WGA/SAG-AFTRA 2023 Strike Post-Mortem

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > WGA/SAG-AFTRA 2023 Strike Post-Mortem

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Edward Mass posted:

If someone uses scab writers or AI, I'm pretty sure we'll hear about it. As it stands, the only show I could imagine using scab labor is Gutfeld!, so nobody here needs to worry just yet.

Gutfeld is a non-union production already.

# ¿ May 3, 2023 07:31

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 11, 2024 16:12

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Edward Mass posted:

Are there any breakdowns on where the studios make their money? I know nobody but Netflix makes money in the streaming game, so I'd guess linear television is still important on the bottom line.

Ad sales, selling off their content for streaming and syndication.

# ¿ May 3, 2023 21:51

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Joe Russo is such a tryhard dork.

Edit: Hah, that's not the Marvel / Community Joe Russo.

# ¿ Jul 10, 2023 04:09

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Gaz-L posted:

Gotta love the classic anti-union language also: "There�s a strong feeling that a militant minority in the union is having outsize influence on the negotiating strategy, with no regard to the heavy toll that a strike would take on actors as well as other unions and myriad businesses that bank on production-related work. "

Variety has been blatantly in the tank for the AMPTP since about a month before the WGA went on strike, this isn't surprising.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2023 00:51

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Pinterest Mom posted:

The heads of *agencies* have reached out to SAG-AFTRA? Are they acting on behalf of the AMPTP? On behalf of themselves? They're in a really weird conflict of interest space here

If the unions are on strike, then contracts aren't getting signed for new jobs. If contracts aren't getting signed, then the agents aren't getting their sweet, sweet commissions.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2023 01:28

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

ashpanash posted:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sag-aftra-federal-mediation-contract-negotiations-1235533704/

SAG-AFTRA doesn't seem to be interested in taking the bait.

That's incredible.

quote:

But in its statement on Monday, SAG-AFTRA threw cold water on what it described as a purposeful leak to Variety earlier in the day by what it claimed was �by the CEOs and their �anonymous sources� before our negotiators were even told of the request for mediation.�

As if you needed any more proof that Variety is blatantly on the side of management in this.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2023 02:35

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Happy Landfill posted:

Good. gently caress the magazines simping for the execs. It's not surprising but still lovely

Variety has been blatantly and unapologetically in the tank for the AMPTP ever since WGA strike rumblings began in late March. And they're part of Penske Media Corporation, the same as Deadline Hollywood.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2023 00:13

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

High Warlord Zog posted:

My hunch is the former for some of the big shows and the latter for the average streaming show

I think the core thing here is that everyone played follow-the-leader in chasing Netflix in the content-spending arms race, but when you spend $20 million an episode on House of the Dragon or $15 million an episode of The Mandalorian, you aren't going to generate nearly enough revenue from new subscriptions to offset those expenses.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2023 00:37

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Happy Landfill posted:

I'm always up for saying gently caress Hulk Hogan and now I have another reason to do so.

Anyway, something that's relevant to my interests.

https://twitter.com/Collider/status/1681711775350226944?s=20

And more good news!

https://twitter.com/THR/status/1681814371498958849?s=20

Solidarity forever, for the union makes us strong.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2023 03:46

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Edward Mass posted:

I'll say this about Eisner - he appeared in the intros for the Wonderful World of Disney when he ran the company, and I'm sure Iger would never do that.

Eisner quite literally saw him as the heir to Walt's legacy, all the way down to bending over and picking up pieces of trash he found whenever walking around the Disneyland parks, like Walt did.

Well, the parks staff hated Eisner, and word got out that he had a bad back. So they would litter the poo poo out of the Magic Kingdom and laugh as he bent over to pick up every last piece of litter he found.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2023 02:53

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Edward Mass posted:

In a way, Michael Eisner was the Boris Yeltsin of the Walt Disney Company. In this 5-hour video essay, I will

If anyone wants to know about how Eisner just gradually became more and more unhinged, mercurial, sexist and insane as his Disney tenure went (he really ripped the mask off after Disney president Frank Wells died in 1994), then the book DisneyWar, by James B. Stewart, is essential reading.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2023 04:53

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

ashpanash posted:

I wonder if the AMPTP is starting to think, "Well, poo poo, taking care of the writers is going to be a lot cheaper than the actors," along with a side of "if we hustle them it makes SAG's stance weaker." There's just so much animosity that it feels too early for this to be sincere.

Then again, a lot of that is posturing and messaging from both sides - and both of them do that to project their strength and resilience, even when both sides know they need each other. So who knows at this point.

By negotiating with the WGA and very specifically not SAG-AFTRA, the AMPTP is explicitly trying to drive a wedge between the unions' solidarity.

That's it, that's the end of the story.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2023 05:44

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Remulak posted:

Disney never signed the consent decree.

In 1948, when the Paramount consent decrees were handed down, Disney didn't distribute their own movies. Buena Vista (Disney's distribution arm) didn't exist until 1953, and RKO Pictures still handled the bulk of Disney's distribution until 1956. So Disney never had a reason to be a signatory.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2023 22:39

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Gaz-L posted:

'didn't vote yes'

So he loving abstained

A lot of people abstained. While SAG-AFTRA likes to trumpet that the strike authorization vote was 97 percent in favor, only 47.6 percent of membership actually voted.

But, yes, Amell is a dick.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2023 00:20

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

teen witch posted:

Iirc COVID also hosed over GLOW as well, which I can totally see, though I don�t think Netflix�s weird �People like this show? Axe it� thing.

Yeah, the final season was written and they had been shooting for several weeks, but this was pre-vaccines, the world had ended and it's a little difficult to do a show about wrestling when everyone is supposed be socially distancing six feet away from each other. By the time they were ready to begin filming again, the contracts for the cast and crew had expired and a few of the stars were already busy with other projects. The cancellation was absolutely not a result of Netflix being capricious.

Timby fucked around with this message at 10:38 on Aug 6, 2023

# ¿ Aug 6, 2023 10:35

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

It's important to note that this is only the on-set VFX crew, a 52-person crew that does things like wrangling data, managing production and the like, that has petitioned to unionize under IATSE. This doesn't touch any of the (very horribly overworked) CGI artists, who badly need union representation.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2023 03:23

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Argyle posted:

but Taylor Sheridan writing 47 episodes of Yellowstone is unnecessary and dumb. (oh yeah plus 18 episodes of the prequels).

I mean, out of 110 episodes in Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski wrote 92 of them, and that show turned out pretty well.

# ¿ Aug 17, 2023 16:27

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Crackbone posted:

What does this really mean though? I thought the majority of Disney's FX work was outsourced to third party studios.

I'm guessing this is, like the Marvel move earlier this month, just the on-set VFX people, the folks who manage data flow, ensure cameras are set up properly for plate capture / post-production, etc. The Marvel VFX unionization was only something like 50 people.

Edit: Yeah, the Disney unionization is 18 workers.

Timby fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Aug 28, 2023

# ¿ Aug 28, 2023 23:20

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Regalingualius posted:

Even if the studios magically caved to all of the unions� demands tomorrow, isn�t the damage probably already done with their future lineup?

Pretty much. All the networks' fall seasons were supposed to start in the next few weeks. NBC has a few shows already in the can (Quantum Leap, The Irrational, Magnum PI), but it's going to be an autumn of reruns and reality TV.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2023 23:16

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Parakeet vs. Phone posted:

It's not really relevant to the strike, but I enjoyed an article discussing Suits blowing up big with younger viewers once it was on streaming. And the recurring note was "Yeah, we used to just have a ton of these. Suits was pretty middling in the bunch even." USA/TNT/TBS/SciFi would churn out 13-22 episodes of some quirky character shows to fill out schedules and carry the summer. Then cable just cut everything with the move to streaming, but it turns out people still kind of like longer, drawn out fluff along with the premium stuff.

USA and TNT used to have a lot of very fun--forgettable, but fun--shows 15 years ago. On USA, besides Suits, there was stuff like Psych, White Collar, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, and even some of the lesser dramas like Covert Affairs and In Plain Sight were fun. On TNT, there was The Closer followed by Major Crimes, so 13 seasons of that, Rizzoli & Isles, Men of a Certain Age, Southland, Saving Grace and Franklin & Bash.

Those were good days.

# ¿ Sep 8, 2023 06:51

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

koolkal posted:

Probably no surprise about Max topping the list but Netflix being so low and Disney so high is probably not what people expect given how people talk about them.

I think the percentages are skewed because Netflix rolls out a metric fuckton of shows every month, and so while it cancels a lot of them, a lot of the chaff just hangs around. Conversely, Disney+ doesn't have a ton of original series, so when it cancels shows, proportionately the rate is higher.

# ¿ Sep 16, 2023 20:10

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

fart blood posted:

Because back then the studios exposed a loophole that since the hosts also had hosting duties despite being WGA members, they should be able to do their show, but without writers. Additionally, Letterman had an interim deal with his writers through his own production company. The loophole was closed this time, and also this time WGA isn�t granting interim deals.

In other news, Bill Maher is pushing the Real Time return back, and said it�s because both sides are back at the table. So yeah I think these shows all know something we don�t.

Edit: clarified a comment about 2007.

The other difference is that during the 2007-08 WGA strike, the actors' guilds weren't on strike simultaneously.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2023 17:47

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

DarklyDreaming posted:

Considering it's the AMPTP that says it's "Encouraging" I'm not holding my breath

Yeah, and remember that Penske Media Corporation (which owns Deadline, as well as The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Rolling Stone and others) has been carrying the AMPTP's water throughout both of these strikes.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2023 02:36

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

fart blood posted:

If it�s the trades, take it with a grain of salt.

Again, note that Deadline, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety are all owned by Penske Media, and they're all in the bag for the AMPTP.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2023 00:08

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 11, 2024 16:12

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Variety posted:

Talks broke down last week between the major studios and SAG-AFTRA, with the studios saying that the gap between the two sides is �too great� to continue productive negotiations.

Until they can bridge the gap, SAG-AFTRA will remain on strike and the entertainment industry will remain shut down.

So how big is that gap?

About $480 million a year.

That�s the difference between what SAG-AFTRA wants in a new streaming residual formula � $500 million � and what the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is currently willing to pay � $20 million.

The two sides are at odds on other issues as well, including artificial intelligence and increases in minimum rates. But it was the vast gap on streaming residuals that prompted the breakdown in talks.

Union leaders have said they expected to keep negotiating, and were taken by surprise when the AMPTP walked away from the table. But according to the AMPTP, the union gave an ultimatum, demanding that the studios agree to its �untenable� proposal for a per-subscriber tax or else the strike would continue.

Streaming residuals have been central to both the writers and actors strikes.

The WGA won a bonus for the most-watched made-for-streaming shows. The WGA was able to establish the principle that successful shows on streaming should pay more. But to do that, it was willing to settle for a relatively small amount of money � around $5 million a year at the outset, according to sources. (The WGA did not respond to a request for comment.)

SAG-AFTRA is aiming significantly higher. The guild has proposed that each streaming platform should pay 57 cents per subscriber per year. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union�s chief negotiator, has said the sum amounts to less than a postage stamp per subscriber � a first-class stamp now costs 66 cents � or $500 million annually across all platforms.

That money would go into a jointly administered fund. The trustees of the fund would distribute it to actors whose projects appear on the platforms. According to the union, the funds would presumably be allocated based on viewership of each of the shows.

SAG-AFTRA has discarded an earlier proposal that would rely on Parrot Analytics, a third-party data provider, to assign value to each of the shows. Instead, the trustees would use the platforms� viewership data, which the platforms have already agreed to provide to the WGA.

The trustees would also have to determine how to divide the residuals among the cast of each show. Under current structures, residuals are paid out based either on �time and salary units� or a �ratable distribution formula,� otherwise known as a �3-2-1� formula. Under either method, series regulars get more than guest stars, who get more than day players.

The AMPTP, meanwhile, is offering essentially the same proposal approved by the WGA. Under the WGA contract, which was ratified two weeks ago on a 99% vote, writers on successful shows a 50% bonus on their fixed residual. Shows will qualify if their domestic views reach the equivalent of 20% of the domestic subscriber base within 90 days.

About a quarter of made-for-streaming shows would get the bonus, according to data the studios shared with the WGA.

According to Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, it would cost four to five times as much to apply that provision to the actors. SAG-AFTRA has said it understands that the studios� offer would pay out about $20 million a year.

This isn't ending anytime soon.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2023 01:22

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > WGA/SAG-AFTRA 2023 Strike Post-Mortem