Today's StarBucks looked like a ghost town. Usually when I walk in there to get my Grande cup of Refresh tea the place is packed with people writing a screenplay, reading a screenplay, or pitching a screenplay over their cell phones. Today only a hand full of people were in place. Another factor is that you can't help but notice how young the strikers are! No one looked over thirty! Well, the Entertainment Industry is know for being youth driven and often skilled writers are kicked to the curb once they reach forty. It's hard to feel for some young twenty year old kid, who is holding a Blackberry and got his job in the first place because some relative got him in. In a studio everyone , not only the actors but down to the grips have a relative working in the studio. I can understand their point on one end but usually when people strike it's due to fighting for Health Care, a actual living wage and safer work conditions. If you get to be a writer for a sit-con (for example) the average income is $200,000! Life if rough! Still, the studio heads should share the profits. What is interesting members of SAG can't strike but Teamsters won't cross a picket line so most productions are down.
Today's StarBucks looked like a ghost town. Usually when I walk in there to get my Grande cup of Refresh tea the place is packed with people writing a screenplay, reading a screenplay, or pitching a screenplay over their cell phones. Today only a hand full of people were in place. Another factor is that you can't help but notice how young the strikers are! No one looked over thirty! Well, the Entertainment Industry is know for being youth driven and often skilled writers are kicked to the curb once they reach forty. It's hard to feel for some young twenty year old kid, who is holding a Blackberry and got his job in the first place because some relative got him in. In a studio everyone , not only the actors but down to the grips have a relative working in the studio. I can understand their point on one end but usually when people strike it's due to fighting for Health Care, a actual living wage and safer work conditions. If you get to be a writer for a sit-con (for example) the average income is $200,000! Life if rough! Still, the studio heads should share the profits. What is interesting members of SAG can't strike but Teamsters won't cross a picket line so most productions are down.
6 comments:
the only specific complaint i heard about was that writer's don't earn residuals for tv shows played over the internet. i'm not sure why the studios would think they shouldn't have to pay that, and it's almost hard to believe that they'd let it go to strike over such a thing. i think this is only more proof that the world's gone crazy! lol.
thanks for the comment about my mom, sweetie. i'm sure things will be fine - i just wish i could convince HER of that!
I suppose it's too much to hope for that if they get what they want, we might get better writing??? (Faint hope???)
Greggo, you're correct it's the residuals they're looking from Pod casts and other Internet use but the trouble is the studios don't know how to monitor these downloads for they usually don't charge. How can the studios give money they don't know if they're even making money. I agree with aggie most TV writing sucks! I usually only watch reality shows like Top Chef or Project Runway. I enjoyed Rome and the Tudors but I never watch sitcons, well maybe Nip Tuck.
next year will be reality tv 24/7 because of this insanity. we might not see real tv until next fall.
and don't mess with those Treamsters! they really know how to strike...
I think the studios need to pony up and pay. They don't really have an option here, writing is kind of an essential element to the entertainment industry. And I refuse to live on re-runs and reality shows!
I have no patience and most definitely no sympathy for them.
What I wouldn't give to be a writer for T.V.!!!!!!
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