HP & DH Movie

[Steve]

---  "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
>
> Carol:
> > Anyone besides me think that the writers' strike has gotten
> > out of hand, hurting more people than it's helping and that
> > it's time to settle?
> >  
> > 
> >  Carol, who would resent being unable to work just because
> > others were demanding higher wages (surely there's a better
> > way to negotiate)
> > 
> > 
> > Kemper now:
> > They aren't asking for higher wages.  They are asking for 
> > the fair compensation from their work that is 
> > sold/distributed through other mediums.  The producers 
> > receive the profit from all the mediums.  Why shouldn't 
> > the writer's get their due?
> 
> Carol responds:
> 
> I'm not saying that the writers shouldn't get their due, only
> that they are keeping others from working--actors, directors,
> film crews. Even the caterers and hairstylists suffered ...
> Strikes that interfere with everyday life, ...

bboyminn:

And that is what strikes are suppose to do. I and most people
who speak up on TV agree that the writers demands are fair
and reasonable. The 'owners/networks/studio' big argument is
that there is no secondary revenue for sources such as Internet
and consequently the writers are asking for money that doesn't
exist. If that's true, it seems to me a reason to settle, not
a reason to delay. If the studios settle, they are essentially,
by their own logic, agreeing to pay zero money to keep the
writers happy. If you could settle a strike by agreeing to pay
zero money, wouldn't you do it?????

I think the real problem is not the Internet revenue that
allegedly doesn't exist, but how do they determine and more
importantly CONFIRM how much revenue is being generated. In
a sense, the writes are asking for some independent means of
verifying this revenue, and the Studios are saying, no you 
can't by any means at all look at our books.

One small studio problem, actually more like a trick, it to
promise actors a percentage of net revenue for a movie, but
no actor has ever earned a cent on NET revenue because the
producers make sure that all revenue is consumed, thereby
leaving no net revenue. 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Ring' don't 
have any NET revenue despite being a couple of the most
successful movies of all time. Smart actors go for a 
percentage of the GROSS revenue.

My point is that the accounting practices of the studios are
very suspect. For writers to derive revenue from secondary
sources, someone has to be able to accurately account for 
those secondary sources, and that is the big sticking point.

> Carol:
>
> The writers' strike, however, is going on and on, with no end in
> sight, regardless of how many people, including the writers
> themselves, are suffering as a result.
> 
> Enough is enough. It's time, IMO, to negotiate.

bboyminn:

Keep in mind that it is the studios who are refusing to 
negotiate, not the writers. Yes, the strike needs to be settled,
but not by the writers going back to work, but by the studios
making an honest good faith effort to resolve the problem.

Steve/bboyminn