- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
E-mail
Print
Today, writer-producer Craig Mazin and Web entrepreneur Matt Edelman evaluate the tactics of the two sides in the strike. Previously, they discussed the traditional view of labor as it applies to writers, the overlapping causes of writers and other Hollywood rank-and-file, the proposed contract in the context of a rapidly changing digital market and new media.
Dear Matt:
I'm a pretty outspoken guy. My union isn't perfect — far from it. Like any association of human beings, it's prone to error. Yes, the Writers Guild of America has made mistakes. I don't think the reality organizing campaign worked. We spent too much money, we didn't get any results, and the fact that our demands are still out there is thwarting a resumption of talks.
Nonetheless, it was in service of something good. I have friends who work in reality television sweatshops. The miserable way reality producers treat their employees takes its toll on health, families and marriages.
We fought the good fight, but we failed to organize better. So be it.
That's certainly not the biggest mistake of this negotiation.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers takes the prize there.
The AMPTP, whose mission is to give writers, directors, actors, crew people and drivers as little as possible while getting back as much as possible, made the single biggest mistake of this negotiation when it came to the table with a proposal to convert residuals into "profit sharing."
Ah, profit, the stuff of dreams. They tell of a man who once got some of his profit participation ... but his name is long gone now ... lost in the sands of time . . .
"The Simpsons" apparently hasn't made a profit. If "The Simpsons" hasn't made a profit, then I'm pretty sure God Almighty could come down from his throne on high, set up a production company, write the biggest hit movies of all time ... and also be told that his projects were still $80 million in the red.
By starting with such an egregious proposal, the companies managed to outrage the entire labor community, create unity among the WGA membership that hadn't existed prior, push the moderates to anger and essentially signal that a strike would have to happen.
They pulled that insane proposal off the table, but it was too little, too late. The damage had been done.
The WGA has made missteps, yes, but the AMPTP kicked over the table and set the drapes on fire before the talks could even begin. For that, it is paying, you are paying, I am paying — an entire industry is paying.
Like all tragedies, this strike could have been averted.
Perhaps the AMPTP will learn the lesson. We'll be back in three years.
Let's hope wiser and cooler heads prevail.
Craig Mazin wrote and produced the hit comedies "Scary Movie 3" and "Scary Movie 4" and recently wrote, produced and directed the feature film "Superhero!," coming next spring from Dimension Films. He served on the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, West from 2004 to 2006, and he runs the popular screenwriting blog The Artful Writer.
Studios sparked writer unity
Dear Matt:
I'm a pretty outspoken guy. My union isn't perfect — far from it. Like any association of human beings, it's prone to error. Yes, the Writers Guild of America has made mistakes. I don't think the reality organizing campaign worked. We spent too much money, we didn't get any results, and the fact that our demands are still out there is thwarting a resumption of talks.
Nonetheless, it was in service of something good. I have friends who work in reality television sweatshops. The miserable way reality producers treat their employees takes its toll on health, families and marriages.
We fought the good fight, but we failed to organize better. So be it.
That's certainly not the biggest mistake of this negotiation.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers takes the prize there.
The AMPTP, whose mission is to give writers, directors, actors, crew people and drivers as little as possible while getting back as much as possible, made the single biggest mistake of this negotiation when it came to the table with a proposal to convert residuals into "profit sharing."
Ah, profit, the stuff of dreams. They tell of a man who once got some of his profit participation ... but his name is long gone now ... lost in the sands of time . . .
"The Simpsons" apparently hasn't made a profit. If "The Simpsons" hasn't made a profit, then I'm pretty sure God Almighty could come down from his throne on high, set up a production company, write the biggest hit movies of all time ... and also be told that his projects were still $80 million in the red.
By starting with such an egregious proposal, the companies managed to outrage the entire labor community, create unity among the WGA membership that hadn't existed prior, push the moderates to anger and essentially signal that a strike would have to happen.
They pulled that insane proposal off the table, but it was too little, too late. The damage had been done.
The WGA has made missteps, yes, but the AMPTP kicked over the table and set the drapes on fire before the talks could even begin. For that, it is paying, you are paying, I am paying — an entire industry is paying.
Like all tragedies, this strike could have been averted.
Perhaps the AMPTP will learn the lesson. We'll be back in three years.
Let's hope wiser and cooler heads prevail.
Craig Mazin wrote and produced the hit comedies "Scary Movie 3" and "Scary Movie 4" and recently wrote, produced and directed the feature film "Superhero!," coming next spring from Dimension Films. He served on the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, West from 2004 to 2006, and he runs the popular screenwriting blog The Artful Writer.
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
