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UPDATE: Hyphenate Wasn’t Ratted Out By WGA’er
EXCLUSIVE: I’ve learned that the WGAW’s new Strike Rules Compliance Committee (SRCC) called in a high profile TV writer-producer today. 
He reported to the WGA offices at noon to appear before the disciplinary board. According to a source, the hyphenate is facing allegations that he has been breaking the WGA strike rules on his current TV series and two more projects. Though he denies the accusations, he has been confronted with a letter detailing the WGA’s “proof”, the insider says.
The SRCC is comprised of 12 WGAW members whose “mission is to discourage violations of the Guild’s Strike Rules by investigating allegations that writers are undermining our strike efforts by engaging in strike-breaking activities or scab writing and, in appropriate instances, by recommending action against such writers,” the WGA said when announcing its formation. “By doing so, we hope first and foremost to discourage such writers from breaking the Strike Rules.”
AMPTP Nick Counter, days after the disciplinary panel was formed, last week accused the WGA of “using fear and intimidation to control its membership [by] asking members to inform on each other and creating a blacklist.” People inside the Alliance representing studios and networks have decried the SRCC to me as a “rat squad”.
(FYI: I cannot name the writer for legal reasons. Please refrain from making named accusations in your comments, even obliquely, or I will have to delete them.)
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Don’t assume that Nikki is on our side. She’s just reporting the stuff the LA Times and Variety won’t touch. There’s a difference.
The comment by WGA member left me confused. How is Nikki jumping to the worst conclusions about people? Her post simply reports facts — no opinions or conclusions whatsoever.
And how is the WGA sounding like the Gestapo? A compliance committee is standard for any type of strike (and as another commenter mentioned above, it’s standard even when strikes aren’t going on, to ensure members aren’t doing free work, etc.). As I understand it, the Compliance Committee did not go out “hunting” scabs; rather, they were approached by members who felt they were being put in a compromising position by their boss, who continued to work on scripts and ask others around him/her to do the same. So far the accused individual has been given a fair hearing. His or her name has not been made public, and no disciplinary action has been taken. All very normal, non-hysterical stuff. I know Nick Counter and his spin machine want this to sound like McCarthyism or Stalinism or the Gestapo or [insert baseless historical analogy here], but it just doesn’t fly.
I know a showrunner who has started slipping back in to work. I wonder how many others there are out there, and if the WGA can do anything about it.
Let’s all calm down and take a breath. All we know is that there’s the possibility that the Guild is looking into a writer doing struck work. We need to wait and see what happens and how the Guild handles it.
What I do know is that the WGA’s Strike Rules Compliance Committee is being headed by Dan Wilcox, one of the most thoughful and measured people I’ve ever met. I’ve known him for ten years after having worked with him on a staff. I gladly backed him in his run for his WGA Board seat, because he’s as decent a guy as there is in this business. He cares deeply about both the Guild and the welfare of writers, and I have no doubt that he will handle his responsibilities with great care and even-handedness.
As for the justification for the SRCC… it is an unfortunate necessity. During the strike of 1988, there was no shortage of scabbing that served to greatly undermine that strike on many levels. When people who lived through it, complain about the failure of the ’88 strike, they often mention that scabbing was partially to blame for the weakening of the Guild’s resolve. We simply can’t have that this time, and the threat of real consequences for scabbing is an important tool in making sure it doesn’t happen again.
That said, I don’t know of anyone who is even considering scabbing, and frankly, I can’t imagine anyone would try. I got a call about a week into the strike from a studio exec who “just wanted to give me a few notes to think about during my downtime” regarding my pilot. The next sound he heard was a click. We’re united out there. Our resolve is strong, and I don’t see it even remotely weakening any time soon.
Can anyone tell me what the “penalties” are for not doing strike work the “mandatory” 20 hours a week (soon-to be 12 hours)? What exactly does mandatory mean when only 3,000 WGAw out of some 7,000 are actively picketing.
Oh, and what does “fi-core” mean?
And did anyone else notice John Edwards’ bull-horning was almost completely devoid of specifics? (He’s actually my choice for Pres. – I am merely pointing it out as typically political.)
night-night, all.
Have fun at Hollywood and Ivar.
“…The WGA is beginning to sound like the Gestapo…” Ahhh, Godwin’s Law. Best laugh I’ve had all day.
Re: Script Coordinator’s comment. If a show is still up and running then someone is revising scripts. It really is that simple. I have in my hands a blue draft of a network show that I know didn’t exist when the strike started.
Please, people, let’s be clear.
Just because revised pages are being generated, that does mean WGA members are doing any writing. Scripts can be revised by non-writing producers for the sake of production issues. Showrunners and other hyphenates must follow the A-H rules. But producers outside the guild do not.
My knowledge of what’s going on is quite the opposite of what several here have suggested. The vast majority of hyphenates are not writing and not violating the strike rules.
And when I say “the vast majority” I mean pretty much everyone, with only one notable exception that I am aware of, and that exception is the one person mentioned on this site. And please keep in mind, that at this point, no one has been found guilty of violating the strike rules.
Unfortunately, the showrunners “walk-out” has conflated the issues for some people. The showrunners decided to walk-out on their PRODUCING responsibilities which are not part of the WGA’s purview. There was no question of showrunners not writing. It was beyond that. It was about showrunners refusing to perform their legally obligated producing duties on their shows, which, given the lack of scripts most shows have, mostly came down to editing and post-production.
Before we start burning people at the stake because their cars are parked in their spaces, let’s know the facts.
Showrunners love their work more than they love their union. They want to get back to it. They care more about the people they work with each day than they care about WGA execs and members who are distant from them. That’s not surprising, that’s how people tick.
The WGA has to go all out to end this strike as quickly as possible. The heartache caused to is not going to be worth the extra earnings for members because they are not corporations for who earnings are the main reason for all decisions.
Dear Strike Captain:
“Assistants” getting “deals” is the oldest form of Hollywood spin and PR. It’s all a myth, so don’t get upset by that nonsense.
What you should realize is that the WGA is hurting many, many people and doesn’t seem to have the slightest empathy for them, as you yourself showed.
Try and look at things from somebody else’s perspective. It will be illuminating.
As for why there’s a strike, you should take a look at the audited results from the various companies and you’ll figure out for yourself how much of their “great results” are real (hint: not much). You’re striking for money that just does not exist. It has been squandered away by incompetent executives.
I’m surprised by Script Coordinator’s comment as well. How can there be new pages on existing shows? It’s obviously scab work. That would seem to be completely unacceptable for absolutely everyone involved.
Dear Industry Observer
I’m sorry to hear that the studios aren’t making any money. I guess that is why we have been seeing so many cutbacks recently in their bloated executive offices.
Please make comments based in the real world, because claiming the studios aren’t making money is completely foolish and totally laughable.
All of you writers are spoiled whining babies who don’t even deserve the salary you get currently. The studios put up the money for your crap, do they ask for a refund as 95% or more of them fail? And you want residuals? You put thousands people out of work because you think your entitled to something more than the rest of us hollywood workers? I don’t support you at all! You will be lucky if you get anything out of this at all.
Looks like we need to set some more facts straight.
realnumbersplease writes: “Showrunners love their work more than they love their union … They [showrunners] care more about the people they work with each day than they care about WGA execs and members who are distant from them.”
Showrunners do care a lot about the people they work with. And guess who they work with most closely everyday? Their writing staffs, i.e. WGA writers.
Guess what else showrunners care about? Money. Showrunners get residuals like everyone else in TV and they often have a cut of the show’s ownership. Which means they are probably more invested in getting a deal that gives them internet royalties/residuals than most others. Showrunners, arguably, understand the stakes of this strike better than anyone. Showrunners supported this strike with a walk-out on their legally obligated producing duties, placing many in the crosshairs of breach-of-contract letters.
To claim that showrunners are not supportive of this strike and their fellow WGA members is ridiculous and insulting. They, more than anyone, put their necks and careers on the line.
“The WGA has to go all out to end this strike as quickly as possible.”
There is nothing that can guarantee the quick end of a strike. Yes, the WGA wanted to put as much pressure on the AMPTP as possible. Shut down the pipeline hard and fast. That’s why the timing of strike is crucial for the WGA. The timing of this strike was well-thought out. Studios and networks did not have a stockpile of scripts to shoot. Most shows only had one or two scripts left to shoot when the strike was called. Even if the showrunners did not walk out, the episodic scripts available to shoot will disappear in a few weeks. In other words, even if showrunners wanted to keep working, they couldn’t really. Not after a few weeks and their last episodes are shot.
The real strength of a strike (as we saw in 1988) is not in the first few weeks, but in the last few weeks. Strikers have to maintain their resolve over the long haul.
Fortunately, for all of us, the one major difference between 1988 and now is that most of the AMPTP members really didn’t want a strike.
Industry Observer writes: “You’re striking for money that just does not exist. It has been squandered away by incompetent executives.”
Actually we’re striking for money in the future. We’re well aware of the fact that there is presently little to no profits generated by internet downloads and streaming. (Especially when folks like NBC pull their most popular content off of iTunes.) But the WGA learned its lesson from the home video debacle. The time to ask for a cut of the profits is now, before there are any profits. Once significant profits are created (like in the heyday of DVDs) the AMPTP will not surrender one extra penny.
thanksalotyouspoiledwhiners writes: “You put thousands people out of work because you think your entitled to something more than the rest of us hollywood workers?”
First of all, WGA writers never wanted a strike. All we wanted was a fair deal. Guess what the AMPTP proposed? Rollbacks. When they finally signaled they were ready to negotiate in good faith if we would drop the DVD residual issue, guess what they offered us? Nothing. Absolutely zilch.
If you want to vent some anger, direct it at the people who forced the WGA into a strike.
Second, we are entitled to something more than the rest of you. Why? Because without writers there would be no scripted television. There would be no movies. Who’s gonna write that summer blockbuster or that Academy award winning indie? Who’s gonna come up with the next top ten scripted TV show? A studio executive? Bob Iger? Sumner Redstone? The 1st AD? The wardrobe department?
Now, to be fair, honest and respectful, all these other people make tremendous, important contributions to the creative process. Even development execs. (Well, at least some development execs.) But to be perfectly cliche and realistic, there’s no reason any of these jobs would exist if someone didn’t first write a damn script.
Anyone who can face a blank page and create a 110 or 44 minute story that is at least moderately entertaining to millions of people deserves to paid a good amount of money.
Why? Because no one else in the business can do it.
Again, vent your ire and resentment at the people who take the lion’s share of profits. Spew at the people who try to pay you as little as possible.
Those people are not the writers. They’re the people who write your checks. The studios.
Myself and some others in my position, are giving up our last few paychecks to provide for those who work for us who will be most hurt by the strike.
You will never, NEVER, see a studio or network executive do that.
You only addressed one point of my comment. Also, the fact is that for a comparatively small number of people to benefit there are a much, much larger number of people who will suffer.
thanksalotyouspoiledwhiners writes: “You only addressed one point of my comment.”
First, I am under no obligation to address every single misinformed, resentful “point” you are attempting to make. Second, I honestly did not see any other “points” to your post.
“All of you writers are spoiled whining babies who don’t even deserve the salary you get currently.”
I addressed this.
“The studios put up the money for your crap, do they ask for a refund as 95% or more of them fail?”
This “point” simply reveals you have absolutely no understanding how the business works. Yes, making movies and television is a risky business. But writers have never asked the studios to get into this business. The networks and studios have ventured into the entertainment biz of their own accord. They are not doing anyone favors. While the studios bear the brunt of the financial risks, they also reap the lion’s share of profits when something becomes successful. In other words, they are the ones deciding to gamble with their own money. And guess what? They do so because it is a very lucrative business. While the studios have been crying poor to the WGA, they have been thumping their chests at Wall Street boasting about record-breaking profits. Take a look at the huge increase in profits this year for just Viacom alone, the majority of which are coming via CBS and Paramount.
Also, if a TV show or a movie fails, who is to say it is the fault of the writer? Studios have an incredibly strong hand in development and marketing. If they don’t like a script, they have it rewritten. They put the movies and TV shows out there that they want to put out, not what the writers want to put out.
Each network makes 10-12 pilots a year. The networks make the decision which ones to go on the air. They put up the money, they take the risk, but they also fully control the process.
I’m sorry, but if you are really this ignorant of the industry, do you really think you should be writing such angry and resentful posts?
“Also, the fact is that for a comparatively small number of people to benefit there are a much, much larger number of people who will suffer.”
This is the part of the strike that pains me the most. In television, writers work extremely closely with their crews and production teams. But the fact of the matter is, WGA writers never wanted to strike. We wanted to keep working and keep our crews employed. But the AMPTP forced us into a strike. We want the strike to be as short as possible. We are not asking for much at all. Just a very small percentage of internet residuals. Residuals which we have every right to ask for since we are the ones creating the content. But the AMPTP offered absolutely nothing.
You apparently don’t like this strike as much as I don’t. If that is the case, you should be directing your ire at the true spoiled whiners. The studios.
Hooray for Kit Sargent! Patient, polite, but relentlessly on message.
Kit- we need people like you to keep up the good work even here, in the world of sniping and bile. Thank you.