Director friendo #1 on the economic impact of the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes: “People are losing their homes. It’s happening all over town. I know a couple with two kids who’ve been forced to move out of their home and into a one-bedroom apartment. It’s awful. Writers, actors, crew people…everyone dependent upon any sort of industry-based income. Everything stops.”
“This is what the producers want, of course. They want to see this kind of desperation, this kind of pain.”
Director-writer friendo #2: “Indeed, people are suffering all over town, and not just below the line. The WGA was hellbent on a strike in a very different economic climate with transmuted players. Streamers aren’t vertically integrated studios.
“Yes, people are sinking. Some institutions are working with the casualties of this strike, which is akin to war, whilst others can’t due to still not recovering from the pandemic. Landlords need their rent and many didn’t receive the Covid subsidies.
“People are losing homes, cars and savings. Some are downsizing while others are fleeing the state or transitioning into other fields if they’re lucky.
“One young woman I met on the picket lines had been on a writing staff, but is now bartending again. That’s a job she’d left behind after becoming a writer.
“There is massive collateral damage from this strike.
“Nevertheless, with the dissolution of a traditional TV business and the marginalization of feature films, side hustles will soon become the primary sources of income for many…if they’re lucky.
“The WGA has a link on their page so striking writers can apply for food stamps. That speaks for itself about the state of things.
“Part of the problem is that WGA leadership, people like David Goodman and Patric Verrone, are outsiders steeped in animation. They’re not industry players like John Wells was.
“If someone like Chuck Lorre was a Guild president, the odds of avoiding a strike are always greater.
“I seriously doubt the WGA anticipated a strike would last this long, but they’re intractable in their positioning and this strike was preordained long before it occurred.
“The WGA guys couldn’t strike last time due to the pandemic, but were hellbent this time.
“When Goodman was previously Guild president, he fixated on eliminating packaging fees at the expense of other issues of greater importance.
“Goodman, Verrone and others enjoy being at the bargaining tables with power players because they’ll never meet these CEOs through their respective oeuvres.
“Of course artist need protections and more money, but they also need to be in a healthy business, which this isn’t. The corporations and conglomerates ruined it.
“That wouldn’t have occurred if the companies hadn’t thought of art as content. And a bottom line mentality also means that their content creators are disposable. They’re not thought of as artists wherein talent relations are important.
“Instead, the oligarchs are punishing creative serfs, determined to insure that this is the last strike in a very long time.
“Negotiating wise, the WGA has yet to send a more detailed response to what’s considered egregious about the last offer, but it appears the CEOs and AMPTP are desperate to try to mostly hold the other unions to the same deal the DGA received. That won’t work for writers and actors, since both have different needs.
HE: “What are the principal differences between what actors and writers want?”
Director-writer friendo #2: “There are many differences since writers originate projects while directors =execute them. Directors don’t create TV shows, as one example, but the directors of pilots tended to get perpetual fees. James Burrows is a wealthy man.
“I would surmise AI doesn’t pose a threat to directors since it’s a tool that can budget and storyboard. AI replacing writers and actors are different scenarios.
“One wants more guarantees, and both want more residuals and transparencies from streamers.
“There are also new provisions being sought for free work and online auditioning, but it’s all bupkis. Everybody wants more money.
As for Maher’s recent statement about WGA members and negotiators living in a realm of unreality:
“Bill Maher usually speaks with common sense that most don’t want to hear.
“When one chooses to become an actor, writer or director, there are no guarantees. You’re betting on yourself and your own abilities, hoping they’ll meet with the right opportunities.
“It’s a gamble and gambling does involve luck.
“Still, if you do get lucky and win at something in your chosen field and have a success, you do deserve to be properly compensated for it, especially if your work has longevity.
“This strike is basically happening because Netflix changed the rules and the delivery system. They succeeded with wealth that no longer required to be shared.
“People are also finally coming to the realization that money is finite in this business. No matter how much revenue is generated, Disney still faces losses and must tow the line and dispense with what they’ve amassed.
“Jennifer Salke at Amazon has unlimited resources and limited experience, as well as zero vision or imagination, so she blew a billion dollars on a new iteration of Lord of the Rings that cannot compete with buying a pack of D-cell batteries and signing off.
“A wise man once said, ‘If you want to feel good about yourself, don’t get into show business.'”