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

[The Panda]

I wasn't that aware of everything going on with this, hopefully the negotiations go well.

[Plain Old Tele]

7 minutes ago, franfar said:

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

 

It's split into different areas.

 

- they would like to bump rates in TV because TV seasons are shorter but writers are only paid per episode or until production wraps. Yet frequently they're continually bound to the show and not allowed to go onto other shows while their current show is on hiatus. So the end result is writers getting paid less and not allowed to fill the gaps.

 

- they would like to normalize TV rates across type of networks. Right now writers are paid less for cable TV shows than network shows, even if the cable TV show has far better ratings. (For example, someone writing on Walking Dead would earn much less than someone writing some cruddy drama on NBC that gets cancelled after 4 episodes. Same work, same format, different pay scales).

 

- they would like to get a better deal for streaming services

 

- they would like the studios to contribute more to the writers' healthcare and pension plans

 

I think all told it's something like 300m and change. John Gary, writer of TRANSFORMERS, had a series of tweets a little while ago pointing out that the direct cost for each studio would be less than what their CEOs made each year (or in a couple of cases, a couple of the top execs).

[junkshop36]

All I'm worried about movie wise is how this will affect the Star Wars movies!

 

I'll be curious to see how it affects Han Solo and Ep9. 

[eddyxx]

Which superhero films does this effect and will this delay GOT season 8?

[Plain Old Tele]

8 minutes ago, Barnack said:

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

 

These figures are interesting but they also don't tell the whole story, as the top-dollar earners really skew the amounts. (Chuck Lorre, for example, or A-list screenwriters). And it's also worth noting that since writers are usually considered self-employed, they owe a fat chunk of change on these amounts to taxes (and also 10-15% deducted off the top for agents/managers). And the amounts are usually split up over time (certain percentage up front, another chunk delivered on first draft, rest delivered on follow-up draft(s), etc).

[MyMovieCanBeatUpYourMovie]

Episode IX would almost have to be impacted by a prolonged strike.  There were reports that they had only just completed the first draft. 

[filmlover]

Imagine if a strike ends up happening and lasts into the fall.

 

Enjoy your year off, Emmy Awards!

[Barnack]

6 minutes ago, Tele Came Back said:

 

These figures are interesting but they also don't tell the whole story, as the top-dollar earners really skew the amounts. (Chuck Lorre, for example, or A-list screenwriters). And it's also worth noting that since writers are usually considered self-employed, they owe a fat chunk of change on these amounts to taxes (and also 10-15% deducted off the top for agents/managers). And the amounts are usually split up over time (certain percentage up front, another chunk delivered on first draft, rest delivered on follow-up draft(s), etc).

 

My first thought is that they would be useless because of say 20-30 A-lister writer making 1-2 million on big movies, skewing everything.

 

But the 33% drop since 2007 in the average pay (once adjusted to inflation) must be a tendancy that is not particular to the biggest writer.

 

And we are talking about a almost 2000 people and 383 million total, it should keep some relevance (even thought median pay would have been necessary here)

 

If say the top 30 writers are making 50 million in 2015, the average of the others go down to 176.4 from 199.6, so yeah I don't know what the top 100 total look like but it would affect the average a lot.

 

Quote

And it's also worth noting that since writers are usually considered self-employed, they owe a fat chunk of change on these amounts to taxes

 

Not sure to fully get that part, normal employee also owe a fat chunk of their salary to taxes, usually more not having the liberty to mix dividend from their own company paid to themselves over time/salary to optimize taxation, specially if the money come in splitted up over time.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Barnack

[aabattery]

3 minutes ago, MyMovieCanBeatUpYourMovie said:

Episode IX would almost have to be impacted by a prolonged strike.  There were reports that they had only just completed the first draft. 

 

They'll have to delay it to December 2019.

[NoobSaibot]

Hopefully Hollywood remembers how damaging things were last time the WGA went through a long strike.

 

A lot of movies I care about are supposed to go into production this Summer. Just pay your people and stay on schedule...

[franfar]

I feel like some deal will be made in the 11th hour. I don't think the studios are that dumb...hopefully

[Jonwo]

8 minutes ago, Tele Came Back said:

 

It's split into different areas.

 

- they would like to bump rates in TV because TV seasons are shorter but writers are only paid per episode or until production wraps. Yet frequently they're continually bound to the show and not allowed to go onto other shows while their current show is on hiatus. So the end result is writers getting paid less and not allowed to fill the gaps.

 

- they would like to normalize TV rates across type of networks. Right now writers are paid less for cable TV shows than network shows, even if the cable TV show has far better ratings. (For example, someone writing on Walking Dead would earn much less than someone writing some cruddy drama on NBC that gets cancelled after 4 episodes. Same work, same format, different pay scales).

 

- they would like to get a better deal for streaming services

 

- they would like the studios to contribute more to the writers' healthcare and pension plans

 

I think all told it's something like 300m and change. John Gary, writer of TRANSFORMERS, had a series of tweets a little while ago pointing out that the direct cost for each studio would be less than what their CEOs made each year (or in a couple of cases, a couple of the top execs).

 

Point 2 would be a sticking point for cable networks and producers because it would have a snowball effect as actors on cable shows likely get paid less than their network counterpoint with one or two exceptions 

[Cookson]

1 minute ago, NoobSaibot said:

Hopefully Hollywood remembers how damaging things were last time the WGA went through a long strike.

 

A lot of movies I care about are supposed to go into production this Summer. Just pay your people and stay on schedule...

Yeah... lots of good stuff. 

[Jandrew]

7 minutes ago, MyMovieCanBeatUpYourMovie said:

Episode IX would almost have to be impacted by a prolonged strike.  There were reports that they had only just completed the first draft. 

 

I'm sorry, this is off topic, but what in the world is your avatar.

[MyMovieCanBeatUpYourMovie]

One factor to consider is just how many scripted shows  there are now.   2016 had 455 (!) scripted shows.  

 

I would imagine that creates a lot of pressure to get a deal done.  Were there even half that many in 2007-2008?

[MyMovieCanBeatUpYourMovie]

2 minutes ago, jandrew said:

 

I'm sorry, this is off topic, but what in the world is your avatar.

 

Plain and simple Garak.  (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

[Jonwo]

1 minute ago, MyMovieCanBeatUpYourMovie said:

One factor to consider is just how many scripted shows  there are now.   2016 had 455 (!) scripted shows.  

 

I would imagine that creates a lot of pressure to get a deal done.  Were there even half that many in 2007-2008?

 

One things that changed is that reality shows have really waned whereas in 2007/8, the likes of Idol, DWTS were still going strong. Networks need scripted shows more now than they did then especially with the likes of Netflix and Amazon doing originals and you can bet if there is a strike that they'll try and do a seperate deal 

[franfar]

4 minutes ago, MyMovieCanBeatUpYourMovie said:

One factor to consider is just how many scripted shows  there are now.   2016 had 455 (!) scripted shows.  

 

I would imagine that creates a lot of pressure to get a deal done.  Were there even half that many in 2007-2008?

According to Variety: http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/peak-tv-2016-scripted-tv-programs-1201944237/

 

 

Nope, not even half

[Barnack]

*Already posted

Edited April 25, 2017 by Barnack

[franfar]

nvm

Edited April 25, 2017 by franfar