WGA/SAGAFTRA Strike Discussion Thread | SAG Ratifies Contract

[ChipDerby]

I have no clue why he's so anti union.

[Cmasterclay]

4 minutes ago, ChipDerby said:

I have no clue why he's so anti union.

Because he's an asshole, I'd say.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Cmasterclay

[The GOAT]

3 minutes ago, ChipDerby said:

I have no clue why he's so anti union.

Boxoffice Analyst for AMC?

[AMC Theaters Enjoyer]

I once said that Voldemort is the type of dude Adam Aron would be friends with but now I think even Aron would think he’s a dork.

[ThomasNicole]

1 hour ago, ChipDerby said:

I have no clue why he's so anti union.

Because he probably wants very bad to be part of the executives so he just acts like one 

[ChipDerby]

Dude is just getting pounded by the WGA tonight

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, ChipDerby said:

I have no clue why he's so anti union.

 

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

- Upton Sinclair

 

True 100 years ago, true today.

 

(he is pissed off that the strikes are or possibly will affect the box office and is lashing out at strikers instead of the AMPTP)

Edited August 23, 2023 by Porthos

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, Porthos said:

 

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

- Upton Sinclair

 

True 100 years ago, true today.

 

(he is pissed off that the strikes are or possibly will affect the box office and is lashing out at strikers instead of the AMPTP)

 

I guess I should expand on this (more than) a little bit.

 

I've never bothered to ask/investigate it, but it's fairly obvious from his postings (and other folk's comments) that EC has some job/connection with a NATO member theater organization/chain. Either directly or indirectly.

 

Not gonna try to suss exactly what it is, except to say that it's probably NY based (his handle — and in fact online personality — point to a... let's say certain style of New Yorker), and likely either at some sort of management level or works closely with management level.

 

He's also been fairly bullish on the state of the box office industry when it comes to overall recovery from COVID.  And given the success of films like Super Mario Brothers, Barbie, and Oppenheimer, and some of the setbacks in the streaming biz, he's had some cause to feel vindicated that even if the industry won't recapture the level of '19 sales it still has a very solid outlook in the future.  

 

But he's also likely very aware that the box office hasn't fully recovered from the 'rona and the absolute last thing he wants is to have another months long disruption to the movie pipeline ala the initial COVID shutdowns.

 

So it isn't a surprise to me that he is reacting badly to the strikes in general, as it has the very real possibility of harming the box office industry when it is still in a somewhat shaky state.

 

So why be pro-AMPTP instead of pro-labor? Especially since he's put various AMPTP signatories on blast in the past? Well, here I get more to speculating, but as I said it seems he is either management level of some kind or works with management.  He's made other prior comments about staffing, for instance, that makes me think that at least, thus his natural inclination might not exactly be "pro labor". 

 

And it might even be likely that he thinks that the AMPTP is either offering a fair (enough) deal or that the time "isn't right" for a strike and that the WGA/SAG unions should try again in a few years when the overall entertainment industry is healthier and not still recovering from COVID.

 

Needless to say I disagree with this logic, but I think that's where he's coming from, hence my quoting of Upton Sinclair.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Porthos

[Jonwo]

I don't get why it's so difficult to not leak proposals to the trades. Just have a blackout period.

[SpiderByte]

So basically the AMPTP wants the same deal as DGA got but WGA doesn't. October looking more and more likely...

[Cappoedameron]

WGA and AMPTP are gonna have to meet in the middle somewhere and I think they will soon. Probably in September.

 

Expect the January 2024 slate of shows to be very condensed episode count of probably 10-13 episode seasons.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Cappoedameron

[SpiderByte]

33 minutes ago, Cappoedameron said:

WGA and AMPTP are gonna have to meet in the middle somewhere and I think they will soon. Probably in September.

 

Expect the January 2024 slate of shows to be very condensed episode count of probably 10-13 episode seasons.

I think both of these are incredibly over-optimistic. Keep in mind that production can't resume until SAG ends their strike, and negotiations for that don't even begin till after WGA is done.

[Cappoedameron]

I don't think it's being an optimist. The networks know that they can't afford to lose the 2024 January slate, even if it's a condensed episode count they need scripted content. 

[JWR]

1 hour ago, Cappoedameron said:

WGA and AMPTP are gonna have to meet in the middle somewhere and I think they will soon. Probably in September.

 

Expect the January 2024 slate of shows to be very condensed episode count of probably 10-13 episode seasons.

 

This reads like a last minute act of desperation from the AMPTP. 

[Jonwo]

I fully expect the AMPTP to concede sooner rather later because dragging into next year just invites political and investor intervention. 

[SpiderByte]

I don't think it'll be next year but I definitely think it won't be September.

[Dementeleus]

5 hours ago, Porthos said:

 

I guess I should expand on this (more than) a little bit.

 

I've never bothered to ask/investigate it, but it's fairly obvious from his postings (and other folk's comments) that EC has some job/connection with a NATO member theater organization/chain. Either directly or indirectly.

 

Not gonna try to suss exactly what it is, except to say that it's probably NY based (his handle — and in fact online personality — point to a... let's say certain style of New Yorker), and likely either at some sort of management level or works closely with management level.

 

He's also been fairly bullish on the state of the box office industry when it comes to overall recovery from COVID.  And given the success of films like Super Mario Brothers, Barbie, and Oppenheimer, and some of the setbacks in the streaming biz, he's had some cause to feel vindicated that even if the industry won't recapture the level of '19 sales it still has a very solid outlook in the future.  

 

But he's also likely very aware that the box office hasn't fully recovered from the 'rona and the absolute last thing he wants is to have another months long disruption to the movie pipeline ala the initial COVID shutdowns.

 

So it isn't a surprise to me that he is reacting badly to the strikes in general, as it has the very real possibility of harming the box office industry when it is still in a somewhat shaky state.

 

So why be pro-AMPTP instead of pro-labor? Especially since he's put various AMPTP signatories on blast in the past? Well, here I get more to speculating, but as I said it seems he is either management level of some kind or works with management.  He's made other prior comments about staffing, for instance, that makes me think that at least, thus his natural inclination might not exactly be "pro labor". 

 

And it might even be likely that he thinks that the AMPTP is either offering a fair (enough) deal or that the time "isn't right" for a strike and that the WGA/SAG unions should try again in a few years when the overall entertainment industry is healthier and not still recovering from COVID.

 

Needless to say I disagree with this logic, but I think that's where he's coming from, hence my quoting of Upton Sinclair.

Also, he’s just an asshole. 

[Cmasterclay]

With respect, I disagree with the narrative that EmpireCity has any position of power or incentive to care about this at all. He either got a couple of guesses close to right (not that hard once enough info is out, no offense to our wonderful trackers) or he had access to Comscore data as a summer intern or something as a couple of users on here have admitted before, and he kept the charade going. None of his reports about films he has seen have been particularly accurate and the ones that were out on limb and not obvious like Ghostbusters or Indy 5 were notoriously flat out wrong. I read the tracking thread and have a few friends in Hollywood that sometimes give me nuggets of third hand inside info. Give me a purple name!!!!! Dude just has delusional optimism syndrome (common thing) except he's an asshole about it. Probably works at Best Buy, which there's of course no shame in, but he shouldn't get a purple name or mystique.

[grim22]

45 minutes ago, Plain Old Tele said:

Also, he’s just an asshole. 

 

[filmlover]

Writers Guild Slams Studios’ Most Recent Proposal as Ploy “Not to Bargain, But to Jam Us”

WGA Slams Studios’ Latest Proposal – The Hollywood Reporter