Monday Morning Poll: Does a Hollywood Strike Concern You?
Filed under: RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Politics
Or, do you look at it the same way you do a sports strike -- that these friggin' people make so much money as it is, why on earth should they be striking? Lets' backtrack first, because I want to explain this strike to those who keep hearing about it, but don't really know what the hell anyone is talking about. Who's striking? Why are they striking? When are they striking? And what does their striking have to do with me and my electric bill? Okay, here's how it's playing out: The WGA (Writer's Guild of America) contract with the studios is up in October, but they're going to delay negotiations for a bit so as to catch up with the DGA (Director's Guild of America) and SAG (Screen Actors Guild), whose contracts end in June of 2008. The current notion around Hollywood is that all three of these guilds could team up in June, go on strike and literally cripple the entire industry (look at it as the equivalent to getting punched in the nuts ... hard).
"Why would they have a reason to strike in the first place?" Easy ... money. Why else? Essentially, all parties are looking for better residuals on "new media entertainment" -- internet, stuff like that. So, in the meantime, studios are stockpiling scripts and rushing productions in order to have a slate lined up so that if there is a strike, they still have a product to put out. But like with any rush job in any field, I wouldn't expect that product to be any good. Devin from CHUD makes a good point when he says that no matter what happens, studios are still going to be left with all these films they rushed to complete -- which means, no matter what, we're still going to be exposed to the crappy "pre-strike" movies because studios will have no other choice but to dump them on us since, well, they're already completed. Which kinda sucks. As Devin points out (as well as the LA Times), the same thing happened in 2001, and that's the same year we got Men in Black II, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Reign of Fire and Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes. Nice. But if the strike doesn't happen, it also means actors and directors will have open schedules and be available to take on smaller projects over the summer. So, there's a chance we may get some good movies out of this after all. Who knows ...
So, I ask you: Are you concerned about this strike now that you know what it's about? Do you think the guilds have a reason to strike in the first place? And if you're in one of these guilds, feel free to add your two cents to the conversation?









Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-10-2007 @ 12:28PM
RP said...
I really couldn't care less. After some of the absolute crap that's been shovelled out this year (which includes everything with 3 in the title), it surely can't get any worse.
I'm generally of the opinion that striking shouldn't be allowed, but that mostly concerns people who provide necessary public services (like health care, transport etc), so a film industry strike doesn't exactly ruffle my anti-striking feathers.
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9-10-2007 @ 12:38PM
Brandon said...
I guess this means that to fill the void Hollywood will pull a bunch of pointless remakes out of their hat. OOPS! That's already the present state. DAMN!
Seriously.
At this point who cares. Let em strike. While they are doing that, pull some new talent in & take some chances. Maybe we can see a new burst of creativity, like we experienced in the late 60's & the 70's, turn cinema on it's head.
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9-10-2007 @ 2:52PM
Dorv said...
I actually liked Reign of Fire... For what it was, it wasn't a bad popcorn flick.
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9-10-2007 @ 3:36PM
Nick Kastelz said...
I really hope they don't decide to strike because I think the effects are going to be felt beyond the crappy movies that get put out. If it's a success and the unions affect the film industry in they way that they want, television guilds may get the same idea.
On the other hand, a strike could open opportunities for up and coming filmmakers and recent film school grads, which I will conveniently be at the end of this fall.
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9-10-2007 @ 10:55PM
Karrie said...
There are getting to be so few movies even worthy of going to a theater so maybe movie goers should just go on strike and protest high prices at the Theaters. I mean $9-10 for a movie ticket, $3.00 for a box of candy you can buy for a buck elsewhere, $5.00 for a jumbo sized bucket of STALE popcorn (3 bags at the grocery store for $1.99), $4.50 for a large flat watered down drink that's going to make you have to get up from the movie at least twice (2-liter for $1.39). And all for a movie that is probably going to be availble on DVD in 3 weeks because the Studios figure its going to make all the money it can at theaters in the first 2 weeks before the next big movie comes out or everyone realizes it's a bust.
It's going to take the consumers to show them that we aren't going to watch just any old thing they throw together. If we boycotted going to the Theaters a couple weekends in a row, especially when a blockbuster film is supposed to come out, maybe it might be the type of shock the industry needs
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9-11-2007 @ 10:34AM
The Pepto Pimp said...
Just like our "fixed" national elections here in the US, there's nothing we can do about this strike but bend over and grab a jar of vaseline.
The guilds and the studios will come to an agreement which shares some of the profits from new media distribution (what will we call in it a few years when it's not new anymore?). Then, those same studios will increase the consumer's costs of that same new media. Like the US oil companies, the Studios will claim that they increased costs are a result of the new Guild agreements, while posting record incom and record high profits.
In the mean time, the studios will be releasing all the terrible films the rushed to make before the strike. So these aforementioned record high profits will be obtained trough record low quality content. As a result, those coked-up egomaniac's will actually believe that Americans like poorly told stories and make more of them.
This is really the beginning of a huge slump for Hollywood.
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9-11-2007 @ 5:26PM
Mimi said...
There are huge 18 to 25 year old audiences for bad films that appeal to the non-discriminating. There are smaller audiences for quality grown-up films. Just look at the summer attendance statistics.
Because of this sad situation, it doesn't really matter what is pumped out of Hollywood over the next year prior to a possible strike. The better films, the ones that require time and attention, may not be made, but the bad, cheap and quick films will be and the studios will still make a lot of money.
Until film goers put their fannys into seats to watch good films and boycott bad ones, Hollywood will continue to produce crap, because money talks. The strike will harm quality, not profit margins.
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9-14-2007 @ 5:22PM
bob said...
The entertainment industry employs 252,000 people in the Greater Los Angeles region, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
MOST of these people are just working middle class stiffs. Forget the million dollar actors and producers who are few and far between in the big scheme of things.
Real people will be hurt financially by a major strike and it will have a global effect on the city's economy.
Think about that!
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9-20-2007 @ 5:57AM
marcus said...
The fact that Tinseltown might come to an expected standstill should alloud actors/actresses to glance over at the other side of the pond. This could actually be a great opportunity for some to boost their careers. Would it be possible to make films outside of the US during the strike if you're a member of the SAG? Anything is better then belting out junk for the next year or so. That would probably be devastating for the boxoffice, not only in th States but worldwide.
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9-20-2007 @ 9:02AM
Dave said...
People here seem to be concerned with the quality of films that will be produced while the strike is looming or happening. So you do agree that these people contribute to the quality of the films produced. With stars getting millions and directors getting 10s of millions in back-end deals, don't you think the people who think up the wonderful lines they speak should be compensated to the same extent. When you see a Director buy a Caribbean island, or a movie star buy another Malibu mansion off the profits of his or her latest film, think to yourself that the writer of the words is still living in a Culver City condo because his contribution is not valued the same way.
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9-20-2007 @ 3:53PM
Caroline said...
Someone said they would look over on the other side of the pond if there is a strike . . .
Go to SAG's website and look up Global Rule One. All SAG rules apply whether they are in Americas, Europe or Antartica. From all reports, they enforce it quite strongly.
If SAG, WGA, and DGA all strike . . . it will not only affect movies but television (same actors are united under SAG). . . it is bad news for all!
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9-29-2007 @ 8:23PM
delldude360 said...
i hope the strike does happen and all unions workers actors and such are out of work til say summer of 09 :)
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10-25-2007 @ 3:34PM
Victoria said...
I am a Real Estate agent in the Hollywood Hills. First of all, Bob was correct, it is going to impact our economy severly. Not only did the housing market come to a complete stand still during the last strike, which impacts L.A. tremendously, but everything shut down. From restaurants to grocery stores, the grips, the costumers, lighting directors and countless more will be completely out of work, therefore they will not have the money to go to a restaurant and tip the waiter, the waiter won't have the money for the rent and the landlord will not have the income expected. Yes, the studios are ordering advance scripts, but that doesn't mean that the other unions will allow their members to cross the picket lines. Additionally, everyone seems concerned with the movies, but this effects everything from your favorite television show to the jokes that come out of Jay Leno's mouth every night.
If this happens, it's going to be a very dark time for Los Angeles.
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11-14-2007 @ 4:54PM
Chad said...
I used to think they were overpaid probably, too, but that is NOT the case. I just watched a video that explains how little they actually do make: http://writerspay.hollywoodstrikes.com
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