Originally Posted By jonvn Well, what happens if you buy a DVD, and it gets scratched or breaks? Same sort of thing, I guess.
Originally Posted By JeffG In fact, if anything, downloaded movies should be easier to preserve since they are somewhat easier to backup (not that backing up DVDs is all that hard...) -Jeff
Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror >>>Glad to hear it's going to be resolved. Did everything turn out in favor of the writers BOT?<<< All indications are, it's a bad deal. We had a shot at a good agreement in December, and the leadership frankly screwed up. Once all the dust settles, and the facts get out, Verrone won't be re-elected as President... I'm pretty confident of that.
Originally Posted By jonvn According to Eisner, the writers are going to be making even less money now.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Well, what happens if you buy a DVD, and it gets scratched or breaks? Same sort of thing, I guess.<< Except if I scratch my DVD or break it, I'm to blame. I can buy a new one and be more careful and know I can have it for a really, really long time. A hard drive crash can come at anytime, out of nowhere. What's worse is when suddenly the system doesn't recognize a certain file type, or you have the file but get a DRM (Digital Rights) error. When I bought my copy of The French Connection on DVD, I got home and opened it and a disc was missing. I took it back to Best Buy and they immediately exchanged it. If I buy a movie online and the file is corrupt, who do I take it back to? I can email and hope I get a response. Or, like I noted above, I can talk to "Bob" in India or "Steve" in Manila and hope everything turns out ok.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 That is what happened when you play Hard Ball, you sometimes get burned. Glad to hear it's been resolved and we can go back to watching poorly written comedies again, as opposed to poorly produced reality shows.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>In fact, if anything, downloaded movies should be easier to preserve since they are somewhat easier to backup (not that backing up DVDs is all that hard...)<< In theory, you're absolutely right. And if companies make it easy, then again, maybe I can see myself downloading. But let's say I have a machine hooked up to my TV that's more console than computer, like a DVD player or a DVR to download movies. It's hooked up to my wireless router so I can download, but the company that I bought the machine from designed the software so that I can't transfer any files from the machine to my computer - they don't want me sharing them online, after all. So I can only back up if I break my license with them and somehow manage to figure out how to bypass their checks. Apple TV seems the most promising option right now. It can interface better with your computer and with their new Time Machine software and the new wireless hard drive backup system their coming out with looks mighty cool. I also trust Apple about a bazillion times more than Microsoft. But when it's all said and done, I either want a physical product or I want it to be cheap enough that I don't really care about the prospect of losing my downloads.
Originally Posted By ecdc If I'm being blunt, this is exactly why when I do download music, it's through bittorrent. I've downloaded a handful of things from iTunes - mostly individual songs because I don't think .99 cents is a rip off. But the reality is, CD's are a total scam, and I don't want to pay $10 for an album that's digital and might disappear when my computer crashes. So yes, sometimes I download illegally. But mostly, I don't buy or download music anymore. I used to, but now I have kids and a mortgage and I know that the RIAA is suing people individually. What a stupid thing to get sued for - downloading music, so I mostly don't do it. But I also refuse to pay the prices they expect me to for CD's and I rarely pay to download for all the reasons I've given. (The last album I paid for was "A Musical History of Disneyland", BTW.) In short, the music industry has successfully alienated yet another consumer. Both the RIAA and the MPAA are actually stupid enough to think that the people who are downloading this stuff are just criminals out to rob them blind. In reality, most of them are the biggest music and movie fans in the country. The same kids downloading are the same ones at the megaplex every weekend shelling out hard-earned dollars for crappy fare like Cloverfield or Hostel 18. The same kids downloading U2 music are the same ones who see them three times in concert on the same tour. So congrats, RIAA and MPAA! You've managed to piss off your most loyal customers!
Originally Posted By ecdc >>The same kids downloading U2 music are the same ones who see them three times in concert on the same tour.<< How out of it am I? You can tell I don't buy or download music anymore because the hippest, newest band I could think of that young kids might listen to is U2. Well I've officially never felt older. I think I'll go watch the Arsenio Hall show and then catch Michael Jordan hosting SNL with Phil Hartman and Mike Meyers.
Originally Posted By jonvn "A hard drive crash can come at anytime, out of nowhere." Back up to dvd. You know, they are only supposed to last a few years, then they deteriorate. I've got a good sized collection of DVDs. But you know, they collect dust. Once I see a movie, I really don't want to watch it a bunch of times more anyway.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA okay... Now that we know the future of DVDs... Do we think the writer's will go for this deal?
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Do we think the writer's will go for this deal?<< <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/10/hollywood.labor.ap/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBI Z/TV/02/10/hollywood.labor.ap/index.html</a> From the article: The writers Saturday gave resounding support to a tentative agreement with studios. About 3,500 writers packed the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles to hear from union leaders about the proposed deal that was finalized just hours before meetings were held on both coasts by the Writers Guild of America. If guild members support lifting the strike order, they could return to work as early as Wednesday. "The feeling in the room was really positive," said screenwriter Mike Galvin, adding that no one at the Los Angeles gathering said the deal "was crummy."
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA This in today from the head of the WGA. - - - - - - - - - - Members Email: Contract Update This was just sent by WGA West President Patric Verrone to membership: Dear Fellow Members, I am are pleased to inform you that this morning the WGA Negotiating Committee unanimously and unconditionally recommended the terms of the proposed 2008 MBA to the WGAW Board and WGAE Council. The Board and Council then voted unanimously to recommend the contract, and to submit it to the joint membership of WGAW and WGAE for ratification. The ratification vote will take place over the next few weeks by mail ballot and at a special membership meeting. You will receive ballot materials and a notice of informational meetings during the next week. There is, however, another issue to address: whether to lift the restraining order, and end the strike, during the ratification process. We are asking the members to decide this issue. A vote will take place on Tuesday, February 12, 2008. A yes vote means you are voting to end the strike immediately; a no vote means you are voting to continue the strike during the ratification process. Ballots can be cast at the Guild Theater from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. If you aren’t able to cast a ballot in person, proxy ballots can be downloaded at <a href="http://www.wga.org/contract_07/proxy-2008.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.wga.org/contract_07 /proxy-2008.pdf</a> and faxed. Proxy ballots and voting instructions are at wga.org. Until the votes are counted, we are still on strike. We will announce the vote count on Tuesday night. There will be no picketing Monday or Tuesday: all pickets are suspended until the WGA membership votes to either end or continue the strike. Thank you for your solidarity and support. We are all in this together. Best, Patric M. Verrone President, WGAW NOTE: WGAE voting takes place Tuesday from 4-7 PM at the Crowne Plaza on 49th and Broadway. Proxy ballots are on WGAE.org and must be returned to Guild East headquarters. Full info and proxy ballot are available on WGAEast.org.
Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror >>>"The feeling in the room was really positive," said screenwriter Mike Galvin, adding that no one at the Los Angeles gathering said the deal "was crummy."<<< Yeah, that's called saving face. The deal is lame. Eisner's essentially correct - over the long term the writers will be making less money than they should be. But the whole solidarity thing - everyone wants to believe that it got us a better deal. It didn't. As for going back to writing poorly written comedies - sure, there's a bunch of them. Writing GOOD comedy is pretty hard. But sometimes you get a FRASIER, or an ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, and you realize just HOW hard, and how GOOD, it can be. The jokers who think they could write better comedies are generally deluded. I've seen them try, and they end up doing bland stuff like THE GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW.
Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror By the way... a bunch of writers walked out of the meeting after hearing what the actual terms consisted of. The people that were left were willing to go with it.
Originally Posted By DAR So 2009 should be like any at the theatres, I know there was some concern that there wouldn't be enough crappy teen movies, remakes of Asian horror, another blank movie(Epic, Date etc.)sequels to blockbusters, but in between will be some truly worthy films.
Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror >>>So 2009 should be like any at the theatres, I know there was some concern that there wouldn't be enough crappy teen movies, remakes of Asian horror, another blank movie(Epic, Date etc.)sequels to blockbusters, but in between will be some truly worthy films.<<< There was never any real threat to the motion picture industry or its release schedule. The studios went on a buying spree and most of them have their FULL SLATE all set through summer of 2009. A friend of mine is VP of marketing for one of the majors, and he said "we don't need to buy or develop a thing for any release until fall of 2009." Television was the impacted industry.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA So... for the 7th time... Do you think the writers are going to go for this deal?
Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror Yes. The compulsion to go back to work is strong, and the spin being put on the whole deal is too polished and supported by a lot of phony baloneys, to NOT get a yes vote. But I'm wondering if they'll get over a 75% yes vote.
