More on the WGA Strike, or Why Writers Love Steve Carell
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting and don't forget to tip your waitress!!
Derek Powazek has displayed what I hope is an unintentional misunderstanding and mischaracterization of why the WGA is on strike.
He seems to think that the strike is a result of writers not understanding how the internet works and that they are wanting a cut of money that is not there. His arguments seem to boil down to the fact that no one who posts content on Youtube makes money off of it.
The problem here is that it’s not about Youtube. Neither the studios nor the writers want the shows posted on Youtube because the only one that makes money off of it is Google. But when an episode of Heroes or Las Vegas or Medium or The Office is put up on NBC.com, where NBC is getting paid for the ads that are shown before each segment of that episode, NBC is getting paid. The writers, director, and actors - those people who worked to make that show - do not get paid.
When the studio demanded that the cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica made all those webisodes before last season, none of them got paid for their work, although the studio got paid for the ads it sold. This is the problem. This is what the strike is about.
And honestly, the writers aren’t even asking for that much. Studios make a thousand dollars selling ads on a show they posted online? Give the writer twenty-five bucks. Sell a DVD or download, whether it’s for 9.99 or 50 bucks for one of those special editions? Give the writer EIGHT MEASLY CENTS, YOU CHEAP BASTARDS!!
There is nothing wrong or ignorant about wanting to get paid for your work, especially when other people are making money off of that work.
In related news, there is a story going around that Steve Carell, refusing to break the picket line, told NBC that he was unable to report to work due to “enlarged balls”.
I love Steve Carell.
tag: Damn the Man, Misconceptions, Save The Empire, Steve Carell, United Hollywood, WGA, Writer’s Strike
Popularity: 7% [?]
Related Posts from the Past:
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
I’m not seeing the Luddite vibe, though. Did they oversimplify things in that video you posted? Ehhh… maybe. But I’ve heard them specifically say that they only want to get paid when the studios are getting paid. If the studio makes nothing, 2.5% of nothing is nothing. But the studios ARE getting paid, and I don’t think anyone can fault the writers for wanting a very small piece of that.
But again, it boils down to me not seeing what you’re seeing.
On the BSG thing, the story I heard was that the studio told them they would be paid nothing because it was “promotional material”. I’ll see if I can track down the source again and make sure I understood correctly, because it sounds crazy to me, as well.
Thanks, Caroline! I hadn’t read about the next stage, wherein the studios agreed to pay up but refused to give credit.
Like I said, or tried to say: I’m with them. The WGA deserves a fair deal. My post was just about what I found to be a dangerous Luddite vibe on the picket line.
Did the cast and crew of BSG make nothing from making those webisodes? I mean, not just zero royalties, but zero anything? I find that hard to believe.