Santa brings...a strike?
Still busy, but I wanted to get this out there. The WGA sent out their strike authorization ballots this week, and it's gotten the blogosphere going.
The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) contract expires October 31st, and now everyone is talking about a possible writer's strike. I'm one of a bunch of writers whose work isn't covered by the WGA, so even if there's a writer's strike, I'll still be working. In fact, because of the union that covers animation writing, I couldn't strike even if I wanted to. But I'm still following the WGA developments closely, because I have a stake in what the Guild does in terms of animation jurisdiction.
Now if you go online, you basically see two big questions being asked.
1. Will the WGA go on strike?
What am I, Kreskin? I have no idea. But assuming a new contract isn't agreed on by the end of the month, there are three likely scenarios-
-November 1st, writers put down their pens and go on strike. OR-
-Writers continue to work under the expired contract while negotiations continue, then go on strike July 1, 2008 when the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) contract expires. OR-
-November 1st, the studios lock out the writers, preventing them from working until a new contract is agreed upon.
If a strike happens November 1st, it'll do more damage - especially in television, where they'll be stuck having to show reruns right away (boy, you think those Lost and Heroes hiatuses were annoying before? wait til they start running reruns non-stop). But a strike cutting off paychecks through the holidays? Ouch. If a strike happens July 1st, the writers and actors together can bring the town to a grinding halt - but the studios will have time to stockpile a lot of new film and tv projects. No one will even notice that there're strikes until September when new tv shows don't show up.
I have no idea what will happen - but I'll be following it closely.
Now if you go online, there's ALWAYS one other question being asked.
2. Oh oh oh, I'm an amateur writer. Will there be any scab opportunities for me?
And you know, nothing is more impressive to a professional writer who's facing a possible work stoppage,losing his income before the holidays, and possibly causing the end of his career... than some half-wit newbie asking if he can take advantage of this situation.
But I'll answer the question. Hollywood is not, nor has it ever been, amateur hour. Studio executives will not gamble their jobs by handing million-dollar projects to unproven talent. In previous WGA strikes, they have never resorted to non-union replacements. In short, it is extremely unlikely that the studios will be auditioning amateur scabs. Now quit asking me stupid questions and bring me some packets of Arby's sauce.
Okay - back to work. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here. I'm here to help.
The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) contract expires October 31st, and now everyone is talking about a possible writer's strike. I'm one of a bunch of writers whose work isn't covered by the WGA, so even if there's a writer's strike, I'll still be working. In fact, because of the union that covers animation writing, I couldn't strike even if I wanted to. But I'm still following the WGA developments closely, because I have a stake in what the Guild does in terms of animation jurisdiction.
Now if you go online, you basically see two big questions being asked.
1. Will the WGA go on strike?
What am I, Kreskin? I have no idea. But assuming a new contract isn't agreed on by the end of the month, there are three likely scenarios-
-November 1st, writers put down their pens and go on strike. OR-
-Writers continue to work under the expired contract while negotiations continue, then go on strike July 1, 2008 when the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) contract expires. OR-
-November 1st, the studios lock out the writers, preventing them from working until a new contract is agreed upon.
If a strike happens November 1st, it'll do more damage - especially in television, where they'll be stuck having to show reruns right away (boy, you think those Lost and Heroes hiatuses were annoying before? wait til they start running reruns non-stop). But a strike cutting off paychecks through the holidays? Ouch. If a strike happens July 1st, the writers and actors together can bring the town to a grinding halt - but the studios will have time to stockpile a lot of new film and tv projects. No one will even notice that there're strikes until September when new tv shows don't show up.
I have no idea what will happen - but I'll be following it closely.
Now if you go online, there's ALWAYS one other question being asked.
2. Oh oh oh, I'm an amateur writer. Will there be any scab opportunities for me?
And you know, nothing is more impressive to a professional writer who's facing a possible work stoppage,losing his income before the holidays, and possibly causing the end of his career... than some half-wit newbie asking if he can take advantage of this situation.
But I'll answer the question. Hollywood is not, nor has it ever been, amateur hour. Studio executives will not gamble their jobs by handing million-dollar projects to unproven talent. In previous WGA strikes, they have never resorted to non-union replacements. In short, it is extremely unlikely that the studios will be auditioning amateur scabs. Now quit asking me stupid questions and bring me some packets of Arby's sauce.
Okay - back to work. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here. I'm here to help.
posted by Eugene at 1:51 PM
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