And here is a good run down on why there is a strike in Hollywood:
found by Rick Salsman
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Yap, I just saw some advert to the point that the writers are all just greedy scum because “the average screenwriter in Hollywood earns $200K per year.”
1–I don’t believe that for a second. Some restricted group especially defined?–sure. The average of all writers trying to earn a living from it in Hollywood?–dont think so.
2–The issue is the pay components and what part of it should go to writers rather than excluding them from an entirely new revenue stream.
3–What is the average “head of studio” pay these days?
Well bobbo…
1-So do you have some data to back that up? I’m sure the people who have ran the advert have some data to back up their claim.
2-You’re right but they want a hard number now for what is at best a guess as to what the new stream can generate.
3-That does not matter in the least.
What amazes me about the writer’s strike is the fact that many of the people on the lines are striking against themselves. Namely all the producer/writers like Tina Fey.
yeah, watch more television…
…and with writers on strike, who’ll write your news stories?!
Writers, get over it…
You may be creative, but that does not mean that you are entitled to the same creative rights as a ‘regular’ writer.
You work for a company, the company assigns you to write a story about a topic, you write the story according to the formula that they provide you and that’s it. Not much different from my boss asking me to write a technical manual on a device that other employees use.
You don’t like the way you get paid? You want more residuals? If you are so creative, quit and write a book, write the next Harry Potter, make billions.
The effect on ‘regular’ people, not writer prima donnas:
“The atmosphere is quite grim,” said one veteran producer, who asked to remain anonymous given the sensitivities surrounding the strike. “It went from sixty incredibly anxious crew people getting grimmer and grimmer to maybe ten incredibly anxious crew people.” The rest were fired.
Interesting read:
I am pro union, but unions are not about getting rich, they are about safe workplaces are fair wages. This writer strike is about making more money than they were paid without putting out any more effort.
Imagine if auto-workers went on strike demanding to get paid extra for every mile that each car s driven during it’s lifetime… that is the equivalent of what the writers are on strike for. They are on strike because they are not getting free money for life for commissioned work.
This is all well and good, drumming up support for the writers and everyone else in the background, but how much do they get paid upfront for shows? How much do the camera and lighting men/women, makeup artists, grips, sound men/women get paid as a salary?
Considering the effort that the studios do put into promoting and arranging advertising, selling airtime, then selling the production to other countries. Sure all the people involved have to be paid too, and then what if it fails because it’s naff? Who pays for the losses? The studios.
There’s a bigger picture involved, and I refuse to make a decision based on guilt until I know ALL the facts, and that will never happed, the studio’s won’t release all the details because it’s a closely guarded secret.
http://www.roblong.com
and here’s Marc Andreesen
http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/11/rebuilding-holl.html
When the writers are striking, their shows don’t get produced. Which means the key grips, the camera operators, the costume departments, the lighting operators etc etc don’t get paid. Do all those people get residuals? No.
I understand the writer’s problems, and I do think they should get their compensation. But the pity party has got to stop, because they are NOT as bad off as they claim.
2-Gig==1. Do I have data to back up my claim that I don’t believe the average pay of hollywood writers is $200K? No. Thats why I said believe rather than know.
2. If hard numbers are unfair, they could substitute a percentage. Easy. Point is– something is deserved which is more than the nothing the studio’s want to “give” them.
3. Good, we agree. Average pay of any group is irrelevant to such bargaining contests.
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6-Awake, very bad attempted analogy. How much additional money does the car manufacturer make if the car runs longer?
It is amazing to me when a big corporations steal from you, the individual, you throw a hissy fit but when they steal from others and it doesn’t affect your income you side with the corporation and tell the victim to stop being whiny. lol hypocrites
#2 GigG
“What amazes me about the writer’s strike is the fact that many of the people on the lines are striking against themselves. Namely all the producer/writers like Tina Fey.”
It is clear you don’t really understand how the Hollywood system works so anything you have to say on this matter is uneducated and irrelevant.
#4 comrade aleksey
News writers are under a separate agreement So they are not on strike………YET!
# 5 & 6Awake
I don’t know what to say about how stupid you statements are.
#7 Darron
Allot of them get more than you think they do and they all have unions.
Well…..without products to sell the studios wont make a dime will they?
>>Imagine if auto-workers went on strike demanding to get paid
>>extra for every mile that each car s driven during it’s
>>lifetime… that is the equivalent
Well, no cigar on that analogy. Car manufacturers don’t get additional revenue no matter how far a car is driven.
When studios come up with new ways to milk their shows for additional profits, they DO get additional revenue. What’s wrong with the writers asking for a cut of that action?
It’s not like this is a new concept; they already get residuals for reruns, etc. Now that the studios have come up with additional ways to pimp their shows for profit, they want to keep it all for themselves.
Writers, fight it out and get your fair cut, “What’s right is write!”
And, Tina Fey was making a reported $2M+ last I heard a few years ago…per year…I’m sure that’s gone up considerably…for some odd reason, ’cause her stuff ain’t funny.
#13 Sinn Fein
“’cause her stuff ain’t funny.”
Well it sells doesn’t it?
#2 – 1-So do you have some data to back that up? I’m sure the people who have ran the advert have some data to back up their claim.
Yes he does. He has me.
The average screenwriter in Hollywood has a second job for money.
The average TV writer who is working is paid all over the board.
The guys who wrote Friends, for example, made maybe 50 to 70K annually at best… A few seasons later, they were commanding quite a bit more. But most shows aren’t Friends. Many shows are Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (as an aside: which actually did run four seasons, but no one can really explain why).
200K refers to just the top writers… Not all writers. And its doubtful that its accurate.
Writing is actually far more blue collar than you might think. In fact, of all those who work in “Hollywood”, maybe 5% are what we’d call “rich”. Everyone else is working like you and me.
Of course auto manufacturers get additional money when people drive their cars further. But only if the people take their auto’s back to the dealers when being serviced, AND this only holds true if the auto manufacturer also holds RIGHTS to the designs and manufacturing of replacement parts, paints, tools required for repair, etc.
Compare this to RIAA & MPAA.
Imagine (your writers, you most likely have one) that when a auto is no longer wanted by an “owner” the auto manufacturer would still claim rights of owning the auto, and this would make it illegal for anyone to re-use ANY parts from any source other than the manufacturer. It would be illegal for anyone to resell their used auto. It would be illegal for anyone to drive their auto in public where others may enjoy, or allow any other people to ride/drive in their auto without paying royalties back to the manufacturer.
Come on, how crazy do you want to make this. You accepted a cutback on your salaries your fault & your problem. You are getting paid a salary for what you were doing. To expect to get paid every time something gets used is greedy. I can’t imagine Microsoft getting a nickel every time Windows needs to be rebooted. How can this REALLY be justified as anything other than greed.
Besides, (and I know this will make a lot of friends) people generally watch too much television today anyway.
Spin offs of CSI and Law & Order
Dukes of Hazard Movie
Brady Bunch Movie
Flinstones Movie
Car 54 Where Are you Movie
Spiderman 1-3
Terminator 1-3
Alien 1-3
Charlies Angels 1-2
Beowulf
Harry Potter 1-5
Hitman
Doom
The Golden Compass
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Underdog
Garfield 1-2
Fat Albert
Rambo, yes a New one
Horton Hears A Who
Iron Man
Must I go on with how much new and creative content these hacks can write?
Until they WRITE and not just copy and plagarise, screw off!!!!!!
Stop redoing other people’s work and you will deserve more money.
Cursor_
#12 – What’s wrong with the writers asking for a cut of that action?
Especially considering that without the writers, it wouldn’t exist to make money in the first place.
In other news:
Those who think writing is easy… are wrong.
also
Those who think anyone can write… are also wrong.
The argument about residuals is a faulty argument.
If the writers feel entitled to never ending payments for shows like “I Love Lucy”, then they should have no problem sharing this long term wealth with other fellow employees who helped make the show. The hairdressers, the lighting people, the teamsters, the people who prepare the food, etc. What’s fair for the writers should be fair for the rest of the other behind the scenes employees.
The truth is that we have at lest 110 too many channels to begin with. I say thin the herd. Go find another job and let the production companies go out of business.
#14, no, but a more apt analogy would be that a programmer working for Apple, Microsoft, [pick your software company] doesn’t get paid for the code that he wrote beyond his original salary for each additional copy of that software the company later sells.
#1
It might be the case (although I seriously doubt it) that the *average* screenwriter earns 200K. However, there is no way the median screenwriter salary is anywhere remotely close to that.
#5
If you believe that, you should try getting paid to write something. I dare ya. Then you should try living off your writing. You will find the process far different than what you described.
er, response to #14 should have been to #12 by Mister Mustard
#17 Cursor_
First. Are you aware how much money some of those films and TV shows have made?
Second. Iron Man, Golden Compass, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Beowulf? Are not out yet. How can you comment on how original it is if you haven’t even seen it? Just because a movie is based on an old idea doesn’t mean the writing isn’t original. If no one could ever write anything that wasn’t based on an old idea there would be no new stories. So in your opinion everything writing since the birth of Christ is just hackery!!!
Writer are not always paid to create new ideas. Most of the time they are paid to expand or develop old workable ideas. They are not always successful but there are several instances in your list that they were both in box office gross and in quality of story telling.
#19 jbenson2
Out of the mouths of the right wingers!!!!
First there would be no behind the scenes without the writers. Second All of those people have unions. All of those people are an important part of the movie and TV process BUT there is a vast difference between a writer that writes good copy and a grip or Teamster. If you cant tell the difference then there is no point debating you because you are completely uneducated about the creative process.
#20 Sea Lawyer
A few problems with your analogy. One software companies usually don’t continue to sell the same version of software for more than a couple of years and they are not still making a profit 50 years later. Also, there is usually a very large team involved in a major software release. in the 100’s or more. On a top TV show there are maybe 10 or 20 if that. And more often than not it is one or two writers that contribute the largest majority of the scripts. When a programmer is done with one project he usually has a job with that same company TV and Film writers usually don’t.
and just a note most writer think that all those other people sould get a better cut but it is up to their individual unions to get it for them. Why should the writers have to fight their battles and why should the writers share from their small cut. Why shouldn’t the people making 90% + of the money share theirs instead?
>>But only if the people take auto’s back to the
>>dealers when being serviced
Only a fool would take their auto back to the dealer after the warantee runs out.
>>I can’t imagine Microsoft getting a nickel every time
>>Windows needs to be rebooted.
That’s because nobody makes a profit every time Windows need sto be rebooted.
On the other hand, the studios DO make a profit every time they find a new way to pimp their shows. Why should they get to keep all that money, any more than they should keep all the money for reruns, etc.?
Face it, no matter how many bogus analogies you come up with, in the end, they’re all bogus. You’re right though – it IS greed. Greed on the part of the studios, who want to milk their cash cow ad infinitum, without having to share any of the profits with the people who are responsible for the cash cow in the first place.
It’s not that I don’t have sympathy for the writers, or that I don’t believe there is validity in their demands, I do, on both accounts. But, I would be willing to bet the majority of the people reading and commenting on this are getting screwed by their employer too, but nobody seems to care about it.
#24, there is no problem with my analogy, and your response about what “usually” happens doesn’t do anything to show any significant difference between a screenwriter employed to produce a script on the one hand and a programmer employed to produce source code on the other. In both cases, the work (which can be indefinitely resold) is the property of the entity contracting the work, and the workers were paid for their services at the time they were performed.
Now, if the screenwriters can negotiate residual payments as terms of their employment, then good for them. But I wholeheartedly disagree with this notion that there is some inherent right to a lifetime of payment for a moment of work that in theory was already paid for with salary or wages.
>>but a more apt analogy would be that a programmer working for
>>Apple, Microsoft, [pick your software company] doesn’t get paid
>>for the code that he wrote beyond his original salary for each
>>additional copy of that software the company later sells.
That’s because programmers aren’t paid that way, per their contract. On the other hand, writers DO get residuals when their movie goes to DVD or TV, or their TV show goes to re-runs. Whenever the studio makes more money off of their work, they get a small cut.
So what’s the big problem with extending that time-honored principle to new ways the studios have found to make money off of the writers’ work?
#24.
Then IF they plagarise they must offer up some of those residuals to the founders of that content. The vast majority of the work is completed for them. So they must pay for the writers that did the original charcter designs and development.
But will they pony that up to their forebearers? No of course not. They will say let THEM sue the production companies for their share of the carcass.
It is insane. It is like the jackals wanting to sue the lions for not leaving enough meat on the carcass of a three day old dead zebra!
They want to be paid and be above the copyright laws. Free to be paid for things they never did while the original creative sources get nothing but what they were originally paid back in the day.
Nah, not buying it.
Cursor_
#28, “what’s the big problem with extending that time-honored principle”
Oh stop it, you’re breaking my heart…