I will probably be dragged through the streets and burned in effigy if fans have to wait another year for “Lost” to come back. And who could blame them? Public sentiment may have swung toward the guild for now, but once the viewing audience has spent a month or so subsisting on “America’s Next Hottest Cop” and “Celebrity Eating Contest,” I have little doubt that the tide will turn against us. Which brings me to the second stage of grief: anger.
I am angry because I am accused of being greedy by studios that are being greedy. I am angry because my greed is fair and reasonable: if money is made off of my product through the Internet, then I am entitled to a small piece. The studios’ greed, on the other hand, is hidden behind cynical, disingenuous claims that they make nothing on the Web — that the streaming and downloading of our shows is purely “promotional.” Seriously?
Most of all, I’m angry that I’m not working. Not working means not getting paid. My weekly salary is considerably more than the small percentage of Internet gains we are hoping to make in this negotiation and if I’m on the picket line for just three months, I will never recoup those losses, no matter what deal gets made.
But I am willing to hold firm for considerably longer than three months because this is a fight for the livelihoods of a future generation of writers, whose work will never “air,” but instead be streamed, beamed or zapped onto a tiny chip.
Things have gotten ugly and the lines of communication have broken down completely between the guild and the studios. Perhaps it’s not too late, though, for both sides to rally around the one thing we still have in common: our mourning for the way things used to be. Instead of fighting each other, maybe we should be throwing a wake for our beloved TV. via NYtimes
That was one of the writers of Lost… I have heard many people accuse the writers of being greedy, that they make enough money and should not be demanding more. If you think about it what they are doing is the opposite of greedy… They are putting their jobs on the line for this strike.
As much as anyone I hate reality TV, if this strike doesn’t get resolved soon I have a feeling TV won’t be in my life because the only shows I do watch, like “the Office, Lost, Prison Break, Nip/Tuck” take excellent writers to make it happen. Another thing I love about this strike is that the actors are getting behind the writers because I think they realize that without writers, they would be out of work.
With a slightly more optimistic view, I hope that out of this will give more indie movies and shorts a chance to shine.. Also maybe make way for more internet podcasters and entertainers to get their name out there and get a fan base, because we all know that everyone hates reality TV and that fad will not last.
Want to support the strike? head over to http://www.strikeswag.com/ and buy some gear.
