WGA/SAGAFTRA Strike Discussion Thread | SAG Ratifies Contract

[21C]

2 hours ago, FunkMiller said:

 

Do you honestly think some writers weren't facing this kind of thing before the strikes started? It's the whole reason for them to be happening in the first place

 

If anything, it seems to me like there are funds out there that are supporting the writers who would otherwise be in extreme financial jeopardy if the strikes hadn't happened.

 

Every day that goes by does not make the writers weaker. They were as weak as they could possibly be before the strikes started.

 

We've reached the point now where I think the writers would rather see the whole thing collapse, rather than continue with the terrible terms they've been offered. And I think the financial support will continue to grow from people who also see how awful the studio's attitude is.

https://twitter.com/THR/status/1699159420067086629?t=eKPkeIW08OohDpfJy2A0vw&s=19

  

(Yeah, I know, trades are friends with the studios blah blah blah All true, but the article is well sourced and seems to be correct)

 The notion that people aren't hurting because of the strike and that they are in fact better off at the moment is, no offense, absolutely delusional.  The hurt is real, not just to SAG and WGA members but below the line workers (who, may I add, are being absolutely and totally screwed at the moment) 

  

While I'm  sure the donations must have be helping a bit, they don't seem to be helping nearly enough to get the industry workers living comfortably or as if nothing is happening.  

 

Also the whole "would rather burn the entire town down" is nice and one that I have no doubt many WGA members and SAG members share... it's also one I have no doubt that if you were ever to do an actual poll on it it'd come out that its only a minority that actually truly mean it. People are materially hurting now more than ever. They were hurting before the strikes; true.  They're hurting even more now.  Getting too swept up by the twitter bravado is a mistake.

 

[FunkMiller]

21 minutes ago, 21C said:

https://twitter.com/THR/status/1699159420067086629?t=eKPkeIW08OohDpfJy2A0vw&s=19

  

(Yeah, I know, trades are friends with the studios blah blah blah All true, but the article is well sourced and seems to be correct)

 The notion that people aren't hurting because of the strike and that they are in fact better off at the moment is, no offense, absolutely delusional.  The hurt is real, not just to SAG and WGA members but below the line workers (who, may I add, are being absolutely and totally screwed at the moment) 

  

While I'm  sure the donations must have be helping a bit, they don't seem to be helping nearly enough to get the industry workers living comfortably or as if nothing is happening.  

 

Also the whole "would rather burn the entire town down" is nice and one that I have no doubt many WGA members and SAG members share... it's also one I have no doubt that if you were ever to do an actual poll on it it'd come out that its only a minority that actually truly mean it. People are materially hurting now more than ever. They were hurting before the strikes; true.  They're hurting even more now.  Getting too swept up by the twitter bravado is a mistake.

 

 

Not once did I suggest they weren't hurting because of the strikes. But you seem keen on pushing a narrative that the writers can't possibly carry on with this much longer, and that they'll have to buckle, because of how much damage is being done to them financially. What you're failing to take into account is how badly this was being done to them before the strikes started. If things are awful for them anyway, why would they en masse agree to make things even worse for themselves heading into the future? They believe their careers are dead if they capitulate to studio demands anyway... so why exactly would they buckle now?

 

And yes... directly quoting from the trades that are demonstrably acting as mouthpieces for the studios isn't the best way to make an argument. I frankly believe very little in any reports they produce.

Edited September 12, 2023 by FunkMiller

[Mr Terrific]

4 hours ago, Jonwo said:

This is why people piling on Drew Barrymore are looking stupid. Literally every daytime show is resuming. 

What?

Other people following Drew Barrymore doesn’t make her choice good or bad.*
 

* - it’s bad. It’s a bad choice. 

[21C]

3 hours ago, FunkMiller said:

 

Not once did I suggest they weren't hurting because of the strikes. But you seem keen on pushing a narrative that the writers can't possibly carry on with this much longer, and that they'll have to buckle, because of how much damage is being done to them financially. What you're failing to take into account is how badly this was being done to them before the strikes started. If things are awful for them anyway, why would they en masse agree to make things even worse for themselves heading into the future? They believe their careers are dead if they capitulate to studio demands anyway... so why exactly would they buckle now?

 

And yes... directly quoting from the trades that are demonstrably acting as mouthpieces for the studios isn't the best way to make an argument. I frankly believe very little in any reports they produce.

I mean instead of taking them at their word you can just read the article and check the sources they cite which are legitimate. The writers and actors in the QRTs aren't denying the record numbers of evictions either; some of them are actually sharing their experiences over how they're gonna get evicted. Hollywood workers are very much struggling and yes, they are struggling more than they did pre-strike. They are also gonna struggle more as this drags on. 
 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by 21C

[Speedorito]

3 hours ago, Jonwo said:

Mark Ruffalo wanted Hollywood to collapse and be replaced which is naive at best and stupid at worse. 

Wanting and expecting are two different things.

[ZeroHour]

I don't think the argument that these companies are only slightly inconvenienced by the strikes holds up. It's true that Amazon and Apple could never make another scripted show or movie again and wouldn't be affected much, but that's really not true for the rest of these companies. Paramount, Netflix, WBD, Disney, Sony, etc. all depend on creating new scripted content to drive their businesses to one extent or another. Even Disney who has very lucrative theme park and cruise businesses depends on their IP to drive interest in those parts of the company. Shareholders and Wall Street do not actually like seeing these companies bleed money and they're not just going to think "oh well, the stocks will all just bounce back when the strikes end" because they know the longer this takes to resolve, the longer the gap will be between when these companies run out of fresh content and when the content they create post-strikes is ready to deliver. Most of these companies are trying to hike up the cost of their streaming services right now and that's not going to go well if they can't deliver fresh hit shows regularly. Even Netflix started to bleed subscribers until Stranger Things 4 saved their butts and they got the hit machine rolling again post-COVID. And if you think losing money in streaming can't cost someone their job, you should check in on how Bob Chapek is doing these days.

 

Yes, David Zaslav and Bob Iger are not going to lose their homes or stop being 1 percenters no matter how this resolves itself, even in the unlikely event it cost one of them their job. But their job is to increase their companies' earnings and failing to do that because they can't make new things is not merely inconvenient. It seems silly to have to say, but collective action works. There's a long history of it! Will the WGA and SAG be able to hold out long enough to get terms they can live with? That's impossible to say from the outside, and yes, a lot of people are suffering. But acting like the CEOs can just say "let them eat cake" indefinitely while their film slates, streaming services, and cable lineups all dry up is not realistic.

Edited September 12, 2023 by ZeroHour

[JWR]

10 minutes ago, ZeroHour said:

I don't think the argument that these companies are only slightly inconvenienced by the strikes holds up. It's true that Amazon and Apple could never make another scripted show or movie again and wouldn't be affected much, but that's really not true for the rest of these companies. Paramount, Netflix, WBD, Disney, Sony, etc. all depend on creating new scripted content to drive their businesses to one extent or another. Even Disney who has very lucrative theme park and cruise businesses depends on their IP to drive interest in those parts of the company. Shareholders and Wall Street do not actually like seeing these companies bleed money and they're not just going to think "oh well, the stocks will all just bounce back when the strikes end" because they know the longer this takes to resolve, the longer the gap will be between when these companies run out of fresh content and when the content they create post-strikes is ready to deliver. Most of these companies are trying to hike up the cost of their streaming services right now and that's not going to go well if they can't deliver fresh hit shows regularly. Even Netflix started to bleed subscribers until Stranger Things 4 saved their butts and they got the hit machine rolling again post-COVID. And if you think losing money in streaming can't cost someone their job, you should check in on how Bob Chapek is doing these days.

 

Yes, David Zaslav and Bob Iger are not going to lose their homes or stop being 1 percenters no matter how this resolves itself, even in the unlikely event it cost one of them their job. But their job is to increase their companies' earnings and failing to do that because they can't make new things is not merely inconvenient. It seems silly to have to say, but collective action works. There's a long history of it! Will the WGA and SAG be able to hold out long enough to get terms they can live with? That's impossible to say from the outside, and yes, a lot of people are suffering. But acting like the CEOs can just say "let them eat cake" indefinitely while their film slates, streaming services, and cable lineups all dry up is not realistic.

 

All of this.

 

These studios will eventually start feeling the consequences of these strikes and will have to come to terms with the fact that they can't wait it out. 

[dobrevv]

https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/wga-strike-kenya-barris-noah-hawley-showrunner-meeting-1235721321/

[Ryan Reynolds]

40 minutes ago, dobrevv said:

https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/wga-strike-kenya-barris-noah-hawley-showrunner-meeting-1235721321/

now that the overpaid writers are getting deals suspended , its time to force the wga to reach deal

[The GOAT]

2 hours ago, ZeroHour said:

Shareholders and Wall Street do not actually like seeing these companies bleed money and they're not just going to think "oh well, the stocks will all just bounce back when the strikes end" because they know the longer this takes to resolve, the longer the gap will be between when these companies run out of fresh content and when the content they create post-strikes is ready to deliver. 

Stock prices for all these companies will go down regardless of the outcome, so I guess the strikers can have moral celebratory victory when that happens. But at the same time, It would seem as though the studios will have a much better time hanging on than the Entertainment workers who work to live.

[21C]

2 hours ago, ZeroHour said:

I don't think the argument that these companies are only slightly inconvenienced by the strikes holds up. It's true that Amazon and Apple could never make another scripted show or movie again and wouldn't be affected much, but that's really not true for the rest of these companies. Paramount, Netflix, WBD, Disney, Sony, etc. all depend on creating new scripted content to drive their businesses to one extent or another. Even Disney who has very lucrative theme park and cruise businesses depends on their IP to drive interest in those parts of the company. Shareholders and Wall Street do not actually like seeing these companies bleed money and they're not just going to think "oh well, the stocks will all just bounce back when the strikes end" because they know the longer this takes to resolve, the longer the gap will be between when these companies run out of fresh content and when the content they create post-strikes is ready to deliver. Most of these companies are trying to hike up the cost of their streaming services right now and that's not going to go well if they can't deliver fresh hit shows regularly. Even Netflix started to bleed subscribers until Stranger Things 4 saved their butts and they got the hit machine rolling again post-COVID. And if you think losing money in streaming can't cost someone their job, you should check in on how Bob Chapek is doing these days.

The reasons Chapek got fired are faaar messier and more complex than simply the streaming numbers thing; it's true that didn't help but what truly killed his regime was the gigantic culture clash between the ideas he tried to implement vs. the way that it contradicted basically everything that it had built up prior and pissed off a lot of other executives as well as creatives in the process. 

And again: Every single CEO here has plausible deniability because of the fact they're negotiating with the AMPTP. They can just point the fingers to someone else and say they had to go along with the plan, so no, they're not gonna get punished, not even in the slightest. 

 

 

2 hours ago, ZeroHour said:

Yes, David Zaslav and Bob Iger are not going to lose their homes or stop being 1 percenters no matter how this resolves itself, even in the unlikely event it cost one of them their job. But their job is to increase their companies' earnings and failing to do that because they can't make new things is not merely inconvenient. It seems silly to have to say, but collective action works. There's a long history of it! Will the WGA and SAG be able to hold out long enough to get terms they can live with? That's impossible to say from the outside, and yes, a lot of people are suffering. But acting like the CEOs can just say "let them eat cake" indefinitely while their film slates, streaming services, and cable lineups all dry up is not realistic.

Do I think that several CEOs probably want this to end today already? Probably and that it's being a massive massive headache for them. Do I also think that if it doesn't, they will be ultimately completely unpunished? Probably. Again, one side here is losing their houses and being evicted, while the other is merely screaming at people over the phone in their mansions. My point isn't that the AMPTP isn't hurting, of course it is, but that it's not hurting nearly as much as the WGA, SAG and the Hollywood workers; which immediately puts them all on a stronger position, even if it's still a less than ideal and stressful one.

Edited September 12, 2023 by 21C

[WittyUsername]

2 hours ago, Ryan Reynolds said:

now that the overpaid writers are getting deals suspended , its time to force the wga to reach deal

Dude, the whole point of the strike is that these people aren’t being paid enough. 

[emoviefan]

6 minutes ago, WittyUsername said:

Dude, the whole point of the strike is that these people aren’t being paid enough. 

Gotta love the Pro AMPTP stuff cropping around here all a of a sudden. He who must not be named would be proud. 

[Ryan Reynolds]

22 minutes ago, WittyUsername said:

Dude, the whole point of the strike is that these people aren’t being paid enough. 

I'm taking about the top 1% writers/producers with power and money, they are losing money now so they want unions to end strike 

[MysteryMovieMogul]

1 hour ago, WittyUsername said:

Dude, the whole point of the strike is that these people aren’t being paid enough. 

They mean, the showrunners didn't give a shit about how long the strike lasted, but now that they're getting hurt, they suddenly want it to end immediately.

 

That said, the AMPTP PR team might be behind reporting like this, so...

[The GOAT]

My theory is that studios, especially Netflix, has faked the viewership numbers to impress investors and shareholders. If they reveal the real viewership numbers, the shareholders will sue the Studios and cause a free fall in their stock prices. 

[Kon]

In this article, it's mentioned that the showrunners wanting to meet WGA leadership is mainly for solidarity and support:

 

https://deadline.com/2023/09/writers-strike-kenya-barris-noah-hawley-wga-meeting-1235544702/

 

 

That said, this article is from deadline, which has constantly been accused of supporting AMPTP.

Edited September 13, 2023 by Kon

[SpiderByte]

Honestly I'd rather Penn be anti strike than say shit like this

[Cap]

Daily Reminder that Sean Penn is a piece of shit and used to beat Madonna when they were married.  

[WorkingonaName]

Still waiting for him to melt those Oscars.