The Writers Guild of America strike continues on unabated. Celebrity faces have been spotted in the streets carrying picket signs as actors and directors attempt to support their WGA brothers by staging a strike of their own. Most experts seem to believe that if they don’t solve it in the next few days, this thing could go on a long, long time.
At issue are still a lot of complicated profit sharing bullet points. In particular, the big sticking point for both sides seems to involve new media and digital content. DVDs, computer downloads, the writers think they deserve a fair share while the networks and studios seem to think that the size of their share should be significantly smaller than the WGA’s negotiators would like.
So far, the strike’s impact has been minimal. Late night shows like the Tonight Show have gone to reruns without writers to come up with jokes for Jay, but otherwise it’s business as usual. That’ll only go on so long though. Eventually Hollywood will run out of scripts and already filmed content. TV will be hurt first (networks are already planning extended season of dreck like Big Brother to replace scripted television) and then we’ll end up with nothing to watch at the movies. Maybe from an entertainment perspective its not such a bad thing, but for the people who work on movies and television it’s a disaster. I’m not talking about Angelina Jolie here, I’m talking about the barely above minimum wage set painter who is now out of work so Joss Whedon can march on a picket line.
So where do you stand? Whose side are you on in this thing? Do you side with the WGA or would you cross the picket line and simply go to work? Cast your vote below:
| This poll is no longer available. |
