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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'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.
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.
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.
Could they have just STAYED on strike?
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
I guess now the shows can go back to the same tired old bits they were rehashing before the strike forced them to get creative for the first time in years. -sigh-
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
I can't say that I really missed it while it was gone, but I do welcome back The Word.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
Damn, in time for the Oscars... Why couldn't they hold out for another couple of weeks?
In all fairness, I'm not sure the "According to Jim" writers deserve your vigorous defense.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
That's thinking a bit short term. If their terms are met like they were hoping, it means that they're not cut out of emerging media outlets. That's going to be an important point in the next couple of decades as people shift their content viewing to legitimate online venues and away from traditional television.
Does anyone really even give a damn anymore?
Uhh, yeah. I'd like my last season of BSG, thankyouverymuch.
Plus a couple of other shows, but that one's top of the list.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
If someone doesn't watch tv, then how are/were they affected by this strike? They weren't. I do watch some tv but didn't really notice any change except for reruns of 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'The Big Bang Theory'. Other than that, no problems here either.
Aside from that, this is probably one of the few times I will agree with a union demand. In this case, yes, the writers should get compensated for their work when that work is sent online, on DVD or elsewhere. The medium doesn't matter. The fact of the matter is, they worked to produced the product, they should get compensated.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
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."
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!
Actually, I think this past decade has been one of the most creative decades for Television since the medium began. Anywhere from BSG, The Sopranos and 30 Rock to Lost, The Office and Heroes. And let's not forget Firefly.
Now are the geeks happy?
Do You Experiment?
You could ditch (broadcast) TV entirely. Rent movies and quality TV shows on DVD. It takes a few weeks/months to "decompress" from the frenetic need to have some sort of constant visual stimulus to occupy your spare time, but afterwards, you'll both be much better off. Read, play cards, listen to music, or, you know, *talk* with each other. :)
Method of processing duck feet
You mean comedy that is actually funny?
I've actually been rather impressed with some of the new TV programming over the past few years. Also remember that 99% of anything is crap (and that includes reality shows)
Lost is far from formulaic and repetitive, although the writers have been taking it a bit too far, and need to start winding down the series (ideally in one or two seasons, rather than the proposed three). I lost track halfway through the second season, so I can't comment on how it's been recently.
Heroes is one of the most popular shows today, and has terrific nerd-appeal. The current season has been somewhat subpar, but the original series was engaging and enjoyable.
Battlestar Galactica is easily the best-written and produced Sci-Fi series to air in years. It's also quite a bit more palatable for normal audiences.
24 is the best 80s action movie ever made. Although I don't particularly agree with its politics, it's quite an engaging storyline.
House is quite good. Perhaps becoming a bit repetitive, but definitely the best of the "medical" shows.
Mythbusters? How can you read slashdot and not love mythbusters, even in spite of their disregard for the scientific method?
The Daily Show and Colbert Report singlehandedly got an apathetic generation interested in politics. That's no small feat.
Over in the UK, they've got Top Gear, The Mighty Boosh, the current incarnation of Dr Who, along with a fantastic array of other programming that doesn't make it to the US -- Thanks to advances in filmmaking technology, their documentaries and nature series are also absolutely captivating to watch.
(After writing this post, I feel the need to assert that I'm not a couch potato! The magic of TiVo lets me save the good stuff for saturday nights.)
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
Hell yeah! It'll be the only new and interesting thing on television in the last 20 years. I'm all for it.
Who lost their houses?
the thousands and thousands of working class people who run lighting, sound, catering, construction, etc etc for these shows.
The writers and the studios are probably among those LEAST effected by this strike.