Originally Posted By Spooky Ghost <<ok what dvds are 19.99? None. New movies on sale are 14.99 at target or best buy. Movies on iTunes also dont cost 19.99.?? Dvds are commonly that price after the first week if not more. Furthermore 29.99 is MSRP on most things, again if not more. But anyways I support the strike. As a creative artist myself I prefer all the money I spend on dvd goes to support the artist themselves as opposed to some corporate bigwig who constantly flood the market place with reality shows and such drivel like Tranfromers and Evan Almighty
Originally Posted By vbdad55 really not affecting me much - stations where I spend the most time - History Channel / TV Land / ESPN / Food Network really unaffected.
Originally Posted By DlandJB That video was quite skewed. A very good piece of propaganda. Quite a number of false statements made of course, but what is propaganda but a bunch of lies.>>>> I'd be very interested in seeing what you have in the way of proof that the video is full of lies. Which statements are the false ones?
Originally Posted By peeaanuut i already stated the price of the dvd. They put a higher price on dvds than they really are. DVDs are not 19.99 brand new and most drop to the 9.99 price point within 2 months of the release. They put a higher price on the product being sold and it looks like they are being screwed. When in reality their slice of the pie is much bigger. Plus no corporation in the world is willing to grant a 100% increase in wage.
Originally Posted By DAR It's funny that the all writers are asking for is an additional 4 cents. You would think a group of billioniares(studio execs) wouldn't be such tightwads.
Originally Posted By alexbook I heard a radio report yesterday (I think it was on KFWB, but I'm not sure) that the writers had dropped their demand for an increase on the residual rate for DVD sales. I've been searching on-line, but haven't been able to find anything like that. Anybody know anything about it?
Originally Posted By DlandJB They put a higher price on dvds than they really are. DVDs are not 19.99 brand new and most drop to the 9.99 price point within 2 months of the release. They put a higher price on the product being sold and it looks like they are being screwed. When in reality their slice of the pie is much bigger. >>> I still don't get you. If the DVD is cheaper than they say it is, they are getting less, not more. Writers are the magic makers. What's the difference between a good show/film and a bad one? 9 out of 10 times it is because of the story that the writer creates. Yet the producers are marginalizing them and trying to take a bigger piece of something they wouldn't have without the writers in the first place.
Originally Posted By JeffG >> "Writers are the magic makers. What's the difference between a good show/film and a bad one? 9 out of 10 times it is because of the story that the writer creates. Yet the producers are marginalizing them and trying to take a bigger piece of something they wouldn't have without the writers in the first place." << While I basically support the writers' wish to obtain an appropriate level of compensation (although I strongly question whether a strike is the right way to go about it), I've seen this type of commentary on several occasions and think it kind of misrepresents the nature of film and television. These are collaborative media and while the writers unquestionably play a vital role, their importance isn't necessarily that much higher than the many other contributors. A good script in the hands of poor actors or a poor director will likely still result in a poor movie or show. In most cases, the skills of any number of other crew members will also make a drastic difference in the quality of the finished product. Finally, I know that the WGA is making every effort to make producers and studios into villains (a helpful technique for trying to get what they want), but they do also play a vital role. It is simple reality that film and television are businesses and without somebody putting up the money for a project and running the overall business side, the best script in the world is never going to be anything more than words on paper or a computer monitor. Again, I do hope that the writers end up getting a fair deal that properly compensates them for their work. I just think that trying to completely marginalize the rest of the industry is not the way to accomplish that. -Jeff
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Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror >>>Again, I do hope that the writers end up getting a fair deal that properly compensates them for their work. I just think that trying to completely marginalize the rest of the industry is not the way to accomplish that.<<< The Rest of the industry? Granted, the leadership of the WGA has made some very incendiary comments about studio producers and the conglomerates that own them. On the whole, however, this has NOT been directed towards any other crafts - directors, actors, or any of the technical craftspersons. So that's really not going on, Jeff.
Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror >>>It's funny that the all writers are asking for is an additional 4 cents. You would think a group of billioniares(studio execs) wouldn't be such tightwads.<<< Actually, the WGA took additional money for DVD off the table as a demand, before the talks were called off by producers.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut BOT: your right. I have seen the error. You guys are saving the world. You deserve millions. I fully support you. As a matter of fact, lets take away from children's health services to supplement your pay during this time of crisis and forced lockout.
Originally Posted By jasmine7 Oh, for heaven's sake! No one is asking for millions here, peeaanuut. This is about fair compensation in the face of a changing media.
Originally Posted By JeffG >> "The Rest of the industry? Granted, the leadership of the WGA has made some very incendiary comments about studio producers and the conglomerates that own them. On the whole, however, this has NOT been directed towards any other crafts - directors, actors, or any of the technical craftspersons." << I was referring to other posts in this thread (particularly the one that proceeded mine), not the official statements of the WGA. My comments were about the way that some fans have chosen to support the writers rather than the positions of the writers themselves. That said, I do think that this kind of strike is basically selfish by nature when you consider the massive impact that it is going to have on many people that are not going to benefit in the slightest from whatever contract the WGA finally negotiates. Regardless of what the WGA may say publicly, there is an implicit message that the writers' residuals are more important than allowing everyone else in the business to continue making a living. This is a problem with any strike, of course, and is the reason why I generally oppose strikes unless they are specifically dealing with unsafe or otherwise untenable working conditions. I think the WGA's requests are largely reasonable, but I think they have chosen a very poor approach to achieving them. -Jeff
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Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror And this is kind of a no brainer, but I'd also add that all those people who are working in these various other crafts wouldn't have those jobs if stories weren't created by people working very diligently at what they do. The truth is, there are a lot of people in entertainment (including some writers) who really are just dead weight. Some of them are on set. Read Mark Cuban's observations on this. MOST of them are in offices, in studio development positions. This is the number one reason we had so many mediocre Disney animated films in the last 10 years, and in movies in general. If we went back to the leaner operating days of the 70's, this whole residual thing wouldn't be an issue. As it is, though, my gut tells me that there's a sea change coming, and that the WGA and SAG might not exist ten years from now. There will be some serious downsides to that, but agents and managers, hopefully, will pick up the slack and prevent abuse.
Originally Posted By MissCandice P-Nut, they are just re-negotiating their contract. Sure, striking may seem lame to you but it's not like they are out there killing puppies. From what I have heard they have been trying to get the contract settled for months but it hasn't worked so they decided to strike. They certainly have that right, just like other unions have the right to strike if that can't get their contract disputes worked out. I can't blame them from trying to get in on the DVD/downloading action since without writers to write things there would be no shows/movies to even put out on DVD or download. Anyhoo, just my opinion.
Originally Posted By cstephens A thought occurred to me today - if the strike goes on as long as some suspect it might, it could potentially put in jeopardy this year's awards season, including the Oscars. That could be interesting. /cs
Originally Posted By mawnck >>As a matter of fact, lets take away from children's health services to supplement your pay during this time of crisis and forced lockout.<< Very creative. Have you considered being a writer?
