Strike Question

[DangoForth]

Any actual WGA members or people in the know, have more info what the strike points actually are and what progress we may have made before the strike?
From outside looking in, it seems most things are more weighted toward TV writers gains vs feature writers.

This sums it up quite nicely (it's out on Twitter, so I don't think there's any problem sharing it). It does seem weighted toward TV writers, but given the fact that a majority of jobs are for series work/writers rooms, and that features will end up on TV/Streaming and directly affect additional pay/residuals for the original feature writers, it's solidly for both.

https://twitter.com/adamconover/stat...72585252257793

[Bono]

Thank you, Dango. Still odd that there isn't more for feature writers -- or is it odd since I think most of the board is TV people. Gains are good, but if you are a feature writer out on strike doing well right now, I'd be double sad. But since I'm just a hack, I'm fine.

Also the sales on Done Deal being reported, I assume those are just trickling in and had to be set up before the strike... just announced later.

[JeffLowell]

Very few pure feature writers left.

[Done Deal Pro]

Also the sales on Done Deal being reported, I assume those are just trickling in and had to be set up before the strike... just announced later.

It's a mix.

Deals can & do trickle in, as you note, since it can sometimes take the trades, which are generally receiving press releases, some time to finally get around to publishing the announcement. But we're also listing indie deals (non-WGA), foreign deals, etc. In addition, reality TV series, docuseries, etc. can continue on and we will probably see a bit of an uptick with those depending on how long the strike lasts.

[Bono]

It's a mix.

Deals can & do trickle in, as you note, since it can sometimes take the trades, which are generally receiving press releases, some time to finally get around to publishing the announcement. But we're also listing indie deals (non-WGA), foreign deals, etc. In addition, reality TV series, docuseries, etc. can continue on and we will probably see a bit of an uptick with those depending on how long the strike lasts.

Thank you for explaining.

I get confused as indie to me means zero dollars made by self or a 5-10 million dollar movie these days -- so is a writer selling their spec that way acceptable? It's all so confusing.

https://deadline.com/2023/05/writers...6415/#comments

Then I'm reading this article and it brings up how confusing it is when showrunners are writers and producers... and even if they stay away they already wrote the show so should actors do their job or should everything be shut down? Because if they do that, then the rest of the crew is out of work...

I hate this stuff so much. It's so depressing as these are the writers that made it? And 90% of them can't pay their bills. Ugh....

[Done Deal Pro]

I get confused as indie to me means zero dollars made by self or a 5-10 million dollar movie these days -- so is a writer selling their spec that way acceptable? It's all so confusing.

It is has become a bit more difficult in the last so many years to define "indie" films "by cost" due to some fairly expensive independent films. Price does frequently play into defining an indie film since the studios must pay high wagers to almost everyone on a studio feature film due to unions, guilds, etc. of course.

The "indie deals" we list on the main site are not necessarily zero dollar deals, they are simply not a WGA (guaranteed) minimum deal for the writer, of course. Now it might be in the writer's contract they get WGA minimum at least, along with a floor & ceiling for the final purchase price, but for the sake of discussion let's just say they are at probably lower than WGA rates since the writers in most cases an non-WGA and have no protection, per se.

So if "you" make a small movie yourself or set one up, the odds of it being listed on the main site are pretty much close to zero. Most of the stuff we are listing is going to generally fall into the $1 million and up range for sure -- even higher than that in many, many cases when studios and WGA signatory production companies, etc. are involved. TV movies for some of the cable channels are being done in the $1 million to $3 million range total budget, for example -- Hallmark, Lifetime, etc. But even a number of the ones which air are below the million dollar budgets and are "negative" pickups by the channels. The writers get little money for those.

It's tough. In a sense, it's always has been in many ways. Everyone wants to "pay low" then "sell high" or make high box office gross.

I'm sure Jeff or someone else can hop in and offer a better/fuller explanation, but I hope the above can help a bit.

[JeffLowell]

All of that sounds write. An indie studio (as far as writers are concerned) is one that makes movies using non guild writers. There are writers that carve out a whole career with those kind of movies. I think William Martell was never in the WGA? (Maybe he joined at some point.)

If a script is done, a member of the WGA can serve as the producer of something while it's shot, as long as they don't write. But that's fraught and a lot of people don't love it - a lot of people see it is a violation of the spirit of the rules, if not the letter.

[Bono]

https://twitter.com/jenniferraite/st...68732141879299

This is fantastic. This is why we need writers. Let's see AI be that clever.

[Rantanplan]

Here's a good, in-depth interview with a TV writer about the strike. Explains everything you need to know. https://ambertamblyn.substack.com/p/...m_medium=email

[finalact4]

Very few pure feature writers left.

This is what I've read/heard over the past few years from interviews with managers. They want clients to do both-- which makes perfect sense.

Streamers are playing features on their platforms, so it impacts all writers. If a feature is bought by a streamer and never sees a theatrical release, the writer should be entitled to revenue based on the # times the film if watched-- is that the main conflict issue? I mean, feature film writers are able to negotiate a back end bonus/deal on a theatrical release, right? Just like an actor?

With that said, is SAG experiencing any rumblings? Or are they already covered with their agreement? I seem to recall that the studio contracts tend to renegotiate around similar time-frames, no?

Then if a feature is replayed downstream on a network channel writers receive compensation, right? If it goes to a cable network, doesn't writer receive additional compensation for the length of time it's active on the cable network? So, it it's not addressed for streamers, that's a problem. I'm sure it's more complicated than that.

Seems this has been an ongoing issue and perhaps the WGA as a whole has a long term plan, right? In the last negotiation they targeted the agency conflict of interest issue, knowing they could not address all writer issues, as the streaming compensation issue would have already been felt by writers selling to streamers during the last renegotiations, right?

Is this a time to "pick your battle," issue?

[JeffLowell]

Residuals on streaming are far lower than they were on other platforms. That goes for feature, tv, actors, etc.

it won’t really matter if sag and dga go out. They’ll be out of material to shoot long before that.

[JoeBanks]

although it shouldn't have taken years of neglecting the free work problem on the feature side until it became a free work on the TV side problem, one of the Neg. Comm. members Angelina Burnett publicly states that it's a key demand for both sides in this round:

https://twitter.com/wgangelinab/stat...838637570?s=20

[Bono]

Residuals on streaming are far lower than they were on other platforms. That goes for feature, tv, actors, etc.

it won’t really matter if sag and dga go out. They’ll be out of material to shoot long before that.

I've been wondering this forever. Who the hell is in charge of residuals? Who makes sure a TV show from 1997 rebroadcast on a random channel in the middle of the night get the 3 cents to the 80 year old actor?

It seems like it would be billions of people to keep track of it and honestly I'm fascinated by it.

[JeffLowell]

The studio who owns the tv show knows when it’s played, because they’re paid, and they pay residuals.

The guilds will audit studios if they think they’re not reporting everything.

[Bono]

The studio who owns the tv show knows when it’s played, because they’re paid, and they pay residuals.

The guilds will audit studios if they think they’re not reporting everything.

But is the dept like 1000 people? And what about things made by studios that don't exist and mergers?

Do you still get residuals for things you don't even remember working on?