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UPDATE: I'm told the TV showrunners are meeting in small groups today, tomorrow and next week to discuss the WGA strike. Here's my account of the their big confab that took place earlier. "Tomorrow is one of many small meetings to give access and succor to and from the negotiating committee," a showrunner tells me. "Resolve is still strong, but no more large group free-for-alls. These have the illusion of being discreet and private." I'll have more to say about this later...
- "TV Showrunners Would Come Back To Work If AMPTP Comes Back To Table"
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- Showrunners Pledge Solidarity Response To Breach Of Contract 'We'll Sue' Letters
- Showrunner Explains Why He's On Strike
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Solidarity, my showrunning bros and sistas…
HANG STRONG, SHOWRUNNERS – We’re behind you!!! I know it’s hard to hear about people losing their incomes now. But we need you to PROTECT OUR FUTURE and the UNION’S future. This is a small price to pay to protect the day when we are all watching TV on our computers.
Signed -
My Residuals Are Getting Me By &
Getting Me My Health
Before the last offer I would have begged for you showrunners to please consider your crews and help or at least allow your shows to continue as best as possible with existing scripts. Now, DO NOT UNDER ANY MEANS FACILITATE PRODUCT GETTING DELIVERED TO THE STUDIOS. More than that, get a strong faction of talent together and go sell product and jurisdiction to someone else (any of the large web companies).
Screw the AMPTP. It is too late for most of us IA members not to have been already ruined or seriously damaged. My Christmas plans include trying to keep it fun for my family while I plot the selling of our home (that we designed and built over many years) and scout the location I could move down to in order to start a new life. Drama, no, this is absolutely true and necessary.
The folks running these struck companies can rot in hell. Greed in this world has become unbearable.
I guess I’ll wait till you update, Nikki, cause right now I don’t know what I’m supposed to make of this. I know the showruners are on our side, though. Maybe they have a plan? Okay, now I really am hopelessly naive.
Love the way the AMPTP and Variety are so hard at work getting out the word that David Young is nuts. So it turns out they preferred it when their insider pal McLean was negotiating for us and giving away the farm year after year. Whoda thunk it?!
The episodic scripts are all shot. And no one is suggesting anyone will do any writing before the strike ends.
So maybe some of the show runners do some post, others stay out. Big deal. The TV side of the AMPTP is still jacked.
The interesting question to me is: When do the summer 09 tent pole features become endangered? Because that will freak out some shareholders. And even Sumner and Rupert might notice that.
There’s a runner on first… and it’s only the bottom of the second inning, but every pitch counts.
Step into the box… dig in the steel cleats… and wait for that perfect pitch… dead red in the zone…
And don’t swing away at that weakassed junk.
Bring the man home.
You showrunners are the power batters. Number three in the lineup. But you have a team behind you.
pb
Another incredibly biased article on Variety.com
Even goes so far as to say the WGA insisted on the lifting of the Media Blackout!! WHAT!
unreal- that’s actually true, and I don’t blame the WGA. Young wanted to make an official communication to explain to us that the deal was still crappy. (Of course, there were leaks– on both sides– before the blackout was lifted, which didn’t help things.)
Young’s crazy like a fox. You don’t organize in the rag or building trades unless you have some serious balls.
amptp unilaterally lifted the blackout with their pre-fab’d press release about the “new economic partnership”
I read via aintitcool an interesting point that Variety made:
“Once the strike goes past this coming Sunday, all the TV actors “have to be restored to full salary or else be made free agents through force majeure.” This means everybody from Katherine Heigl to Kristen Bell are likely to find themselves able to join already-written movie projects that are about to shoot.”
The dark side of force majeure, to say the least. I highly doubt Katherine Heigl will be returning to Grey’s Anatomy past this cut off. I am sure other examples of TV actors hankering for freedom from their contracts (Katee Sachoff at BSG?) abound.
Enjoy reaping what you’ve sown, studios.
We hear an awful lot about the PR war, and that public opinion overwhelmingly favors the writers… but can anyone tell me why this matters? Nobody is VOTING on the outcome of the strike. It’s a PRIVATE negotiation.
The corporations aren’t going to change their bargaining strategy because people in Ohio, or even LA, think they are being dicks. They’re about their bottom line, and having low “favorables” doesn’t change their stock price. If it did every airline would go out of business.
Let’s remember that picketing and YouTube and rallies are great so far as they go (internal WGA morale, and little else)… but the only element that is going to really make an impact on these companies is withholding scripts and services. Stay strong, showrunners. Don’t go back to work until a fair deal has been reached.
I am a member of both the WGA and DGA. Is anybody talking to the DGA about not talking contract until the WGA thing is settled. Nothing is going forward if the WGA sticks together so what would it hurt for the DGA to go along with the WGA instead of selling them out?
Showrunners can either do post or not, the shows will air without them. What’s the point of sitting out? So your show can air without your finishing touches? Doesn’t that do more damage to your show in the long run?
Go back to work show runners! Sitting out did not work week one and certainly isn’t working any better week 5. For the sake of your shows, just go back to work.
Would be awesome if the showrunners came out with a statement saying they support the WGA negotiating leadership 100% and look forward to resuming work when we have a fair contract.
I realize the shows are the babies of many of the top tier writers and they don’t want to see anything bad come to them, but solidarity is needed and it should have a very public face so the studios continue to see that the writers have each other’s backs.
I’m so glad the WGA leadership realizes how monumental this contract is and that they are staying true to the membership by not giving away the farm. It’s sad that past leaders could not find a way to increase DVD resids, but so much from the past can be fixed here in the present…. Nixon said that, right?
- writer, not in the guild yet, but looking forward to 2008.
Anyone hear the rumor that the WGA might be considering going to strategy of negotiating with the studios seperately, hoping if one settles, the rest will follow?
Gotta agree with “the dude.”
Since most scripted series have pretty much shot their last episodes, not sure what leverage the showrunners as an entity would have right now.
However, because the WGA asked the showrunners to walk out on their producing duties and become legally vulnerable, I think the showrrunners have earned the right to be heard and have a voice in the process.
The 09 tent poles? If the strike goes that long, everyone gets screwed.
The leverage comes now, from TV. Just around the corner in January for the AMPTP: significantly diminished ad revenue (make-goods and cash back to media buyers) and the complete loss of the pilot season. Leading to the wiping out of the upfronts.
I’m a showrunner. We are out of scripts. It will take six weeks to start up. Tick tock, AMPTP.