Writers' Strike

Steve Newport · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 1415

The writer's strike may finally be coming to an end, but not without
severe harm to the local economy first.

The strike, which has lasted over 3 months already, has cost the economy
$2 Billion.

According to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC),
estimates are that a $733 million loss has occurred in production
spending and another $1.3 billion came from smaller venues, such as
caterers, florists, hotels, restaurants, car services, and many others.

The biggest blow can be felt by dramatic television, which had 46
primetime dramas for broadcast and cable TV that were to be filmed in
Los Angeles during the strike.

With each show employing approximately 200 employees, that's over 9,000
people unemployed. And considering that each episode costs an average of
$3 million to produce, that's resulted in a loss of $138 million per
week in production costs from the economy this year.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i0b3cac8aceae512f32adde861891131b

Archived from group: rec>arts>theatre>musicals

"Ed\ · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 28

Is there some sort of moral here?

"Steve Newport" wrote in message @storefull-3151.bay.webtv.net...
> The writer's strike may finally be coming to an end, but not without
> severe harm to the local economy first.
>
> The strike, which has lasted over 3 months already, has cost the economy
> $2 Billion.
>
> According to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC),
> estimates are that a $733 million loss has occurred in production
> spending and another $1.3 billion came from smaller venues, such as
> caterers, florists, hotels, restaurants, car services, and many others.
>
> The biggest blow can be felt by dramatic television, which had 46
> primetime dramas for broadcast and cable TV that were to be filmed in
> Los Angeles during the strike.
>
> With each show employing approximately 200 employees, that's over 9,000
> people unemployed. And considering that each episode costs an average of
> $3 million to produce, that's resulted in a loss of $138 million per
> week in production costs from the economy this year.
>
> http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i0b3cac8aceae512f32adde861891131b
>

Steve Newport · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 1415

From: ebny@earthlink.net (Ed(NY))
Is there some sort of moral here?
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i0b3cac8aceae512f32adde861891131b
----------------------------------------
Well, my man Michael Moore would tell you that there were a lot of
victims of Corporate Greed. Including the consumer.

"Ed\ · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 28

"Steve Newport" wrote in message @storefull-3153.bay.webtv.net...
>
> From: ebny@earthlink.net (Ed(NY))
> Is there some sort of moral here?
> http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i0b3cac8aceae512f32adde861891131b
> ----------------------------------------
> Well, my man Michael Moore would tell you that there were a lot of
> victims of Corporate Greed. Including the consumer.
>
While I personally supported the writers in their quest for a fairer deal, I
think this was a great example of a free marketplace - no more and no less.

Steve Newport · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 1415

From: ebny@earthlink.net (Ed(NY))
this was a great example of a free marketplace - no more and no less.
--------------------------------------------
Why so great? The fat cats could have avoided it. Instead, they
prolonged it. Kinda like the war for profit.

"Ed\ · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 28

"Steve Newport" wrote in message @storefull-3154.bay.webtv.net...
>
> From: ebny@earthlink.net (Ed(NY))
> this was a great example of a free marketplace - no more and no less.
> --------------------------------------------
> Why so great? The fat cats could have avoided it. Instead, they
> prolonged it. Kinda like the war for profit.
>
This was about business, pure and simple. And the entertainment industry is
a business, with the public clearly voting every day. I guess it takes
awhile for the lack of new episodes of Law & Order SVU to have an impact.
Hardly the same as nurses walking out of emergency rooms or firemen
striking. I applaud the writers for taking a stand and achieving a degree
of success - but business is business.

Steve Newport · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 1415

From: ebny@earthlink.net (Ed(NY))
a great example of a free marketplace - no more and no less. This was
about business, pure and simple. And the entertainment industry is a
business.....I applaud the writers for taking a stand and achieving a
degree of success - but business is business.
--------------------------------------
Well, a multitude of sins have been justified over the years with the
line "this is business." Even when that business is show.

"Ed\ · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 28

"Steve Newport" wrote in message @storefull-3155.bay.webtv.net...
>
> From: ebny@earthlink.net (Ed(NY))
> a great example of a free marketplace - no more and no less. This was
> about business, pure and simple. And the entertainment industry is a
> business.....I applaud the writers for taking a stand and achieving a
> degree of success - but business is business.
> --------------------------------------
> Well, a multitude of sins have been justified over the years with the
> line "this is business." Even when that business is show.
>
But how is the public interest served by doing anything other than letting
this conflict play itself out through negotiation? Is it a sin for
producers to make huge amounts of money?

Mikey · Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

"Steve Newport" wrote in message @storefull-3151.bay.webtv.net...
> The writer's strike may finally be coming to an end, but not without
> severe harm to the local economy first.
>
> The strike, which has lasted over 3 months already, has cost the economy
> $2 Billion.
>
> According to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC),
> estimates are that a $733 million loss has occurred in production
> spending and another $1.3 billion came from smaller venues, such as
> caterers, florists, hotels, restaurants, car services, and many others.
>
> The biggest blow can be felt by dramatic television, which had 46
> primetime dramas for broadcast and cable TV that were to be filmed in
> Los Angeles during the strike.
>
> With each show employing approximately 200 employees, that's over 9,000
> people unemployed. And considering that each episode costs an average of
> $3 million to produce, that's resulted in a loss of $138 million per
> week in production costs from the economy this year.
>
> http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i0b3cac8aceae512f32adde861891131b
>

Damn that war in Iraq!
Were it not for the war, we could afford to support the LA economy.

Robert Bouton · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 67

> > From: e...@earthlink.net (Ed(NY))
> > a great example of a free marketplace - no more and no less. This was
> > about business, pure and simple. And the entertainment industry is a
> > business.....I applaud the writers for taking a stand and achieving a
> > degree of success - but business is business.
> > --------------------------------------
how is the public interest served by doing anything other than
letting
> this conflict play itself out through negotiation? Is it a sin for
> producers to make huge amounts of money?

I agree with you that the conflict exemplifies a free marketplace.
The corporate giants bragged that they were making, literally,
billions of dollars, and then refused to share a penny of this new
bounty with writers. It was ever thus: the owners try to get the most
product from the laborers they can, paying the lowest salary the
market will bear.

The public - the consumers of entertainment - is the innocent
bystander "injured" in all of this. Trouble is, many television
viewers seem perfectly content with programming not penned by union
writers, like Idol contests and other game shows. So, in effect,
there was no outcry from them.

If Hollywood doesn't compensate writers fairly, writers might choose
to do something else. More to the point of this newsgroup, however,
is the reverse: Hollywood pays writers a hell of a lot more than
theatre writing. And so we've seen many promising musical comedy
writers - Joe Keenan, Lissa Levin, Crane & Kauffman, et al, abandon
the legitimate theatre to earn millions writing for the idiot box.

Steve Newport · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 1415

From: ebny@earthlink.net (Ed(NY))
Is it a sin for producers to make huge amounts of money?
-----------------------------------------
In some cases, yes. In this one- they walked away from the bargaining
table for some time and there was much fallout. (See initial post.)

Steve Newport · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 1415

The writer's strike may finally be coming to an end, but not without
severe harm to the local economy first. The strike, which has lasted
over 3 months already, has cost the economy $2 Billion.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i0b3cac8aceae512f32adde861891131b
----------------------------------------
That number has been upped to 3.2 billion. Many are asking "was it worth
it?"

dgsweet · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 7

> That number has been upped to 3.2 billion. Many are asking "was it worth
> it?"

Worth it to whom? The writers and producers may not recoup this money
quickly, so from that perspective ... On the other hand, this sets a
pattern for contracts going on into the future, and with the principle
of comepnsation for new media established, we'll see some significant
benefits to the talent.

One of the studio heads said this was a good and fair deal for both
sides. Why didn't we arrive at earlier? Because management hired to
guy named Nick Counter to handle things for them and he was determined
to make himself look good by bullying the Guild into submission.
Well, he didn't make himself look good. In the end, he had nothing to
do with the solution and made himself look irrelevant. In fact, his
belligerence probably accounted for most of the losses on management's
side. I hope they reward him appropriately for his manner.

J

Steve Newport · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 1415

From: DGSweet@aol.com (dgsweet)
Why didn't we arrive at it earlier? Because management hired a guy named
Nick Counter to handle things for them and he was determined to make
himself look good by bullying the Guild into submission. Well, he didn't
make himself look good. In the end, he had nothing to do with the
solution and made himself look irrelevant. In fact, his belligerence
probably accounted for most of the losses on management's side.
--------------------------------------------
Can he be sued?

dgsweet · Joined: 04 Aug 2007 Posts: 7

On Feb 14, 1:04ï¿½am, NewportsRe...@webtv.net (Steve Newport) wrote:
> From: DGSw...@aol.com (dgsweet)
> Why didn't we arrive at it earlier? Because management hired a guy named
> Nick Counter to handle things for them and he was determined to make
> himself look good by bullying the Guild into submission. Well, he didn't
> make himself look good. In the end, he had nothing to do with the
> solution and made himself look irrelevant. In fact, his belligerence
> probably accounted for most of the losses on management's side.
> --------------------------------------------
> Can he be sued?

Probably worse than that (from his perspective), who's gonna hire him
again?

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