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Deal Reportedly Reached In Writers' Strike
BlueshiftVFX writes to let us know that the writers' strike may be over. CNBC and other media are quoting former Disney CEO Michael Eisner: "It's over. They made the deal, they shook hands on the deal. It's going on Saturday to the writers in general... A deal has been made, and they'll be back to work very soon."
I guess this means the Colbert/Stewart/O'Brien fued has been resolved, too...
This guy's the limit!
I've heard rumblings elsewhere that Eisner is spewing crap, and honestly he's not someone I'm going to trust without outside confirmation. When a writer says it's over, I'll believe it.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
Bread goes better with circuses!
I didn't even notice it to be honest.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
With no linked article and no information in the summary, I'm curious if the writers got their Internet distribution royalties after all?
... because many nerds watch tv.
'As a result of studio cutbacks, however, many of the writers who went on strike are unlikely to return to the same big-money contracts they'd had as individuals with the studios.' It seems like no-one won from these strikes. TV companies take write downs, writers are not paid as well as they were, everyone looses.
Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for an hour. Set him on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
I am sooooo excited.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to think "profiling is worse than the slaughter of innocent people..."
I've nearly forgotten which couple of shows even held my attention.
My TV has been off for the past month, and I just canceled my cable service and got a gym membership.
(I'm dead serious.)
That means next season will be back for most shows. I wonder how this will relate to current season DVD releases. You would think they will be bundled with another season or sold as very low prices. Which ironically is the writer's shooting themselves in the foot, because even if they get more shares in dvd/download profits, they've made there be less to sell/download. This whole strike is a farce. The WGA is sickening. I'm sure there are plenty of poor little writers out there who think this might actually help them, but I bet any deal ends up highly favoring the top end writers. I hope Eisner's comment about top dollar contracts being canceled is true. Teach them that whining for months and not working is not how you get more money.
The strike went on long enough and saved the publishers enough money to pay for their demmands... So the writters get like a couple percent increase in their salaries while they lost about 1/3 of their anual income. These are writters not mathamatitions, They are good at making the general population feel sorry for them but... They don't realized they screwed themselves.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I was hoping that the strike would go on forever.
This seems to be missing so here it is: http://www.cnbc.com/id/23057002/
Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for an hour. Set him on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
We're just not going to get an article with this one? Are we supposed to take Kdawson's word for it? Way to go!
Part of me was hoping this would never be resolved and that this would eventually cause a media revolution. Whether it was the rise of local access channels or simultaneous live airing and official torrent release, I thought there was a small chance it might have really changed things from top to bottom.
Ah well, at least The Office will be back.
Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
Not much in the way of detail though:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/23057002
Does anyone really care?
I'd rather be flying
Man, if the strike is over too soon then the new reality shows will get killed.
I mean, aren't you dying to see My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad?
It debuts on February 18th! Don't miss it, kids!
How to Download YouTube Videos
Like any good comedy it's all about timing. Writers used the directors deal as a template, or so it's rumored. Then again, now the studios have had a wonderful excuse to cut some dead weight and they'll have a deal in time for the Oscars.
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/wga-timetable-for-next-few-days/
The union still needs to vote on the contract, after some meetings.
Does anyone really even give a damn anymore?
Hey! Look a Distraction!
I'm sure this will be needed at some point, so let's get it out of the way now:
Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
Sources say that once Jack Bauer got bailed out of jail, he then met with the WGA to discuss the details over a friendly cup of White House approved tea. Interestingly, it took only 30 minutes for the WGA to agree on a 30% salary cut.
Full Tilt
Although it would appear that the strike is likely on it's way to being over, it's not quite over yet.
Here's the WGA's timetable for the next few days which may result in the actual end of the strike.
Joss Whedon, Dollhouse.
There's a hidden treasure in Python 3.x: __prepare__()
Anyone that has done work with contracts knows that till its written in black and white the deal isn't done. Sure you might come to terms but those terms need to be defined otherwise its pointless.
Let's hope that the deal means no more crappy sitcoms that just take and take from old favorites like Seinfeld, Friends, & Cheers. That type of workmanship is why they've been getting crappy pay in the first place.
Previewing comments are for sissies!
oh thank God it's over! Now I can finally stop not giving a rats ass about it! I almost cared as much about this as I cared about the baseball players strike.
I can get back to watching Lost! Maybe they'll actually tell me what the hell that Black Smoke thing was, and how the hell a Polar Bear got on the island. Or maybe they'll just kill the rest of the characters, then go all "Who Shot JR?" and bring them back because it sucks.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
This seems to be nothing more than Eisner playing to the cameras. No deal has been made until the writers actually agree to it (Sunday seems to be when everyone expects it to go down.)
Eisner's just suggesting (somewhat aggressively) that the deal being offered to the writers is so good they won't turn it down.
FUD??
...for all of that quality programming to return!
My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
Does this mean the Hulkster will have a whole new set of intelligent dialogue?
Hopefully this has shown America just how much of a waste of time watching TV shows really is.
whenever the subject matter of tv comes up, i can count on someone in the comments smug enough to loudly announce that he doesn't watch or own a television. who do i get to ridicule now?
where oh where is my favorite smug stereotype?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Even though they were no longer being paid for new scripts the actual writers were probably still getting residuals from previous scrips, reruns... the people who really got hosed were the people that are not members of the WGA. The writers' assistants, production assistants, and other lower-level staffers that were immediately fired when the strike started.
Calvin:Do you believe in the devil? Hobbes:I'm not sure man needs the help.
now tv is going to suck again...except for Family Guy
You do know that if it's going back to the writers, they can vote against it.
It was either that or outsource scripts to India. Imagine Bollywood style comedy on American TV...
Starbucks, Harbuckle of Breath.
40 comments about the writer strike ending and not a single one of you posted the obligatory:
That's Great, When's Battlestar Galactica Going to Be On Finally?
They just don't make geeks like they used to, I guess.
This is my sig.
Damn, in time for the Oscars... Why couldn't they hold out for another couple of weeks?
all the condescending douchebags who are far too intelligent to watch television.
Congratulations!
However I am sad to say, it's too late. I acquired another hobby to take up my time.
I am now a welder as well as a seamstress; I've been sewing for the last 15 years because movies were bad enough.
Now, with the dearth of good entertainment because of the strike, I decided, in desparation, to run out and get a tig welding machine from Miller Electric and am self teaching myself welding to make jewelry to accent my home made clothing.
Now, I am hooked. It will be difficult to make me go back to the movies.
Check out my welding and sewing journal at www.clearplastic.com
for shows like Prison Break, Ugly Betty* and Lost? Will their seasons just end as they are or will they just have a little hiatus and continue the season in a few weeks?
*obviously I don't watch the show, as charming as it is. I'm asking on behalf of others
Summation 2
I had a dark horse hope that perhaps the writers would learn to disintermediate the studios. The reason is a friend recently turned me on to BBC's "I.T. Crowd," which you can only watch in the States over the intertubes.
There are no commercials in the webcast, of course, but the BBC shop sends me emails advertising box DVD sets of Doctor Who and the like; definitely a fave show and the sort of message I'm open to, as opposed to endless commercials on regular TV for cars and feminine hygiene products, which I'm not in the market for.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
pls k thx!
Because they want something to come back to when they reach a deal. If they held out past the oscars many "analysts" of the industry speculated they wouldn't be able to recover their viewers. As it is I suspect most of the decent new shows are going to be dead anyway.
"Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional."
I heard he dropped out because without writers he had nothing to say. :) Think he will make a comeback?
"Nothing to see here. Move along."
At his blog, The Artful Writer
You and the moderators have no clue. Here's a couple of Fun Hollywood Facts.
1. There is so much money flowing through the distribution cartel, that unions are the only way to wrestle it out of the Producers/Studios. I'm old enough to remember a blockbuster low-budget movie called "My big fat greek wedding" has, to date, not turned a profit. Now, I could see a bad movie not turning a profit, but that movie was and still is INSANELY popular. Hell, my wife still gets residuals from a commercial that appeared in a big-budget movie made 20 years ago. That's how shady Hollywood accounting is.
2. Writers are about the least respected guild in Hollywood. Seriously, food craft gets more respect. (probably because they aren't a union)
5. Producers routinely turn great stories/scripts into trash. Once they own the rights to the script, let the destruction begin!!! This is why good books rarely make good movies. Once the writer gives up control it's all downhill. Notable exceptions usually have the writer having final say on the script.
You, and the idiots who modded you up have no clue.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
"Stuff That Matters", remember?
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
I had begun to worry that my supply of fresh books might dry up any day now.
Ingredients: Turkey, Mechanically Separated Turkey, Water, Salt, Flavour.
actually I Included that when I submitted the article! since BSG is in it's final season it currently got cut short to 16 eps. now hopefully it can go out with the full 20-22 eps. and finish as intended.
(I used to work on the show)
I've been checking news sites for information on the deal that is claimed here. So far I haven't found nothing that indicates that the strike is off.
Not on BBC News and not on CNN. Both news sites would have reported this if the strike was off and an deal had been reached.
Until proven otherwise, the writers are still one strike from my point of view.
However, there are two news on this. But nothing confirmed yet.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=4260711
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/08/television.filmnews?gusrc=rss&feed=media
in 'Deathtrap': "I'll tell you how good [the script] is. Even a gifted director couldn't hurt it."
Personally, I think the most useful way of looking at a writer's salary is this: 55% of WGA members are employed in a given year, and among those who are employed in a year, the median income is about $107,000. So, with a 55% chance of earning $107,000, your expected annual income is $58,850. This is an excellent income if you are young and single. If you have kids and a mortgage, and you live in LA or NYC (two of the most expensive cities in America), then it's still a good wage, but it's not mansion-and-a-yacht level. This confirms my own experience--the WGA is basically a middle-class union, negotiating with multibillion dollar global companies.
(I know--I'm making a number of assumptions in my analysis, but I'm not a statistician and I have to simplify things a little. I'd welcome corrections from any of the numerous Slashdot readers who must be better at statistics than I am!)
Arr! Read The Government Manual for New Pirates!
They have only finished 8 of the 16 episodes this season, due to the strike, so hopefully they will have the time to put together the remaining 8 episodes in high quality. The reason they took a whole year between seasons was to not rush the actors and post production, so I fear that they'll have to rush to get the 9th episode out on time.
I'm all for the union process, but the consiquences often suck for everyone involved. It's so hard to balance these things, because everyone is so "me, me, me" these days...
Now we can look forward to more brand new remakes and loads more sequels and a healthy dose of the same shit they've been trying to pass off as 'good television and movies' for the past 20 years. As far as I'm concerned, we should have let them stay on strike till one of them could finally prove that they had actually came up with an original idea.
-Cnik
Personally I'm going to wait for the copycat derivative on a competing network.
"My Dad can beat up your Dad!"
I was really, really hoping you were joking about that. I almost hoped it was a rickroll or goatse or something. Anything would've been better than that.
Didn't you post almost exactly the same sentiment just nine minutes previous? Talk about rehashing old bits...
Do they really need writers for "And the winner is..."?
I really don't know why the different shows didn't just hire scabs and keep going. I'm sure there were other people that would have probably been fine with the old contract. Going on strike really does just hurt the writers since more reality shows get created in the meantime, so there's less time slots for them to work in. And of course the viewers hate the reality shows so they stop watching as much TV.
-mrxak
Onions Will Kill You
Not if that's all they said, but it doesn't "play well" on TV.
Actually the issue was that the SAG actors would have boycotted the Oscars just like they did the Golden Globes. Without the stars there's nothing for people to watch.
Personally I'd prefer simple "and the winner is", but the networks want more.
The new Doctor Who is one of the most original series in production, and it's from the UK.
I tuned in to Numb3rs to see what it was all about (I'm a math prof), and it was the same old retread garbage that's been on since the days of "Barnaby Jones", at least. Oh yeah, and they flashed a few equations across the screen at near lightspeed.
No cable? Just get NetFlix.
ctually I Included that when I submitted the article! since BSG is in it's final season it currently got cut short to 16 eps. now hopefully it can go out with the full 20-22 eps. and finish as intended
Most definitely hope so. I've been waiting for a long time to see how the Galactica makes it out of that nebula.
This is my sig.
Now we can get new episodes of our favorite reality shows. Oh wait...
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
what strike? hhmmmm...
But seriously they aren't going to get rid of American Gladiators, are they?
Now that the strike has been resolved, will we even notice the difference when the writers go back to work? Really. From what I could tell the level of writing did not seem to drop that much. Sure there were a few shows that have been delayed being put back on the air. But did you really miss them that much?
I was kind of hoping people would learn to read a book. You know, those things that sit on the shelf next to the TV gathering dust. They have pages with letters that make up words on them. Oh, never mind. Go back to watching Three and Half Men or what ever pablum you are addicted to.
The Office didn't finish out their season. This was the biggest loss of this whole Strike. It screwed over a great show with a great cast and great writers. Nothing the Studios do can fix that. Ever!
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
We'll see a drastic cutback in reality procrapping. I mean programming.
What do you mean they're not cutting back? Firk!
"Teach a man to build a fire, and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life."
I really don't know why the different shows didn't just hire scabs and keep going
Because the actors are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, and the stagehands by the ISTEA. If the studios tried hiring scabs to replace the writers, the actors and stagehands would have walked out as well.
--You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
"My Dad can beat up your Dad!" There'll also be a pay-per-view gay adult channel version (s/up/off/).
Arr! Read The Government Manual for New Pirates!
There's been loads of decent US TV shows available during the strike.
A lot of shows had many scripts already written so continued running well into the strike itself. Many shows have only just exhausted their currently written scripts so if the strike really does end soon the only noticeable effect will be a slightly longer (version of that baffling) break in the middle of US TV seasons.
Even with a slight lessening of US shows it has been easy to supplement with shows from other countries. I found myself watching increasing numbers of Japanese dramas (kindly subtitled by the fansub community) and there has been massive amounts of quality TV in the UK over the past couple of months (especially period/costume dramas; like busses you wait years for one and then five come along at once!), including "Ashes to Ashes" (follow-up to "Life on Mars") which started last night.
Some of the best Daily Show and Colbert Report episodes were done without writers.
Sure, the shows became a little bit less organized, and don't flow quite as smoothly as before, but the comedy has never been so true to the hosts' styles. I personally loved the experimentation they were afforded in this time. Hopefully when the writers return they will continue on this path, but I wouldn't put money on it.
Move all sig!
Guys... Eisner proclaiming the strike over is just part of a PR effort to attempt to pressure writers to vote for the strike proposals by creating the wide expectation that the strike is over, that it's a done deal. That way, if the writers turn the proposal down, people feel let down.
The strike is NOT over.
If you watch the video where Eisner insists the strike to be over, he says quietly at the end that he is really just passing on a rumor. He also points out that the writers have to vote on the offer. He says the writers would be "insane" not to take it, but he also previously had stated that the entire strike was "insanity" so he's not the most unbiased person on this.
The strike is not over until the full WGA membership votes on the proposal. They may do so, but they may not. The terms of the contract proposal have not even been seen by the writers, so there's no way to know right now what's going to happen.
If you don't believe me, may I recommend this post by Joss Wheden, or this one, or this one.
W
-------------------
This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Frankly they have no originality left.
New and edgy Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman and even though I have not seen 1 episode yet, the new Knight Rider with Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT.
And as Brian and Stewie say so well, here come the new night time swill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQuF_t-rTZQ
Consonants are determined by a spin of the wheel and vowels cost $50 each.
Have gnu, will travel.
12 people living in a Boston apartment. 6 of them from the Writers Guild. 6 of them from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Every room is filled with tv's that cannot be shut off and air the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 24/7. Who'll crack first?
Find out here on FOX! Every Wednesday at 8!
It turned out that after making the deal at $88,000 per annum, they'd sold the industry bosses their briefcase which contained $1,000,000. Oh well. We won't be seeing you next week on Deal or No Deal, because 24 is starting again! Yay!
Those using pirated Tinysoft signatures(TM) are a real threat to society and should all be thrown in jail.
yes but it is a domino effect and when all things work out we don't run out of dominos. the industry is always months ahead of what is actually on air. they are almost wrapping up episode 12-13 of BSG but we haven't even seen episode 3 yet (razor was episode 1&2)
The way it is now though is even if the strike is over now, viewers may not notice the gap in the dominoes till late spring or summer. I on the other hand depend on it for work and my end date is rapidly approaching with the stop in the flow of scripts.
for instance I am currently on ep 12 of unsaid show, which airs next week. but it will only go till ep 15 in which case I will be joining thousands of other crew that will be out of work till the new scripts come in. this could take months before my dominoes are up again too.
Speaking as someone who is in the entertainment industry and has been on strike in the recent past I just want to say; Going on strike is not an easy decision. There is a great deal of consideration that goes into what the industry itself can bare. There is also a great deal of consideration about the long term effects of not going on strike would be. You say that there are have been people that would have been fine with the old contract. True. There are probably people who would be willing to do your job for much less money as well. But what would the long term effects be? In the case of the writers, it would be the end of writing as a viable career option. They were fighting to have the same royalties on internet distribution as they currently have on DVD distribution. Everyone knows that in ten years the vast majority of the distribution will be via the internet, so in essence they were fight to have royalties at all. Royalties are what allow for writing to be career. It was clear from the outset of this strike that the writers would have to do some short term damage to the industry as a whole, in order to preserve the long term existence of their jobs. The reason this was obvious was because the management on the other side of the bargaining table was putting forward a proposal that would have short term gains and long term damage. In the short term they would have profited 3% more on internet sales, but in the long term they would have destroyed the position of professional screen writer, leaving only those who would pursue writing as a hobby. Sure they could always get some starry eyed recently graduated newcomers to fill the job, but as those people tried to do things like buy a house or raise a family, they would be forced out the job by the financial realities of the "old contract". There would be no one around with 20 years of professional experience, there would be no one to really refine the craft, there would only be glorified interns. That isn't good for the industry.
We are all just people.
Even stuff ranging from running fiber to getting deliveries are slowed by the picket lines...
They all stopped writing good shows about a decade ago. I say fuck 'em all!
-Billco, Fnarg.com
Actually, stagehands are represented by the IATSE - or the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes.
"But this one goes to 11!"
Sweeps months (the viewing periods that set advertising rates for the following months) are November, February, and May.
The strike began in November, when there were still enough episodes produced to keep the air schedules full. With nothing produced since then, there's nothing to save the current sweeps period, and the ads rates will probably slip. If production doesn't resume soon, May sweeps could be even worse.
At this point, I think the writers have the upper hand. I'm sure the studios/networks have been talking to the advertisers to minimize potential losses (that could last until this December), but the only real way to prevent ad revenue losses is to get new shows on air ASAP.
The writers are back? Does this mean I can now stop... - reading books? - spending time with my kids? - working on a new business? - writing letters to my senators and representatives? - riding bikes with my friends? - interesting discussions with my wife? - studying for my next college degree? On second thought...
Programmers are also writers whose work gets syndicated on the Internet without royalty payments. The difference is that TV writers have a union.
Programmers might like to think that the other difference is that there are more than enough TV writers, but not nearly enough programmers, so supply/demand keeps programmer jobs/benefits/salaries safe. But programming is getting easier for anyone to do - at least the kind of programming that most people will buy, just like the mostly crappy writing on TV. In a few years, the global supply of programmers will be a lot bigger, and programmers won't have as much safe privileges in the market.
Then programmers will want a union, and wish they'd helped TV writers secure these basic fairness rules of commerce that would protect everyone writing creatively for profit.
--
make install -not war
The Oscars are a huge boost to the visibility of the actors and their films. All the actors who were just paying lip service to the writers and their cause began howling for their own benefit and put pressure on the studios the closer the Oscars got.
choice quote at the bottom:
FUNK!
Wow hadnt really noticed.
they download it, and my connection has not been maxed for the past 3 months and I miss the feeling...:)
Live Electronic Music
Seriously, I think Fox was a huge reason writers went on strike, because they got tired of Fox canceling every new show they come up with...
With the writers strike over, we can finally get rid of this cheap "reality" TV and get back to the prime-time dramas and crime shows... but Fox will keep doing American Idol and 5 ripoffs of American Idol...
You heard the man! Back to work and no one gets this banana until someone comes up with the next sitcom!
Oops, how did this get here?
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
I'm going to write a sit-com about a sassy robot.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
WGAW is having a meeting Saturday night with its members to discuss the deal points proposed by the studios. I don't know if the studios have finished "inking" their proposal (i.e. I believe that there was a verbal "fuzzy" agreement but specific legal language is still being drafted).
The deal will be presented to the membership on Saturday where I believe an informal vote will be taken. I believe that a full ratification vote is required by the constitution for the deal to be formally accepted but that the Board of Directors can lift the strike without before that happens.
The terms for compensation for Internet re-usage in the DGA deal were not very appealing for Writers and Actors. I haven't seen what the deal terms are that have been proposed to the WGA, but if they didn't make good progress on this, the deal might be met with a mixed reception by members.
That said, the Negotiating Committee and the Board of Directors have the pulse of the membership my guess is that the membership will go along with the recommendations of the Negotiating Committee and the Board of Directors. I don't know how unanimous the NC/BoD are with respect to the deal (i.e. whether there is agreement that the deal is fair enough or whether the strike should go on longer).
Evolution: love it or leave it
Sure it is. You just mindlessly follow your union leadership. No decisions necessary.
Spoken like a true fascist.
lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
When ever I post anything remotely conservative or Anti-Liberal I tend to get modded into the ground. When I am a Moderator If I disagree with someone I usually let it be because I know I am to emotional about the topic to judge it fairly. Face it Unions have their problems they are not always in the workers self interests but their own. Dragging this strike probably hurt them more then it will gain. Just like GM strikes when the company faces it worse year ever (With many people blaming Union workers as the reason). These strikes are not for the worker it is for the Unions to show to the public that they are still there, with all time low in people joining the Unions they are grasping at straws to get known.
Yes Unions had positive impact in the past and I do not want to see any laws that outlaw them, We need unions to keep industry in check. But lately the Unions have been striking over silly things for people who make a decent middle class wages. We are not talking about people working 80 hours a week to make enough to make enough to buy little food, we are talking about average people who want more money like we all do.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
The main reason I just don't care about writers' "hardships" is that they were primarily demanding royalties over so-called "new media" that haven't proven to be all that profitable yet.
And more to the point, I feel that they shouldn't get royalties in the first place. Sure, if you're a screenwriter who wrote a brilliant screenplay on your own time and on your own dime, you *should* rake in the money every time derivatives of your work are used if that's the way you shop it out (i.e., the film utilizing your screenplay is sold to a consumer in one form or another, because you licensed the studio to produce your work). But these unionized writers were demanding royalties on stuff they wrote while on the payroll of studios. They arrive in the morning, sit at a desk and write or edit scripts all day for a wage-- the studios pay them for their creative input.
Now take Joe Programmer. He works for a software developer. He sits in his cube all day, writing out code. He uses his creativity and produces a relatively unique product. His employer pays him for that creative input. But at the end of the day, when the product goes to market, he will have received only the paychecks his employer cut him based on his salary/hourly wages. How is this appreciably different from a screenwriter, that a programmer simply doesn't deserve to double-dip and make another few bucks every time the software he labored on is sold or used?
You're not so good with statistics. Let me help you out a bit.
For under the cost of living: 45% chance of making nothing each year.
That means you have a...
20.25% chance of making nothing in two years
9.11% chance of making nothing for 3 years straight
4.1% chance of making nothing for 4 years straight
1.85% chance of making nothing for 5 years straight
0.83% chance of making nothing for 6 years straight
0.37% chance of making nothing for 7 years straight (well, as you can see, this is starting to get improbable)
Seven years of full time work (40 hour weeks) at minimum wage (~$7) is $101,920. So, as you can see, they only have to work one year out of seven at their expected $107,000 (with odds of 99.63% for), to be able to afford to pay their rent
Sure, that would put them in working class territory not middle class, but here are some numbers to get you thinking about just how good their chances really are.
Lets add that 55% chance of making $107,000 each year
That means...
For two years you have a 30.25% chance of making $214,000, and 49.5% chance of making $107,000
For three year you have a 16.64% chance of making $321,000, and a 40.84% chance of making $214,000, and a 33.41% chance of making $107,000
For four years you have a 9.15% chance of making $428,000, and a 29.95% chance of making $321,000, and a 24.5% chance of making $214,000, and a 20.05% chance of making $107,000
For five years you have a 5.03% chance of making $535,000, and a 20.59% chance of making $428,000, and a 16.85% chance of making $321,000, and a 13.78% chance of making $214,000, and a 11.28% chance of making $107,000
For six years you have 2.77% chance of making $642,000, 13.59% chance of making $535,000, and a 11.12% chance of making $428,000, and a 9.1% chance of making $321,000, and a 7.44% chance of making $214,000, and a 6.09% chance of making $107,000
Just -1, Troll talking to another.
>Personally I'd prefer simple "and the winner is"
That's a lot more than I want. I'd prefer if they posted the list of winners on some notice board in some sleepy village in the middle of nowhere.
Does the Oscar event serve a useful purpose?
In either case, here at Microsoft, we feel standards are important. And we have fun, too. Doug Mahugh, Microsoft
...Spiderman 3. They should be more selective about what they create. I hold them all responsible for those wasted minutes.
Ditto with newspapers. Murdoch's trick when he took over the (profitable) HK&S Times was apparently to sell the artistic rights to the paper's masthead to a shell company that he owned, located in an offshore tax haven. Then, whatever profits the paper was going to make in a given year mysteriously turned out to correspond almost exactly to the licensing fee that year for the right to use the masthead.
One of the Hollywood studio's latest tricks is supposed to be aggregation. If a hit film is supposed to pay the actors, director, producer or writer a percentage of the profits, what the studio will do is unilaterally decide to bundle that film with a group of big loss-makers, and treat that group as a single accounting entity. At the studio's discretion, the hit film is then deemed not to have gone into profit until it's paid back the studio for all the losses that they made on the other films in the bundle. The really bent thing about this, of course, is that the decision as to which films are going to be "grouped" for accounting reasons can be deferred until the studio has spreadsheeted combinations are going to save them the most in contracted percentage fees.
Eric Baird
yeah, they need a vacation. cuz being on strike is soooo straining. writing in general is so hard. maybe they should propose mandatory naps for those lazy fucks. if i was in charge - i would not hire any striking moron back. let them shovel manure for a decade or two. but then again, what do i know?
I'm pretty sure he meant it as an insult.
The Best shows in the past 5-10 years have NOT been on (or created by) Network Tv. HBO had taken the lead in good storytelling in television, pioneered with SOPRANOS but continuing to such shows as DEADWOOD, CARNIVALE, THE WIRE, ROME. As of late, HBO has lost much of that edge as their flagship shows have ended or been cancelled (ROME, *sigh*) and now Showtime is coming on strong with DEXTER and BROTHERHOOD (SLEEPER CELL, DEAD LIKE ME in the past).
And now AMC has MAD MEN and BREAKING BAD which are both substantially better than anything on network tv.
FX has THE SHIELD and now SUNNY IN PHILLY.
THE OFFICE almost doesn't count as an NBC product since Ricky Gervais is basically remaking the UK version.
BSG is sci fi.
FIREFLY was cancelled prematurely, as were excellent shows FREAKS AND GEEKS and WONDERFALLS. This seems par for the course: Shows are too good for tv; i think if FREAKS AND GEEKS were on HBO, they would've gotten a second season or so...
I'm not a fan of LOST or HEROES or 24 or CSI:foo, personally, but those are rare wins for Network tv. But what are the Biggest Name shows on network tv? AMERICAN IDOL, SURVIVOR... meh. Of those ilk, I again, prefer the cable offerings: ICE ROAD TRUCKERS, DEADLIEST CATCH.
This past season on network tv, I watched THE OFFICE, REAPER, CHUCK, and PUSHING DAISIES. oh and a guilty pleasure: BIG BANG THEORY.
Don't forget about the Guild Of American Theatrical Stage Employees. I forget the link, but you can probably find GOATSE on google...