season is quickly broken and then everyone writes their scripts and then… you’re done. This not only puts MASSIVE pressure on the Showrunner who’s left with a bunch of scripts and no writers to cover set, but it also creates a system where it’s almost impossible for writers to advance to Showrunner level because they’ve never had experience producing on set or in post/editing.

There’s so many other issues but shrinking writer’s rooms, streaming residuals are just crushing people right now and with AI looming, it’s a battle not just for the present but the future of the really the entire business.

Thanks. Good info for all, IMHO.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

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[Brian in Mesa]

Some of the signs are pretty awesome.

Yeah, I'm loving a lot of the signs. Makes sense that there would be many coming from creative people.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

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[Brian in Mesa]

I had no idea what Fran Drescher was up to these days.

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[Cheesebeef]

Paramount lot strike line was lively. And someone paid for a free ice cream truck for us!

But in all seriousness… this sucks.

 

[Stout]

Peacock has literally paid me NOTHING for streaming three seasons of Necessary Roughness of which I wrote or co-wrote 5 episodes.

Started streaming in Summer of 2020. It’s now Summer 2023. Not a penny.

Union is finally taking them to arbitration… which won’t happen until 2024.

CBS All Access was streaming over 60 CBS SHOWS, most of them Five seasons each, 24 episodes each season, for Five years… paying ZERO RESIDUALS TO ANY WRITERS. FOR FIVE YEARS until they were finally taken to arbtitration. I worked on ONE season of NCIS NOLA, wrote 2.5 episodes… and got a check for 10,000. That was ONE writer on ONE show who only wrote 2.5 episodes. For people who had been on all five seasons and wrote 3 episodes a year, you’re talking about the studios ripping you off for 50-60K. Now extrapolate that over 60 shows, God knows how many writers/episodes. And they were trying not to pay ANYTHING.

What they’ve been doing to us is beyond criminal.

And the AI thing… folks, this isn’t just about writers being replaced in TV/Movies. This is part of the fight against automation that has already decimated jobs in manufacturing and the service industry with Kiosks, etc. it’s an issue that will impact… EVERYONE.

“The First Skirmish in a New War”: Why AI Should Be Central in the Writers Strike

The picket lines in Hollywood could be a harbinger of future fights over industries threatened by AI. Will it take writers, directors, and actors to save all of us from the robot apocalypse?

www.vanityfair.com

I wish I could say I was surprised, but I'm not. It's hitting the markets I submit to as well. Clarkesworld, probably the most prominent (and well-paying) SFF short fiction market had to shut down submissions for a time because of AI. It's crushing illustrators too.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I wish I could say I was surprised, but I'm not. It's hitting the markets I submit to as well. Clarkesworld, probably the most prominent (and well-paying) SFF short fiction market had to shut down submissions for a time because of AI.

Man… that sucks.

It's crushing illustrators too.

Oh yeah, illustrators are gonna be majorly screwed too.

 

[Devilmaycare]

So it depends. When you’re actually writing on staff during the season, it’s really good money. But those times can be few and far between. What supplements the income has always been residuals. On air residuals for eons, then DVD boom. But since streaming, on air residuals have cratered and DVD are a complete thing of the past. So the streamers and studios are still making major profits off our work by making all shows available to all
Subscribers and at all times, but paying the most miniscule fraction of a fraction of what they used to there.

But even with that said, episode orders aren’t close to what they used to be. So instead of working on a 24 or 13 episode show, if you’re working in streaming, you’re now looking at 10/8/6. And the studios can hold you over without picking up a next season meaning you can’t go work on another show once your season is done. And then if you’re show doesn’t get picked up.. guess what… sucks for you!

And it used to be that the writer stays on during production and gets to produce their episode and then stick around to continue to help the room in breaking. Now more and more you have what are called “mini-rooms”… which are 20 weeks where the entire season is quickly broken and then everyone writes their scripts and then… you’re done. This not only puts MASSIVE pressure on the Showrunner who’s left with a bunch of scripts and no writers to cover set, but it also creates a system where it’s almost impossible for writers to advance to Showrunner level because they’ve never had experience producing on set or in post/editing.

There’s so many other issues but shrinking writer’s rooms, streaming residuals are just crushing people right now and with AI looming, it’s a battle not just for the present but the future of the really the entire business.

The shrinking writers' rooms and going producer driven has been a big issue with me. It's a big part of why I think shows like STD or the first 2 seasons of Picard sucked. They had something like 21 producers in their credits.

When it comes to streaming, I'm hoping you guys force them to open their books. I think they've been underestimating the residuals while inflating the numbers for investors. I think we're going to see that they're screwing people at both ends. Hopefully we'll end up with a real viewership metric. When they count 2 minutes of watching a show as a view for the PR in order to make viewership sound better I'm betting that they don't want to pay a writer for a full episode for that same 2 minutes. Time for them to come clean.

 

[Covert Rain]

Pay the dang writers.

 

[Dback Jon]

Scores of Boston University students turned their backs on the head of one of Hollywood’s biggest studios, and some shouted “pay your writers,” as he gave the school’s commencement address Sunday in a stadium where protesters supporting the Hollywood writers’ strike picketed outside.

About 100 protesters chanted “No wages, no pages,” waved signs and were accompanied by an inflatable rat outside Nickerson Field as David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, gave his address inside the stadium. Thousands of graduating students, family members and educators attending the graduation ceremony had to walk by the protesters to enter the stadium.

Above the stadium, a small plane flew a banner that read, “David Zaslav — pay your writers.”

Kim Caramele, a writer and producer from North Stonington, Connecticut, said she hoped the protesters’ presence at the graduation ceremony helped give students a different perspective on what they should value in life.
https://apnews.com/article/hollywood-writers-strike-entertainment-345669b08f8d0cc13473eb90c56c7602

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