Status: Currently writing on The Price of Freedom--Chapter 187.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Talk show re-runs
Listening to: "One Love" by Prodigy; "Head Like A Hole" by Devo
Reading: Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
TOPIC: STRIKE CONTINUES
The writer's strike enters its fourth week; and temperatures here are in the low 30s.
Striking screenwriters disparage new studio offer
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Labor negotiators for the major Hollywood studios presented striking screenwriters on Thursday with a new set of proposed pay formulas for digital media, but the writers' union immediately rebuffed the offer as far too stingy.
Breaking their silence after a four-day round of talks conducted under a strict media blackout, the two sides resumed their public relations duel as the studios unveiled what they called a "new economic partnership" and the writers shot it down as a "massive rollback."
The latest offer was disclosed in a brief statement issued by the studios' bargaining entity, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), on the 25th day of a strike by 10,500 film and TV writers.
The Writers Guild of America launched its work stoppage on November 5 after months of rancorous on-and-off negotiations with the studios collapsed, triggering the worst labor crisis to hit Hollywood in nearly 20 years.
The talks have foundered largely on the failure to reach accord on writers' demands for a greater share of revenue for film and TV work distributed over the Internet and wireless devices, such as cell phones.
The new offer presented by the studios, according to the AMPTP, sought to address those issues with "groundbreaking moves in several areas of new media."
"The entire value of the New Economic Partnership will deliver more than $130 million in additional compensation above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year," the statement said.
But the proposal met with a chilly reception from the union, which outlined its objections to the studios' offer in its own point-by-point critique.
For example, the union said the studios had offered a single, fixed payment of less than $250 for a year's reuse of an hourlong TV program when streamed over the Internet, which the WGA said compared with "over $20,000 payable for a network rerun."
The union also faulted the studios' offer for failing to establish a payment scheme for original content created especially for the Internet, and for refusing to go beyond management's initial proposal to pay the same rates for digital downloads as for DVDs.
The guild said its own proposals would cost the film and TV industry $151 million over three years, amounting to a 3 percent increase in writers' earnings annually, while "company revenues are projected to grow at a rate of 10 percent."
Both sides said they would resume bargaining next Tuesday, and the union said the studios have promised to present additional unspecified proposals at that time.
The latest four-day round of talks marked the first formal negotiations since the strike began.
The screenwriters' walkout has hit the television industry the hardest so far, throwing late-night talk shows into immediate reruns and bringing production to a halt on dozens of prime-time comedies and dramas.
The strike has also forced movie studios to postpone several high-profile big-screen projects, including a planned sequel to the box-office blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code."
The last Hollywood strike was a 1988 walkout by the WGA that lasted 22 weeks and cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
MONDAY TREAT.
Status: Currently writing on The Price of Freedom--Chapter 185.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening Magazine
Listening to: "Love Removal Machine"; "She Sells Sanctuary" by Rare Cult
Reading: Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
TOPIC: A SECOND DRAWING OF EMILY ROSE JORDAN
This is another pic of Emily done by Mykia awhile back. I was meaning to post this last month, but things just got so fragging nuts with all my appointments and unscheduled doctor visits! (This is what happens when you have another bout of kidney stones.)
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening Magazine
Listening to: "Love Removal Machine"; "She Sells Sanctuary" by Rare Cult
Reading: Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
TOPIC: A SECOND DRAWING OF EMILY ROSE JORDAN
This is another pic of Emily done by Mykia awhile back. I was meaning to post this last month, but things just got so fragging nuts with all my appointments and unscheduled doctor visits! (This is what happens when you have another bout of kidney stones.)
MONDAY TRIPPIN'.
Status: Currently writing on The Price of Freedom--Chapter 185.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "Halcyon" by Chicane
Reading: Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
TOPIC: READING LESS AND LESS?
Government study: Americans reading less
NEW YORK - The latest National Endowment for the Arts report draws on a variety of sources, public and private, and essentially reaches one conclusion: Americans are reading less.
The 99-page study, "To Read or Not to Read," is being released Monday as a follow-up to a 2004 NEA survey, "Reading at Risk," that found an increasing number of adult Americans were not even reading one book a year.
"To Read or Not to Read" gathers an array of government, academic and foundation data on everything from how many 9-year-olds read every day for "fun" (54 percent) to the percentage of high school graduates deemed by employers as "deficient" in writing in English (72 percent).
"I've done a lot of work in statistics in my career, and I've never seen a situation where so much data was pulled from so many places and absolutely everything is so consistent," NEA chairman Dana Gioia said.
Among the findings:
• In 2002, only 52 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24, the college years, read a book voluntarily, down from 59 percent in 1992.
• Money spent on books, adjusted for inflation, dropped 14 percent from 1985 to 2005 and has fallen dramatically since the mid-1990s.
• The number of adults with bachelor's degrees and "proficient in reading prose" dropped from 40 percent in 1992 to 31 percent in 2003.
Some news is good, notably among 9-year-olds, whose reading comprehension scores have soared since the early 1990s.
But at the same time, the number of 17-year-olds who "never or hardly ever" read for pleasure has doubled, to 19 percent, and their comprehension scores have fallen.
"I think there's been an enormous investment in teaching kids to read in elementary school," Gioia said. "Kids are doing better at 9, and at 11. At 13, they're doing no worse, but then you see this catastrophic falloff. ... If kids are put into this electronic culture without any counterbalancing efforts, they will stop reading."
Publishers and booksellers have noted that teen fiction is a rapidly expanding category in an otherwise flat market, but the NEA's director of research, Sunil Iyengar, wondered how much of that growth has been caused by the "Harry Potter" books, the last of which came out in July.
"It's great that millions of kids are reading these long, intricate novels, but reading one such book every 18 months doesn't make up for daily reading," Gioia said.
Doug Whiteman, president of the Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA), said sales of teen books were the strongest part of his business. But he added that a couple of factors could explain why scores were dropping: Adults are also buying the "Potter" books, thus making the teen market seem bigger on paper, and some sales are for non-English language books.
"There are so many nuances," Whiteman said. "Reading scores don't necessarily have any relevance to today's sales."
The head of Simon & Schuster's children's publishing division, Rick Richter, saw another reason why sales could rise even as scores go down: A growing gap between those who read and those who don't. Richter considers it "very possible" that the market is driven by a relatively small number of young people who buy large numbers of books. Test scores, meanwhile, are lowered by the larger population of teens who don't read.
"A divide like that is really a cause for concern," Richter said.
The report emphasizes the social benefits of reading: "Literary readers" are more likely to exercise, visit art museums, keep up with current events, vote in presidential elections and perform volunteer work.
"This should explode the notion that reading is somehow a passive activity," Gioia said. "Reading creates people who are more active by any measure. ... People who don't read, who spend more of their time watching TV or on the Internet, playing video games, seem to be significantly more passive."
Gioia called the decline in reading "perhaps the most important socio-economic issue in the United States," and called for changes "in the way we're educating kids, especially in high school and college. We need to reconnect reading with pleasure and enlightenment."
"'To Read or Not to Read' suggests we are losing the majority of the new generation," Gioia said. "The majority of young Americans will not realize their individual, economic or social potential."
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "Halcyon" by Chicane
Reading: Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
TOPIC: READING LESS AND LESS?
Government study: Americans reading less
NEW YORK - The latest National Endowment for the Arts report draws on a variety of sources, public and private, and essentially reaches one conclusion: Americans are reading less.
The 99-page study, "To Read or Not to Read," is being released Monday as a follow-up to a 2004 NEA survey, "Reading at Risk," that found an increasing number of adult Americans were not even reading one book a year.
"To Read or Not to Read" gathers an array of government, academic and foundation data on everything from how many 9-year-olds read every day for "fun" (54 percent) to the percentage of high school graduates deemed by employers as "deficient" in writing in English (72 percent).
"I've done a lot of work in statistics in my career, and I've never seen a situation where so much data was pulled from so many places and absolutely everything is so consistent," NEA chairman Dana Gioia said.
Among the findings:
• In 2002, only 52 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24, the college years, read a book voluntarily, down from 59 percent in 1992.
• Money spent on books, adjusted for inflation, dropped 14 percent from 1985 to 2005 and has fallen dramatically since the mid-1990s.
• The number of adults with bachelor's degrees and "proficient in reading prose" dropped from 40 percent in 1992 to 31 percent in 2003.
Some news is good, notably among 9-year-olds, whose reading comprehension scores have soared since the early 1990s.
But at the same time, the number of 17-year-olds who "never or hardly ever" read for pleasure has doubled, to 19 percent, and their comprehension scores have fallen.
"I think there's been an enormous investment in teaching kids to read in elementary school," Gioia said. "Kids are doing better at 9, and at 11. At 13, they're doing no worse, but then you see this catastrophic falloff. ... If kids are put into this electronic culture without any counterbalancing efforts, they will stop reading."
Publishers and booksellers have noted that teen fiction is a rapidly expanding category in an otherwise flat market, but the NEA's director of research, Sunil Iyengar, wondered how much of that growth has been caused by the "Harry Potter" books, the last of which came out in July.
"It's great that millions of kids are reading these long, intricate novels, but reading one such book every 18 months doesn't make up for daily reading," Gioia said.
Doug Whiteman, president of the Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA), said sales of teen books were the strongest part of his business. But he added that a couple of factors could explain why scores were dropping: Adults are also buying the "Potter" books, thus making the teen market seem bigger on paper, and some sales are for non-English language books.
"There are so many nuances," Whiteman said. "Reading scores don't necessarily have any relevance to today's sales."
The head of Simon & Schuster's children's publishing division, Rick Richter, saw another reason why sales could rise even as scores go down: A growing gap between those who read and those who don't. Richter considers it "very possible" that the market is driven by a relatively small number of young people who buy large numbers of books. Test scores, meanwhile, are lowered by the larger population of teens who don't read.
"A divide like that is really a cause for concern," Richter said.
The report emphasizes the social benefits of reading: "Literary readers" are more likely to exercise, visit art museums, keep up with current events, vote in presidential elections and perform volunteer work.
"This should explode the notion that reading is somehow a passive activity," Gioia said. "Reading creates people who are more active by any measure. ... People who don't read, who spend more of their time watching TV or on the Internet, playing video games, seem to be significantly more passive."
Gioia called the decline in reading "perhaps the most important socio-economic issue in the United States," and called for changes "in the way we're educating kids, especially in high school and college. We need to reconnect reading with pleasure and enlightenment."
"'To Read or Not to Read' suggests we are losing the majority of the new generation," Gioia said. "The majority of young Americans will not realize their individual, economic or social potential."
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
TUESDAY ACCOLADES
Status: Currently writing on The Price of Freedom--Chapter 182.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "Halcyon" by Chicane
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: STORY TWISTS
Never thought that that this would pop up in The Price of Freedom.
For a time now, I've had to focus more on what was happening with Kayla Sorenson and her ongoing struggle to find her true identity and what her purpose in this long and ongoing war between humanity and the Neos.
Of course, I'm used to the fact that I like to drop a bombshell on my readers every now and then, but this one has me kind've stymied.
Three times or more--throughout the book--either Kenneth Sparks or Kayla Sorenson was visited by their future daughter; Felica Sorenson.
In many guises, she visited them in the year 2166--throughout the first 5 months of the year; each time either saving their bacon, giving Kayla a boost, or in this latest case...?
Stopping her from killing Kenneth Sparks.
But this latest visit also comes with a surprise: Felicia is pregnant with Kenneth's child!
How did this happen was explained in a later chapter--as Felicia "rescues" her estranged mother from her own insanity.
The reason behind the joining.
However, it hasn't been fully explained as to whether or not this is the same Felicia from the current timeline, or another version of her which alternated from another aspect of the timesteam.
Felicia isn't talking and neither Kayla nor Kenneth know much pass their past experiences with their wayward daughter.
So another mystery still has yet to be solved. And by the looks of things--it doesn't appear that it will be solved in this book. Possibly in The Catalyst of Freedom, but I can't be sure--as that storyline is still in bits and pieces. (In terms of an outline.)
And another twist in the current storyline is still unfolding. Because of what happened in Felicia's subspace domain, Kayla has been regressed back to a teenage girl.
16-years-old and no longer pregnant with Felicia.
What's going to happen when she returns to 2166?
I don't know. But count on a very interesting read from here on out. (Not that this book has ever been boring from minute one...?)
Sky
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "Halcyon" by Chicane
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: STORY TWISTS
Never thought that that this would pop up in The Price of Freedom.
For a time now, I've had to focus more on what was happening with Kayla Sorenson and her ongoing struggle to find her true identity and what her purpose in this long and ongoing war between humanity and the Neos.
Of course, I'm used to the fact that I like to drop a bombshell on my readers every now and then, but this one has me kind've stymied.
Three times or more--throughout the book--either Kenneth Sparks or Kayla Sorenson was visited by their future daughter; Felica Sorenson.
In many guises, she visited them in the year 2166--throughout the first 5 months of the year; each time either saving their bacon, giving Kayla a boost, or in this latest case...?
Stopping her from killing Kenneth Sparks.
But this latest visit also comes with a surprise: Felicia is pregnant with Kenneth's child!
How did this happen was explained in a later chapter--as Felicia "rescues" her estranged mother from her own insanity.
The reason behind the joining.
However, it hasn't been fully explained as to whether or not this is the same Felicia from the current timeline, or another version of her which alternated from another aspect of the timesteam.
Felicia isn't talking and neither Kayla nor Kenneth know much pass their past experiences with their wayward daughter.
So another mystery still has yet to be solved. And by the looks of things--it doesn't appear that it will be solved in this book. Possibly in The Catalyst of Freedom, but I can't be sure--as that storyline is still in bits and pieces. (In terms of an outline.)
And another twist in the current storyline is still unfolding. Because of what happened in Felicia's subspace domain, Kayla has been regressed back to a teenage girl.
16-years-old and no longer pregnant with Felicia.
What's going to happen when she returns to 2166?
I don't know. But count on a very interesting read from here on out. (Not that this book has ever been boring from minute one...?)
Sky
Sunday, November 11, 2007
SUNDAY RERUNS?
Status: Currently writing on The Price of Freedom--Chapter 182.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "Animix-Full Project" (Anime music video)
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: SUPPORT THE WRITER STRIKE! (Week 1)
Use strike to realize what TV writers do
NEW YORK -- The writers strike only began Monday, and already you're falling behind.
Sure, the impact of the strike so far has been limited to late night, instantly banishing comedy-and-talk shows into rerun purgatory. But how are you supposed to know what's happening in the world without Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show" mocking current events?
The prospect of a strike was a wake-up call for viewers. Last Friday, "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien dispelled the popular belief "that I make the whole show up." Not true, viewers learned. "Believe it or not," he confided, "some of the show is scripted."
But that was then. On Monday, writers who once scripted "Late Night" and so many other shows were picketing outside NBC's Rockefeller Center headquarters.
"Hey, hey, ho, ho, management can't write the show," they chanted, demonstrating that their own writing skills don't include poetry.
The dispute between Writers Guild of America members and the networks and studios that employ them centers on issues like Internet royalties for TV shows. But it's you caught in the middle. As a pitch for "Jimmy Kimmel Live" put it so vividly, "The more I Jimmy, the better I feel." With the strike going on, you just can't Jimmy like you used to.
And things could get worse. If the strike drags on (and the last one, in 1988, went for 22 weeks), the reservoir of new scripted shows could run dry.
Of course, the networks have ways of finessing this problem.
The networks are expected to augment the inevitable reruns with brand-new fare that doesn't need a script from anybody (at least, not a WGA writer). News programs will likely swell in number. Look for new game shows.
Is there a silver lining?
Well, in the short term, you'll be grateful for the chance to get through all the shows you've stockpiled on your TiVo.
Another plus? You'll be freed up to sample other programming you never saw before.
However, if the strike lasts too long, it will be very costly to the networks and studios, as well as the writers. And that would serve them right, you may find yourself seething.
Strike back if you must. But the absence of writers from TV right now might be a good time to take measure of what writers bring to television.
Consider: At the heart of nearly every complaint you've ever lodged against TV is what the writer did. What you really notice about a TV show, especially when you object to it, mostly boils down to how it's written. That's how fundamental the writers are.
It doesn't mean you should automatically support them in a strike that, already, is making TV less fun for you to watch. But to give yourself a fresh perspective on their value, picture those writers dropped into a MasterCard commercial:
Bottled water, candy bars and pencils for the Writers' Room: $37.
Average WGA writer's annual income (according to the studios and networks): About $200,000.
The script for a top-notch TV show that makes you laugh or cry and talk about it afterward for days: Priceless.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "Animix-Full Project" (Anime music video)
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: SUPPORT THE WRITER STRIKE! (Week 1)
Use strike to realize what TV writers do
NEW YORK -- The writers strike only began Monday, and already you're falling behind.
Sure, the impact of the strike so far has been limited to late night, instantly banishing comedy-and-talk shows into rerun purgatory. But how are you supposed to know what's happening in the world without Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show" mocking current events?
The prospect of a strike was a wake-up call for viewers. Last Friday, "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien dispelled the popular belief "that I make the whole show up." Not true, viewers learned. "Believe it or not," he confided, "some of the show is scripted."
But that was then. On Monday, writers who once scripted "Late Night" and so many other shows were picketing outside NBC's Rockefeller Center headquarters.
"Hey, hey, ho, ho, management can't write the show," they chanted, demonstrating that their own writing skills don't include poetry.
The dispute between Writers Guild of America members and the networks and studios that employ them centers on issues like Internet royalties for TV shows. But it's you caught in the middle. As a pitch for "Jimmy Kimmel Live" put it so vividly, "The more I Jimmy, the better I feel." With the strike going on, you just can't Jimmy like you used to.
And things could get worse. If the strike drags on (and the last one, in 1988, went for 22 weeks), the reservoir of new scripted shows could run dry.
Of course, the networks have ways of finessing this problem.
The networks are expected to augment the inevitable reruns with brand-new fare that doesn't need a script from anybody (at least, not a WGA writer). News programs will likely swell in number. Look for new game shows.
Is there a silver lining?
Well, in the short term, you'll be grateful for the chance to get through all the shows you've stockpiled on your TiVo.
Another plus? You'll be freed up to sample other programming you never saw before.
However, if the strike lasts too long, it will be very costly to the networks and studios, as well as the writers. And that would serve them right, you may find yourself seething.
Strike back if you must. But the absence of writers from TV right now might be a good time to take measure of what writers bring to television.
Consider: At the heart of nearly every complaint you've ever lodged against TV is what the writer did. What you really notice about a TV show, especially when you object to it, mostly boils down to how it's written. That's how fundamental the writers are.
It doesn't mean you should automatically support them in a strike that, already, is making TV less fun for you to watch. But to give yourself a fresh perspective on their value, picture those writers dropped into a MasterCard commercial:
Bottled water, candy bars and pencils for the Writers' Room: $37.
Average WGA writer's annual income (according to the studios and networks): About $200,000.
The script for a top-notch TV show that makes you laugh or cry and talk about it afterward for days: Priceless.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
TUESDAY HOLDOUTS
Status: Currently writing on The Price of Freedom--Chapter 181.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train) [Remix Edit]
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: STRIKE!
Of course, I am supporting the writers on the this one. They deserve everything they get and then some. The Hollywood elite has been screwing them long enough!
Writers strike sends shows into reruns
LOS ANGELES - Americans may be getting more sleep after Hollywood writers went on strike Monday and forced the nation's late-night talk shows to start airing reruns.
NBC said the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" will immediately air repeats.
Still, Leno made an appearance at the Burbank studio, arriving on a motorcycle to visit strikers walking a picket line.
CBS said "The Late Show with David Letterman" will also offer repeats all week. The list of casualties included every other major late-night show.
The first strike by Hollywood writers in nearly 20 years got under way with noisy pickets on both coasts after last-minute negotiations on Sunday failed to produce a deal on payments to writers from shows offered on the Internet.
No new negotiations were scheduled, although the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee was set to meet Monday afternoon.
Nick Counter, chief negotiator for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said he expected a long standoff.
"We're hunkered down for a long one," he said. "From our standpoint, we made every good faith effort to negotiate a deal and they went on strike. At some point, conversations will take place. But not now."
The strike will not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
Disruptions by strikers ended filming at a Studio City cafe being used as a location for the CBS show "Cane."
Tom Hogan, a location manager for the show, said he had hired two off-duty Los Angeles police officers in addition to five private security guards to maintain order during the shoot.
He said the filming began hours before the 20 pickets arrived and involved a script that was finished several weeks ago.
No other major problems were reported at studios or filming locations.
At the CBS lot in Studio City, about 40 people hoisted signs and applauded when picketing began.
Robert Port, a writer for the TV show "Numb3rs," said he was as ready as possible for what could be a long walkout.
"We live in Los Angeles, your bank account can never really be ready for this," he said.
Only about half of the pickets wore their official red strike T-shirts.
"Writers aren't the easiest cats to corral," said Don McGill, another writer for "Numb3rs."
The first noisy strikers appeared outside the "Today" show set at Rockefeller Center in New York, where NBC is headquartered. The show is not directly affected by the strike because news writers are part of a different union.
A giant, inflated rat was displayed, as about 40 people shouted, "No contract, no shows!"
"They claim that the new media is still too new to structure a model for compensation," said Jose Arroyo, a writer for "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."
"We say give us a percentage so if they make money, we make money," Arroyo said.
Starting TV writers earn about $70,000 per season for full-time work on a show. Veteran writers who move up to a story-editor position make at least a low six-figure salary, with a "written by" credit on an hourlong script paying an additional $30,000 plus residuals.
Diana Son, a writer for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," said she has three children and getting residuals was the only way she could take time off after giving birth.
"It's an extremely volatile industry," Son said. "There's no job security. Residuals are an important part of our income. There's no cushion."
Millie Kapzen of Memphis, Tenn., who watched the New York pickets from across the street, said she was "disgusted. ... I really think they should try harder to negotiate."
Kapzen said she sells advertising for radio stations. "We've already had cancellations of sweeps weeks ads" by the networks, she said.
Writers have not gone on strike since 1988, when the walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.
The battle has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business, since whatever deal is struck by writers will likely be used as a template for talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.
Talks began in July and continued after the writers contract expired last Wednesday.
Producers said writers were not willing to compromise on major issues.
Writers said they withdrew a proposal to increase their share of revenue from the sale of DVDs that had been a stumbling block for producers.
They also said proposals by producers in the area of Internet reuse of TV episodes and films were unacceptable.
In Los Angeles, writers planned to picket 14 studio locations in four-hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until a new deal is reached.
Networks said other late-night show bound for reruns included "The Daily Show," "Colbert Report," "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "Last Call with Carson Daly."
Ellen DeGeneres was a no-show Monday for filming of her daytime talk show on NBC.
"Ellen did not go to work today in support of her writers," said Kelly Bush, her publicist.
New episodes of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that were filmed before the strike were set to air Monday and Tuesday. But it was unclear what might happen with the show later in the week, Bush said.
"Dancing With the Stars," one of the country's highest-rated prime-time shows, would air as planned on Monday, ABC said.
One key factor that could determine the damage caused by the strike is whether members of a powerful Hollywood Teamsters local honor the picket lines.
Local 399, which represents truck drivers, casting directors and location managers, had told its members that as a union, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts with producers.
But the clause does not apply to individuals.
Steve Dayan, business agent of the local, said Monday he had heard of no problems on the picket lines involving his members.
He did not know if members were honoring the lines or crossing them.
"Our members have a choice whether they want to honor it or not," Dayan said. "I'm sure there are people honoring and some that are crossing. It's their individual right."
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train) [Remix Edit]
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: STRIKE!
Of course, I am supporting the writers on the this one. They deserve everything they get and then some. The Hollywood elite has been screwing them long enough!
Writers strike sends shows into reruns
LOS ANGELES - Americans may be getting more sleep after Hollywood writers went on strike Monday and forced the nation's late-night talk shows to start airing reruns.
NBC said the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" will immediately air repeats.
Still, Leno made an appearance at the Burbank studio, arriving on a motorcycle to visit strikers walking a picket line.
CBS said "The Late Show with David Letterman" will also offer repeats all week. The list of casualties included every other major late-night show.
The first strike by Hollywood writers in nearly 20 years got under way with noisy pickets on both coasts after last-minute negotiations on Sunday failed to produce a deal on payments to writers from shows offered on the Internet.
No new negotiations were scheduled, although the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee was set to meet Monday afternoon.
Nick Counter, chief negotiator for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said he expected a long standoff.
"We're hunkered down for a long one," he said. "From our standpoint, we made every good faith effort to negotiate a deal and they went on strike. At some point, conversations will take place. But not now."
The strike will not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
Disruptions by strikers ended filming at a Studio City cafe being used as a location for the CBS show "Cane."
Tom Hogan, a location manager for the show, said he had hired two off-duty Los Angeles police officers in addition to five private security guards to maintain order during the shoot.
He said the filming began hours before the 20 pickets arrived and involved a script that was finished several weeks ago.
No other major problems were reported at studios or filming locations.
At the CBS lot in Studio City, about 40 people hoisted signs and applauded when picketing began.
Robert Port, a writer for the TV show "Numb3rs," said he was as ready as possible for what could be a long walkout.
"We live in Los Angeles, your bank account can never really be ready for this," he said.
Only about half of the pickets wore their official red strike T-shirts.
"Writers aren't the easiest cats to corral," said Don McGill, another writer for "Numb3rs."
The first noisy strikers appeared outside the "Today" show set at Rockefeller Center in New York, where NBC is headquartered. The show is not directly affected by the strike because news writers are part of a different union.
A giant, inflated rat was displayed, as about 40 people shouted, "No contract, no shows!"
"They claim that the new media is still too new to structure a model for compensation," said Jose Arroyo, a writer for "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."
"We say give us a percentage so if they make money, we make money," Arroyo said.
Starting TV writers earn about $70,000 per season for full-time work on a show. Veteran writers who move up to a story-editor position make at least a low six-figure salary, with a "written by" credit on an hourlong script paying an additional $30,000 plus residuals.
Diana Son, a writer for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," said she has three children and getting residuals was the only way she could take time off after giving birth.
"It's an extremely volatile industry," Son said. "There's no job security. Residuals are an important part of our income. There's no cushion."
Millie Kapzen of Memphis, Tenn., who watched the New York pickets from across the street, said she was "disgusted. ... I really think they should try harder to negotiate."
Kapzen said she sells advertising for radio stations. "We've already had cancellations of sweeps weeks ads" by the networks, she said.
Writers have not gone on strike since 1988, when the walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.
The battle has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business, since whatever deal is struck by writers will likely be used as a template for talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.
Talks began in July and continued after the writers contract expired last Wednesday.
Producers said writers were not willing to compromise on major issues.
Writers said they withdrew a proposal to increase their share of revenue from the sale of DVDs that had been a stumbling block for producers.
They also said proposals by producers in the area of Internet reuse of TV episodes and films were unacceptable.
In Los Angeles, writers planned to picket 14 studio locations in four-hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until a new deal is reached.
Networks said other late-night show bound for reruns included "The Daily Show," "Colbert Report," "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "Last Call with Carson Daly."
Ellen DeGeneres was a no-show Monday for filming of her daytime talk show on NBC.
"Ellen did not go to work today in support of her writers," said Kelly Bush, her publicist.
New episodes of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that were filmed before the strike were set to air Monday and Tuesday. But it was unclear what might happen with the show later in the week, Bush said.
"Dancing With the Stars," one of the country's highest-rated prime-time shows, would air as planned on Monday, ABC said.
One key factor that could determine the damage caused by the strike is whether members of a powerful Hollywood Teamsters local honor the picket lines.
Local 399, which represents truck drivers, casting directors and location managers, had told its members that as a union, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts with producers.
But the clause does not apply to individuals.
Steve Dayan, business agent of the local, said Monday he had heard of no problems on the picket lines involving his members.
He did not know if members were honoring the lines or crossing them.
"Our members have a choice whether they want to honor it or not," Dayan said. "I'm sure there are people honoring and some that are crossing. It's their individual right."
Sunday, November 4, 2007
SUNDAY EVENING.
Status: Currently writing on The Price of Freedom--Chapter 181.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "The Winner" by The Crystal Method
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: MONDAY STRIKE
Writers deal could impact other unions
LOS ANGELES - Hollywood writers were back at the bargaining table Sunday in a last-minute push to avoid a strike against TV networks and movie studios over writers' share of profits from DVDs and(AP) — the Internet.
The battle has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business, since whatever deal is struck by the Writers Guild of America will likely be used as a template for talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.
"We'll get what they get," Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg told The Associated Press.
Negotiators were meeting with a federal mediator Sunday evening in hopes of avoiding a strike that writers had set to begin 12:01 a.m. Monday.
The guild announced sweeping plans to picket every major studio in Los Angeles starting at 9 a.m. Monday, along with Rockefeller Center in New York, where NBC is headquartered.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers previously called a writers' strike "precipitous and irresponsible."
Producers believe progress can be made on other issues but "it makes absolutely no sense to increase the burden of this additional compensation," said J. Nicholas Counter, the producer's chief negotiator.
The guilds have been preparing for these negotiations for years, hiring staff with extensive labor union experience, and developing joint strategies and a harder line than producers have seen in decades.
"We haven't shown particular resolve in past negotiations," said John Bowman, the WGA's chief negotiator. "The sea change is that this is an enormously galvanizing issue, and two, that the new regime at the guild actually has a plan, has an organization and a structure to respond to something."
The writers are the first union to bargain for a new deal this year. Their contract expired Wednesday.
In past years, actors have almost always gone first, although the Directors Guild of America, which is seen as the least aggressive of the three guilds, has sometimes taken the lead. Whatever deal was struck first was usually accepted by the others.
The guilds are aware that if writers fail to win concessions involving DVDs and the Internet, actors may have to take up the fight.
"This is an issue that touches every member of this guild and every member of the Screen Actors Guild as well," said Carlton Cuse, executive producer of the ABC drama "Lost."
Consumers are expected to spend $16.4 billion on DVDs this year, according to Adams Media Research. By contrast, studios could generate only $158 million from selling movies online and about $194 million from selling TV shows over the Web, although those numbers are expected to skyrocket in coming years.
Studios argue that it is too early to know how much money they can make from offering entertainment on the Internet, cell phones, iPods and other devices.
Hollywood unions have long regretted a decision made in 1984 to accept a small percentage of home video sales because studios said the technology was untested and that costs were high. Writers only get about 3 cents on a typical DVD retailing for $20.
The guilds have tried and failed for two decades to increase video payments, even as DVDs have become more profitable for studios than box office receipts.
Unions say they won't make the same mistake when it comes to the Internet.
"I think we all understand what a crucial time in history this is," Rosenberg said. "We really feel if we can't get a fair formula in new media, we'll dig ourselves into the same type of hole we've been in with DVDs."
The first casualty of the strike would be late-night talk shows, which are dependent on current events to fuel monologues and other entertainment. Daytime TV, including live talk shows such as "The View" and soap operas, which typically tape about a week's worth of shows in advance, would be next to feel the impact.
The strike would not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
The actors' union has urged its members to join the writers' picket lines during their off hours.
If a writers strike lingers and actors show support, producers could try and undermine the writers' position by seeking a more favorable deal with directors.
Writers and directors have clashed in the past, mostly over writers' feelings that directors take too much credit for a movie and neglect the contribution of writers.
In 2004, the directors' union settled its contract first and backed down from demands for a higher share of profit from the lucrative DVD marketplace. Writers and actors then had little choice but to accept a similar deal.
"This is a bare knuckle fight and a chess game," said Jonathan Handel, an entertainment lawyer at the Los Angeles law firm of TroyGould.
"If producers do reach a deal with the DGA, it would be to cut the legs right out from under the strike. Then the focus shifts to SAG."
The DGA said it has not yet scheduled contract talks but was closely monitoring developments.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Evening News
Listening to: "The Winner" by The Crystal Method
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: MONDAY STRIKE
Writers deal could impact other unions
LOS ANGELES - Hollywood writers were back at the bargaining table Sunday in a last-minute push to avoid a strike against TV networks and movie studios over writers' share of profits from DVDs and(AP) — the Internet.
The battle has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business, since whatever deal is struck by the Writers Guild of America will likely be used as a template for talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.
"We'll get what they get," Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg told The Associated Press.
Negotiators were meeting with a federal mediator Sunday evening in hopes of avoiding a strike that writers had set to begin 12:01 a.m. Monday.
The guild announced sweeping plans to picket every major studio in Los Angeles starting at 9 a.m. Monday, along with Rockefeller Center in New York, where NBC is headquartered.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers previously called a writers' strike "precipitous and irresponsible."
Producers believe progress can be made on other issues but "it makes absolutely no sense to increase the burden of this additional compensation," said J. Nicholas Counter, the producer's chief negotiator.
The guilds have been preparing for these negotiations for years, hiring staff with extensive labor union experience, and developing joint strategies and a harder line than producers have seen in decades.
"We haven't shown particular resolve in past negotiations," said John Bowman, the WGA's chief negotiator. "The sea change is that this is an enormously galvanizing issue, and two, that the new regime at the guild actually has a plan, has an organization and a structure to respond to something."
The writers are the first union to bargain for a new deal this year. Their contract expired Wednesday.
In past years, actors have almost always gone first, although the Directors Guild of America, which is seen as the least aggressive of the three guilds, has sometimes taken the lead. Whatever deal was struck first was usually accepted by the others.
The guilds are aware that if writers fail to win concessions involving DVDs and the Internet, actors may have to take up the fight.
"This is an issue that touches every member of this guild and every member of the Screen Actors Guild as well," said Carlton Cuse, executive producer of the ABC drama "Lost."
Consumers are expected to spend $16.4 billion on DVDs this year, according to Adams Media Research. By contrast, studios could generate only $158 million from selling movies online and about $194 million from selling TV shows over the Web, although those numbers are expected to skyrocket in coming years.
Studios argue that it is too early to know how much money they can make from offering entertainment on the Internet, cell phones, iPods and other devices.
Hollywood unions have long regretted a decision made in 1984 to accept a small percentage of home video sales because studios said the technology was untested and that costs were high. Writers only get about 3 cents on a typical DVD retailing for $20.
The guilds have tried and failed for two decades to increase video payments, even as DVDs have become more profitable for studios than box office receipts.
Unions say they won't make the same mistake when it comes to the Internet.
"I think we all understand what a crucial time in history this is," Rosenberg said. "We really feel if we can't get a fair formula in new media, we'll dig ourselves into the same type of hole we've been in with DVDs."
The first casualty of the strike would be late-night talk shows, which are dependent on current events to fuel monologues and other entertainment. Daytime TV, including live talk shows such as "The View" and soap operas, which typically tape about a week's worth of shows in advance, would be next to feel the impact.
The strike would not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
The actors' union has urged its members to join the writers' picket lines during their off hours.
If a writers strike lingers and actors show support, producers could try and undermine the writers' position by seeking a more favorable deal with directors.
Writers and directors have clashed in the past, mostly over writers' feelings that directors take too much credit for a movie and neglect the contribution of writers.
In 2004, the directors' union settled its contract first and backed down from demands for a higher share of profit from the lucrative DVD marketplace. Writers and actors then had little choice but to accept a similar deal.
"This is a bare knuckle fight and a chess game," said Jonathan Handel, an entertainment lawyer at the Los Angeles law firm of TroyGould.
"If producers do reach a deal with the DGA, it would be to cut the legs right out from under the strike. Then the focus shifts to SAG."
The DGA said it has not yet scheduled contract talks but was closely monitoring developments.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
THURSDAY DEADLINE
Status: Currently writing on The Price of Freedom--Chapter 180.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Read or Die: The Movie
Listening to: "Autumn Tactics" by Chicane
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: STRIKE?
Hollywood studios and writers hit stalemate
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - With hours to go before their contract was set to expire, Hollywood screenwriters and studios deadlocked on Wednesday in talks aimed at averting the first major strike against the film and TV industry in 20 years.
It was unclear what would happen next, but leaders of the Writers Guild of America have ruled out declaring an immediate walkout when their contract covering 12,000 members expires at 12:01 a.m. (3:01 a.m. EDT) on Thursday.
Instead, the union said it would brief its rank and file at a meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday night. In the meantime, WGA members may continue to work under terms of the old three-year labor pact, though a spokesman said "they will technically be working without a contract."
No further talks were scheduled, but an industry spokesman said after Wednesday's eight-hour session that union negotiators had told studio officials they would contact them on Friday.
The latest round of talks ended with the studios issuing a statement saying writers' demands for an increased share of revenues earned from DVD sales and Internet downloads of their work was "a complete roadblock to any further progress."
"We want to make a deal," said Nick Counter, head of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. "But ... no further movement is possible to close the gap between us so long as your DVD proposal remains on the table.
"We call on you to take the necessary steps to break this impasse so that bargaining can continue."
Counter added that he was referring also to the writers' proposals for higher "residual" fees on other forms of "electronic sell-through -- i.e. permanent downloads."
UNION COUNTEROFFER
The union responded that it had presented a new counteroffer that "took nine proposals off the table" and included other concessions on DVD residuals.
"The companies returned six hours later and said they would not respond to our package until we capitulated to their Internet demand," the WGA said. "Every issue that matters to writers ... has been ignored. This is completely unacceptable."
Union leaders won approval two weeks ago from members to call a strike if deemed necessary once the existing contract expires, though the WGA has set no strike deadline.
Nevertheless, studios and TV networks have treated the end of the month as a de facto deadline as they scramble to stockpile scripts and fast-track various productions in anticipation of a work stoppage.
The last major film and television strike was a WGA walkout in 1988 that lasted 22 weeks, delayed the start of the fall TV season and cost the industry an estimated $500 million. The motion picture and TV industry generates $30 billion in annual economic activity for Los Angeles County alone.
Wednesday's bargaining session marked the second day of talks joined by a U.S. federal mediator.
Studios have said union demands for higher residuals on DVDs and Internet downloads would stifle growth at a time of rising production costs, tighter profit margins and piracy threats. They insist that digital distribution of movies and TV remains largely experimental or promotional and new-media business models are just developing.
The union accuses the studios of pleading poverty and argues that writers have never gotten a fair deal on the lucrative DVD industry. They also see more of film and TV migrating toward the Internet and wireless platforms and want a bigger piece of that revenue pie.
Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out.
Watching: Read or Die: The Movie
Listening to: "Autumn Tactics" by Chicane
Reading: Windows on a Lost World by V.E. Mitchell (ST-TOS)
TOPIC: STRIKE?
Hollywood studios and writers hit stalemate
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - With hours to go before their contract was set to expire, Hollywood screenwriters and studios deadlocked on Wednesday in talks aimed at averting the first major strike against the film and TV industry in 20 years.
It was unclear what would happen next, but leaders of the Writers Guild of America have ruled out declaring an immediate walkout when their contract covering 12,000 members expires at 12:01 a.m. (3:01 a.m. EDT) on Thursday.
Instead, the union said it would brief its rank and file at a meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday night. In the meantime, WGA members may continue to work under terms of the old three-year labor pact, though a spokesman said "they will technically be working without a contract."
No further talks were scheduled, but an industry spokesman said after Wednesday's eight-hour session that union negotiators had told studio officials they would contact them on Friday.
The latest round of talks ended with the studios issuing a statement saying writers' demands for an increased share of revenues earned from DVD sales and Internet downloads of their work was "a complete roadblock to any further progress."
"We want to make a deal," said Nick Counter, head of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. "But ... no further movement is possible to close the gap between us so long as your DVD proposal remains on the table.
"We call on you to take the necessary steps to break this impasse so that bargaining can continue."
Counter added that he was referring also to the writers' proposals for higher "residual" fees on other forms of "electronic sell-through -- i.e. permanent downloads."
UNION COUNTEROFFER
The union responded that it had presented a new counteroffer that "took nine proposals off the table" and included other concessions on DVD residuals.
"The companies returned six hours later and said they would not respond to our package until we capitulated to their Internet demand," the WGA said. "Every issue that matters to writers ... has been ignored. This is completely unacceptable."
Union leaders won approval two weeks ago from members to call a strike if deemed necessary once the existing contract expires, though the WGA has set no strike deadline.
Nevertheless, studios and TV networks have treated the end of the month as a de facto deadline as they scramble to stockpile scripts and fast-track various productions in anticipation of a work stoppage.
The last major film and television strike was a WGA walkout in 1988 that lasted 22 weeks, delayed the start of the fall TV season and cost the industry an estimated $500 million. The motion picture and TV industry generates $30 billion in annual economic activity for Los Angeles County alone.
Wednesday's bargaining session marked the second day of talks joined by a U.S. federal mediator.
Studios have said union demands for higher residuals on DVDs and Internet downloads would stifle growth at a time of rising production costs, tighter profit margins and piracy threats. They insist that digital distribution of movies and TV remains largely experimental or promotional and new-media business models are just developing.
The union accuses the studios of pleading poverty and argues that writers have never gotten a fair deal on the lucrative DVD industry. They also see more of film and TV migrating toward the Internet and wireless platforms and want a bigger piece of that revenue pie.
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