WGA authorizes strike with 96% vote | tentative agreement reached at 1am PDT

[Barnack]

2 minutes ago, That One Guy said:

I support the strike, but I do feel bad for the directors, actors, producers, etc. who can't change anything on big productions that are currently filming.

 

I would imagine they can still change dialogues, decides to not shoot a scene and small stuff like that.

[Jonwo]

1 minute ago, Tele Came Back said:

Someone closely involved in the production in some creative capacity sort of tries to cover whatever gaps need covering, whether it's a studio exec or an actor or whatever. In the case of the actor, it may well be them trying to come up with lines and then having some other (non-writing, non-director person) writing down what they say.

 

I assume if an actor improvises a line or a scene, they won't be paid extra or credited since they're not part of the union. 

[Jandrew]

I do wonder how much different TF2 would've been without a strike. The movie wasnt even "finished" until a few hours before premiere. On the day of the premiere, Bay was still in the room sound mixing and what not.

 

He blames the terrible script on the strike, and while I can see how that'd affect some circumstances, I don't think that excuses those god awful Twins, or much else of the dialogue. You can't blame Wheelie humping Megan Fox's leg, "I'm below enemy scrotum", or the Twins having big ears and gold teeth on the strike. You just can't.

 

 

Edited April 25, 2017 by jandrew

[Cmasterclay]

Just now, The Panda said:

I'm not so sure how much I support shutting down industries with a strike.  When the WGA strikes is hurts everyone's job in the industry.  Unless writers are really getting bad ends of the stick.

That shouldn't be the responsibility of the people striking who are getting screwed. That's the responsibility of the people refusing to pay them what they are worth, giving them benefits they've earned, or looking out for their safety. People strike for good reason, and they don't do it just for attention or to whine, considering the constant media villification and hate from politicians. That's true whether it's writers, teachers, coal miners, or air traffic controllers. 

[Plain Old Tele]

2 minutes ago, franfar said:

@Tele Came Back I have questions regarding the "scabs." 

 

1) Are you blackballed from just the union, or the industry at large?

 

2) If it's the former, how badly would that affect one's career, as opposed to working non-union?

 

Just from the union. The WGA has no control over non-union shops or non-union writers. That being said, all the major studios and their affiliates/subsidiaries are bound by WGA contracts, so you'd essentially be writing for low-budget productions or you could go write for productions made by foreign companies.

 

1 minute ago, The Panda said:

I'm not so sure how much I support shutting down industries with a strike.  When the WGA strikes is hurts everyone's job in the industry.  Unless writers are really getting bad ends of the stick.

 

They're not getting a good deal currently and the bulk of the money they're asking for is to shore up pensions and healthcare for writers.

[The Panda]

Just now, Cmasterclay said:

That shouldn't be the responsibility of the people striking who are getting screwed. That's the responsibility of the people refusing to pay them what they are worth, giving them benefits they've earned, or looking out for their safety. People strike for good reason, and they don't do it just for attention or to whine, considering the constant media villification and hate from politicians. That's true whether it's writers, teachers, coal miners, or air traffic controllers. 

 

I understand the purpose, but they seem to skipping the negotiation first step.

[filmlover]

Just now, jandrew said:

I do wonder how much different TF2 would've been without a strike. The movie wasnt even "finished" until a few hours before premiere. On the day of the premiere, Bay was still in the room sound mixing and what not.

 

He blames the terrible script on the strike, and while I can see how that'd affect some circumstances but I don't think that excuses those god awful Twins, or much else of the dialogue. You can't blame Wheelie humping Megan Fox's leg, "I'm below enemy scrotum", or the Twins having big eyes and gold teeth on the strike. You just can't.

Considering the sequels that followed weren't received much better, crediting that film's lackluster reception to the strike is pushing it.

[franfar]

Just now, Tele Came Back said:

 

Just from the union. The WGA has no control over non-union shops or non-union writers. That being said, all the major studios and their affiliates/subsidiaries are bound by WGA contracts, so you'd essentially be writing for low-budget productions or you could go write for productions made by foreign companies.

 

 

They're not getting a good deal currently and the bulk of the money they're asking for is to shore up pensions and healthcare for writers.

Oh ok. And do you know how much/% they're asking for?

[Plain Old Tele]

3 minutes ago, Barnack said:

 

I would imagine they can still change dialogues, decides to not shoot a scene and small stuff like that.

 

They can change dialogue but they have to come up with it on their own. They can choose not to shoot a scene, but they would have to come up with how to bridge the gap and/or anything to replace it.

[YM!]

1 minute ago, jandrew said:

I do wonder how much different TF2 would've been without a strike. The movie wasnt even "finished" until a few hours before premiere. On the day of the premiere, Bay was still in the room sound mixing and what not.

 

He blames the terrible script on the strike, and while I can see how that'd affect some circumstances, I don't think that excuses those god awful Twins, or much else of the dialogue. You can't blame Wheelie humping Megan Fox's leg, "I'm below enemy scrotum", or the Twins having big ears and gold teeth on the strike. You just can't.

 

 

My mom took me to see TF2 as a kid and was really mad at the Twins and ranted about a refund.

[Cmasterclay]

Just now, The Panda said:

 

I understand the purpose, but they seem to skipping the negotiation first step.

They aren't on strike yet. They've voted to authorize a strike if negotiations go bad.

[Plain Old Tele]

Just now, The Panda said:

 

I understand the purpose, but they seem to skipping the negotiation first step.

 

They've been negotiating with the AMPTP (the studios) for months already.

[Water Bottle]

4 minutes ago, The Panda said:

I'm not so sure how much I support shutting down industries with a strike.  When the WGA strikes is hurts everyone's job in the industry.  Unless writers are really getting bad ends of the stick.

 

Writers are getting exploited right now because the industry changed a lot since the last deal. They are hoping to have a deal that puts writers in a better position.

[filmlover]

Just now, YourMother said:

My mom took me to see TF2 as a kid and was really mad at the Twins and ranted about a refund.

Did she shield your eyes during the Transformers testicles?

[Cookson]

What if a film's director is also a writer for the film? I brought up Godzilla 2 earlier, and remembered Michael Dougherty is a writer and the films director. Couldn't he just touch up the script during filming since he's the"director "?

[Water Bottle]

Just now, Cookson said:

What if a film's director is also a writer for the film? I brought up Godzilla 2 earlier, and remembered Michael Dougherty is a writer and the films director. Couldn't he just touch up the script during filming since he's the"director "?

 

No. He can direct but he can't touch the script.

[trifle]

5 minutes ago, franfar said:

@Tele Came Back I have questions regarding the "scabs." 

 

1) Are you blackballed from just the union, or the industry at large?

 

2) If it's the former, how badly would that affect one's career, as opposed to working non-union?

 

Tele can answer more definitively, but I can tell you that basically the ENTIRETY of a production is unionized, DGA, SAG/AFTRA, whatever.  Union people aren't likely to look kindly on someone who was a scab in their union's strike. By which I mean, who would hire them, equity waiver stage productions?

[MyMovieCanBeatUpYourMovie]

Apparently, the last writers strike brought us such jems using half-finished scripts such as Wolverine: Origins, Quantum of Solace, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  (Not to mention Heroes season two.  *Shudder*)

 

So, here's hoping the writers get everything they are asking for in short order.  

[adrianarose27]

Maybe this strike won't last as long as the last one did. 

[Barnack]

For a reference

WGA West screenwriters earning, last strike was 2007, going down pretty much every year, but a large part of that is because studio are doing less and less movies.

 

Year	# Writers Employed	Total Earned	Average pay	Adjusted for inflation pay
2000	2,154	$392,662,713	$182,294.67	$250,749.20
2001	2,002	$388,816,935	$194,214.25	$259,992.31
2002	1,876	$413,099,071	$220,202.06	$290,121.30
2003	1,900	$434,195,402	$228,523.90	$294,489.56
2004	1,903	$438,005,013	$230,165.53	$288,789.88
2005	1,961	$455,555,295	$232,307.65	$281,926.76
2006	1,998	$437,053,720	$218,745.61	$257,045.36
2007	2,054	$526,427,934	$256,294.03	$292,907.46
2008	1,830	$375,219,419	$205,037.93	$225,812.70
2009	1,873	$438,997,103	$234,381.80	$258,985.41
2010	1,759	$408,016,771	$231,959.51	$252,129.90
2011	1,707	$375,148,657	$219,770.74	$231,581.39
2012	1,691	$368,003,182	$217,624.59	$224,586.78
2013	1,754	$350,534,617	$199,848.70	$203,304.88
2014	1,767	$357,521,786	$202,332.65	$202,535.18
2015	1,922	$383,762,685	$199,668.41	$199,668.41