Writer's Strike
Published 11-05-2007 , 7:13 AM
I wanted to chime in for a second in the TV and Movie writers strike.
As I writer, I definitely sympathize with them. Writing is largely underappreciated work - most people think it's a pretty easy job. Trust me, it's not. True, anyone can write. But writing well, and hitting your target - that's an art.
For example, go ahead and write a top-ten list for Letterman. Go ahead - think of a topic, then write ten funny statements for it in that wry, sarcastic style the top ten is known for. I'll bet most people can't do it. Again, trust me - writing well is hard work.
The strike has to do with revenues on new media - i.e. internet and digital distribution. It's becoming pretty clear that entertainment will move out of the living room, and more towards a personal / digital format.
The TV and Studio people are saying that commercials as we know them will likely be a thing of the past - there will have to be a new revenue model. They don't know what this is yet - the technology is too new. Therefore, they don't want the writers to get a piece of profits on a business model that doesn't exist. The writers, having been burned by DVD and Videotapes in their last contract (after hearing the same "it's too new" argument) are saying "no - we want x% of whatever you come up with as a profit model."
Seems reasonable to me.
In the end, I think they'll win. Writers make it all work - all the actors, directors, makeup people, and studio heads in the world wait for a writer to put something on paper. If that's not happening, nothing happens. Tune in to Leno or Letterman this week to see what I mean.
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