[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: HP & DH Movi

[P. Alexis Nguyen]

Magpie:
>  I think it's reasonable too! And the writers getting a good deal will
>  I think pave the way for the actors guilds who have the same fears.
>>> SNIP <<<
>  I'm not surprised this is a long-running strength. The Internet
>  changes everything and it's going to take a while to work this stuff
>  out in some fair way, and of course the people who now control the
>  money are going to try to keep as much for themselves as they can,
>  and the writers (and later the actors) are going to try to get as
>  much as they can for their people. Of course I hope it ends soon, not
>  just for my entertainment, but so all the people who depend on
>  production for work can make their money too, but that's just as much
>  a reason to want the other side to offer more than for the writers to
>  demand less.


Writers should get their share.  We all agree. It's nice that the
basics are established, especially since I'm about to say something
that might sound like I'm anti-strike. :)

I really think that the current strike is not merely about the
changing medium of the Internet but also about changing the
fundamental payment structure for Hollywood writers, specifically TV,
and that is something that has remained stable for a while, since
video tapes were new-ish and en vogue (for me, that's most, if not
all, of my admittedly short life).  DVDs have been around a while and
the embrace of the technology has been evident for more than a few
years - I know writers get some of this but with DVD production costs
being so low, they're seeing practically nothing.  Internet
distribution hit it big in 2005 but was around before [relatively]
long before that.  Why has the WGA decided that now, when reality TV
has hit it big and enabled corporations to keep TV going for a few
seasons sans writers, is a good time to do a big strike?  (I know
strikes have happened more recently, but they were minor compared to
this one.)  It really seems like, unless something stunning happens,
the end of the strike may yield a better pay structure for a whole lot
of unpaid writers, and it won't make the industry's non-writers happy
since a good chunk of them have been losing their jobs with little
guarantee of getting them back after the strike is over.

In the end, I think there is going to be many unhappy people, and it's
going to shake up the industry in ways the WGA probably didn't
anticipate. (There is now serious talks of online companies like
Google getting into entertainment because they would be willing to
hash out new payment structures et cetera, but until media center
costs drop, the barriers to entry are a little high and I think we
should concentrate on the current strike.)

I'm sure I mean to say something more intelligent ... something worthy
of sending this email, but really, it's 12:40am here, and I need to be
at work in the morning. I hope Peeves hasn't invaded this email like
he has made my work computer his permanent home.

~Ali