The 2023 WGA / SAG-AFTRA strike and other Labor Discussion

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Fri May 12, 2023 2:55 pm

I wanted to start this earlier. The Distraction pod replayed its episode with Mike Schur, and this week's had Adam Conover, both WGA members, the latter one of the lead negotiators. I'm guessing most if not all of us are sympathetic to the writers. I just assume that the management in any labor dispute are the ones that are not acting in good faith, and it seems the case here. And I'd be ripshit pissed if I were a writer and the studios were flirting with AI.

Besides send money, what could I do as a consumer to show my support? Not watch streaming until it's over?

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Fri May 12, 2023 3:22 pm

I cannot begin to imagine who might, other than for political theater, side with management here. If you do even a cursory look at how the studios and streamers have been fucking over writers AND what their plans are to decimate them with AI going forward, you come down so hard on the side of the WGA the earth should shake.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri May 12, 2023 3:32 pm

Is our swamp citizen drafter of Paw Patrol and Inspector Gadget episodes a union writer? I noticed the "of America" in WGA...Can the companies use overseas labor for scripts?

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri May 12, 2023 3:34 pm

They've been rewriting the same Shakespeare plays for centuries so why stop now?

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Fri May 12, 2023 3:44 pm

I hope Pru can still Swamply Connect!

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri May 12, 2023 5:04 pm

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 3:44 pm I hope Pru can still Swamply Connect!

I swear if one more team tries to get out of playing the basses…

Pruitt IV · Post by **Pruitt IV** » Fri May 12, 2023 11:13 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 3:32 pm Is our swamp citizen drafter of Paw Patrol and Inspector Gadget episodes a union writer? I noticed the "of America" in WGA...Can the companies use overseas labor for scripts?

I am a member of both the Writers Guild of Canada (sympathetic to, but not officially affiliated with the WGA), as well as the S.A.C.D. which is the writers guild of France. All members have been told to not accept any "scab" scripts. And I wouldn't.

But there are a lot of folks who would - even if it meant not being able to get credit under their real name. Writers are like actors inasmuch as the supply way outpaces the demand.

In so many cases, we are seen as being interchangeable - just hacks who are there to polish up the Creators and Producers' brilliant ideas.

But the animation writers in the US aren't on strike, so it's a moot point for me anyway.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Sat May 13, 2023 8:58 am

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 2:55 pm I wanted to start this earlier. The Distraction pod replayed it's episode with Mike Schur, and this week's had Adam Conover, both WGA members, the latter one of the lead negotiators. I'm guessing most if not all of us are sympathetic to the writers. I just assume that the management in any labor dispute are the ones that are not acting in good faith, and it seems the case here. And I'd be ripshit pissed if I were a writer and the studios were flirting with AI.

Besides send money, what could I do as a consumer to show my support? Not watch streaming until it's over?

You should cancel your streamers, not "not watch" them. And support all unions except the police (they're not the same and it's not even close).

There's a tweet out there showing the market valuation of the ten biggest streamers/network conglomerations dropped something like 20X the all the concessions the writers asked for in the first day of the strike. Should be an easy fix, right? And here we are...

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sun May 14, 2023 5:49 am

Yes, this is THE Justine Bateman - I would encourage you to click and read her thread;

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sun May 14, 2023 5:52 am

Eh - fuck it - gonna paste it all:

Pruitt IV · Post by **Pruitt IV** » Sun May 14, 2023 7:30 am

It is an existential threat in that even though writers like to think that we are irreplaceable, the future could hold (as justine Bateman mentioned) a world where a studio or a producer inputs requirements (including page count) and out comes a script.

Writers will still be needed, but it will be script doctors or punch-up guys. Which pays 10%-20% of what a full script would.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Sun May 14, 2023 10:56 am

Makes me want to generate an AI movie about the Writer's Guild saving the world from the forces of AI.

I kid, but yea. That shit is existential.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Sun May 14, 2023 11:33 am

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2023 8:58 am
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 2:55 pm I wanted to start this earlier. The Distraction pod replayed it's episode with Mike Schur, and this week's had Adam Conover, both WGA members, the latter one of the lead negotiators. I'm guessing most if not all of us are sympathetic to the writers. I just assume that the management in any labor dispute are the ones that are not acting in good faith, and it seems the case here. And I'd be ripshit pissed if I were a writer and the studios were flirting with AI.

Besides send money, what could I do as a consumer to show my support? Not watch streaming until it's over?
You should cancel your streamers, not "not watch" them. And support all unions except the police (they're not the same and it's not even close).

There's a tweet out there showing the market valuation of the ten biggest streamers/network conglomerations dropped something like 20X the all the concessions the writers asked for in the first day of the strike. Should be an easy fix, right? And here we are...

I’m doing this. I have Netflix and Hulu, they can go. I also have HBOMax. I’ll keep that until Succession ends because my wife watches it. (I never got around to watching it myself; everything I’ve heard about it makes it sound too mean-spirited for my tastes.) Fuck the studios. If not watching streaming shit for a few months, or even years, is going to help secure both a better future for those who create this, and more overall quality moving forward, then I’m happy to do this tiny sacrifice.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Sun May 14, 2023 3:46 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Sun May 14, 2023 11:33 am
DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2023 8:58 am
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 2:55 pm I wanted to start this earlier. The Distraction pod replayed it's episode with Mike Schur, and this week's had Adam Conover, both WGA members, the latter one of the lead negotiators. I'm guessing most if not all of us are sympathetic to the writers. I just assume that the management in any labor dispute are the ones that are not acting in good faith, and it seems the case here. And I'd be ripshit pissed if I were a writer and the studios were flirting with AI.

Besides send money, what could I do as a consumer to show my support? Not watch streaming until it's over?
You should cancel your streamers, not "not watch" them. And support all unions except the police (they're not the same and it's not even close).

There's a tweet out there showing the market valuation of the ten biggest streamers/network conglomerations dropped something like 20X the all the concessions the writers asked for in the first day of the strike. Should be an easy fix, right? And here we are...
I’m doing this. I have Netflix and Hulu, they can go. I also have HBOMax. I’ll keep that until Succession ends because my wife watches it. (I never got around to watching it myself; everything I’ve heard about it makes it sound too mean-spirited for my tastes.) Fuck the studios. If not watching streaming shit for a few months, or even years, is going to help secure both a better future for those who create this, and more overall quality moving forward, then I’m happy to do this tiny sacrifice.

And anything you miss by canceling now will be available again at some future point, so it simply comes down to if FOMO is real to you or not. Everything that has been released already will re-surface again at some point, especially because studios will need to keep re-surfacing it to keep driving interest in their product. We've long since passed the point of lots of people signing up for one service, watching all the exclusive stuff that service has as quickly as possible, then canceling it and moving on to the next service. Making things available again is a necessity to draw interest.

And the "re-creating cable television" thing that has been speculated in a few places is going to happen.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu May 18, 2023 11:29 am

This is an excellent read:

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu May 18, 2023 11:37 am

That was a good read. She is what a Teamster leader ought to be. Gawd knows, I worked for years with Teamsters who were asshole jerks who only cared about themselves. So she is an inspiration.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu May 18, 2023 11:52 am

Studios starting to play dirty ...

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu May 18, 2023 2:17 pm

If someone presented me with the death or die question, I would pick having to listen to the entire Weezer catalogue over having to listen to the entire Chrissy Hines/Pretenders archive.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu May 18, 2023 2:39 pm

So, you’re saying you prefer one band over another band. Got it.

D like the National more than Weezer.
Nlfc likes Weezer more than the Pretenders.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu May 18, 2023 3:24 pm

Mine was just a deeply clever joke that a Weezer concert on the picket line would drive the writers back inside to work.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu May 18, 2023 3:34 pm

For the record, I thought it was a great joke, even though I quite like Weezer. I was just trying to piggyback by reigniting the great dogpiling of 2022 when I said I thought she was garbage and got a pretty good thumping as a result.

I can take the L, but I also will bring it up a lot.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu May 18, 2023 3:35 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Thu May 18, 2023 3:34 pm
I can take the L, but I also will bring it up a lot.

Is that taking the L?

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu May 18, 2023 3:43 pm

I'm not arguing the point that the collective thought my take was terrible.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu May 18, 2023 4:27 pm

I'd rather give the D than take the L.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu May 18, 2023 4:32 pm

You know as I've grown older, I prefer taking the L. The L stands for labia, right?

Pruitt IV · Post by **Pruitt IV** » Fri May 19, 2023 5:56 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Thu May 18, 2023 3:24 pm Mine was just a deeply clever joke that a Weezer concert on the picket line would drive the writers back inside to work.

And a very good joke it was!

rass · Post by **rass** » Sun May 21, 2023 2:51 pm

Another point in the pro-BU side of the ledger

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sun May 21, 2023 3:14 pm

I like that.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sun May 21, 2023 3:39 pm

A lot.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Sun May 21, 2023 4:23 pm

So great

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Sun May 21, 2023 4:31 pm

I love a good heckling.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Sun May 21, 2023 8:40 pm

That’s fantastic!

Pruitt IV · Post by **Pruitt IV** » Sun May 21, 2023 9:32 pm

Go Terriers!

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon May 22, 2023 7:17 am

Pruitt IV wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 9:32 pm Go Terriers!

We can't all be perfect, but some of us are more perfect than others.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Mon May 22, 2023 8:49 am

Makes me wish a graduating class at Syracuse would get a second shot at Jamie Dimon (2010 speaker).

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Mon May 22, 2023 1:08 pm

Like I said earlier I'm dumping HBO next week as soon as my wife finishes Succession, but can someone explain why they're changing the name to Max? I get there was a flurry of mergers, but sometimes you just keep the name for ease. And what entertainment property has a stronger brand-recognition than HBO?

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon May 22, 2023 1:11 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 1:08 pm Like I said earlier I'm dumping HBO next week as soon as my wife finishes Succession, but can someone explain why they're changing the name to Max? I get there was a flurry of mergers, but sometimes you just keep the name for ease. And what entertainment property has a stronger brand-recognition than HBO?

I think this was a sticking point. The HBO heads don't want to be associated with a lot of the content Max is going to deliver. So it's going to be HBO on Max or some shit. So HBO gets to still be the prestige brand while The Real Housewives of North Orange will be available on the same app, but promoted differently.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Mon May 22, 2023 1:12 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 1:08 pm Like I said earlier I'm dumping HBO next week as soon as my wife finishes Succession, but can someone explain why they're changing the name to Max? I get there was a flurry of mergers, but sometimes you just keep the name for ease. And what entertainment property has a stronger brand-recognition than HBO?

I think it's the addition of Discovery+ stuff. I personally wouldn't rename the service for that, but whatevs.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Mon May 22, 2023 1:14 pm

I see. I didn't even think it was that HBO didn't want to dilute its own brand. But RHONO is bound to be a huge hit!

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Tue May 23, 2023 8:14 am

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 1:12 pm
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 1:08 pm Like I said earlier I'm dumping HBO next week as soon as my wife finishes Succession, but can someone explain why they're changing the name to Max? I get there was a flurry of mergers, but sometimes you just keep the name for ease. And what entertainment property has a stronger brand-recognition than HBO?
I think it's the addition of Discovery+ stuff. I personally wouldn't rename the service for that, but whatevs.

Discovery Networks purchased Warner Media. It is a new-ish name designed to have retention of customers who think of "HBO Max" while downplaying HBO because it is essentially Discovery Networks in disguise. They shovel the Discovery programming onto HBO's platform to get eyes on it.

Yes, it is stupid to dump the prestige associated with HBO, but, at the same time, if they kept it on and used it to advertise all the crap shows, they'd just be poisoning the well.