Morning Discussion

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  I think Leno and Conan are doing their own writing. And if you ask me, Conan has the best chance of su... : Maddog_Delphi97
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    Conan, Stewart, and Colbert are NOT writing. As well-intentioned WGA members they are cannot put pen to ... : adpalumbo
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      Well, what about Leno? Didn't Leno find a loophole of sorts where he's allowed to write his jokes? Or a... : Maddog_Delphi97
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        I honestly don't know with Leno, but presumably he doesn't have the balls to be use written material eith... : adpalumbo
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          http://blog.mises.org/archives/007643.asp Hmmm... : Maddog_Delphi97
          • http://defamer.com/341693/strike-turns-jay-leno-and-jimmy-kimmel-into-unlikely-couchfellows : Maddog_Delphi97
          • Let's not beat around the bush. Employers are evil. Those who engage in employers tactics can dress up th... : SenorSpine
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      Does improv not count as writing? I mean, I understand that it's improvised, but it's still effectively c... : Vincent Grayson
      • It isn't protected in the WGA contract, so it doesn't count, no. The WGA is one of those BIG UNIONS and ... : adpalumbo
    • Hmm, I have a hard time believing this. It's not impossible, but really, their shows are going roughly j... : Freon
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      alright now you're just getting technical about what "writing" means : Sparhawk6
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        It's not me, it's the WGA. The upshot is that the production process is a lot different, and there's a m... : adpalumbo
        • Conan's having a ball spinning his ring for up to about 30 seconds! : Maddog_Delphi97
      • which is exactly what those fucking twat fuckhole lawyers do when they hammer out the very, very intricat... : Bean
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  The average american spends 9 years of their life watching television. Who the fuck cares. : ryuuseki
  • The average american? : pupismyname
  • oh oh how long does the average american spend talking on the phone? : Jenings
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  Everyone else that works on the show is out of work while it's off the air. I'm guessing they don't make... : dltrem
  • Most of those shows were paying their workers while shut down, although the money was coming from various... : adpalumbo
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  Fuck the writers and unions in general. : Lord Grey
  • It's the studios that are being a bunch of greedy cunts. : Modica Sol Solis
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    yeah fuck the writers! fuck the unions too! meanwhile the writers, like the ones for The Office, wr... : FrayLo
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      ^^^^ im typically not a fan of unions/striking however the writers do seem to be getting fucked a bit. t... : Dravenport
      • Fucked "a bit?" Like just with one of those baby Jesus dildos? : Freon
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      Its just I always read shit about auto worker unions and how theyre so bad. This is the same thing except... : Lord Grey
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        tell me more about why exactly unions are bad. because you read shit about auto worker unions? : FrayLo
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          Originally they were for the safety of the workers. We now have OSHA and other guidelines for that. Now t... : Lord Grey
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            safety was only part of it. more generally, they stood against unfair practices/working conditions. : dromo5
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              and there's laws and regulations for working practices now, too. : snagger
              • i wonder if there was a group of people, perhaps representing the interests of the workers, who advocated... : dromo5
        • Unions are the exact same collusion that companies exhibit in that they make scarce a resource to artific... : DianeOfTheMoon
      • are you always this judgmental without the facts? : dromo5
      • Blue collar UNIONS are often bad because they got propped up and abused by organized crime organizations.... : adpalumbo
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        As with so many things, there's a whole spectrum. There are a great many unions that only exist to artif... : DinK
        • #7041

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          By: DianeOfTheMoon x Show Full Post

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          Actually, what they want is 2.5% of the gross revenue on any "new media", which is before costs...and they want anything to do with storyboarding and reality programming to fall under their union.
          
          The 2.5% is a pretty big thing, in all actuality. Most studios operate at about a 5-7 percent profit margin, and the doubling of their cash cow DVD and stripping a _very_ large portion of profit on anything new media related could actually make this a losing proposition for the studios.
          
          It's really not quite as clear cut as "Fuck the studios!"...it's gotta be tough for everyone involved.

          Jan 16, 2008 8:23pm PST
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          Actually, what they want is 2.5% of the gross revenue on any "new media", which is before costs...and the... : DianeOfTheMoon
          • Most studios operate at about a 5-7 percent profit margin That's FUD right there, much like what you'r... : adpalumbo
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      Good writers are few and far between, there are a lot of hacks in hollywood that will benefit from this a... : skitzo
      • true, although the counterargument to that would be that good writers likely couldn't last long enough to... : ttyRazor
    • As with nearly every union these days, if the employee doesn't feel that he is being treated well, then h... : Anti_dentite
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    My general take is let them duke it out. Let them organize, but don't discourage or encourage it. If th... : Freon
    • Exactly, let people do what they want but don't have the government protect one side vs the other. Like ... : DinK
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    It would certainly be interesting if production companies just hired replacements. I would think that te... : DinK
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      if they do hire people, and then the companies make a deal with the WGA, everyone they hired will be blac... : Dravenport
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        Well the idea would be that they're permanent replacements because they'll clearly work for far less than... : DinK
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          Hiring permanent replacements would mean that some of the most seasoned and talented writers would NEVER ... : adpalumbo
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            The most seasoned and talented writers could negotiate pretty nice deals on their own, possibly even bett... : DinK
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              The WGA contract sets a scale -- a sort of minimum wage, with some factors going in. Star talent already... : adpalumbo
              • Yeah I didn't say the union's benefits would all just evaporate. It might still make sense for some. Bu... : DinK
    • Ever had a pen stuck up your ass sideways? That's why you don't cross the line. : DarkWolf5
  • i can't watch my shows! fuck the writers cause they're not me! : dromo5
  • yeah big corporations are so much more entertaining : alexthegreat2
  • yeah screw em, after all who will stand up for the international conglomerates? : Jenings
  • I certainly trust corporations to hold my personal well-being in high esteem no matter how unprofitable i... : Kaerof
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  It sounds like there's just going to be a bigger push towards reality television. :( : Flying h4x0r
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    Yup, and that's going to really show next year since the strike is now running through next year's develo... : adpalumbo
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      I am guessing that the latest this strike lasts is June. Between now and then you have a bunch of writer... : rosewood
      • I'm sure there's good ideas, but "development" season is more than that. It effects production quality s... : adpalumbo
• I think in the long run this will bring on the death of television. We will see more user generated video... : Lord Grey
• I couldn't care. Conan has been great without the writers. : ant_hillbilly
• Well for anyone interested: this is a great article that is a perfect example of what this strike is REA... : Dookeyfingers
• what really sucks is that there won't be any new shows next year :( : Flynn
• I think it is time to pay the writers their money already : rosewood