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Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Monday, October 13, 2008
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Writers' strike could cost California economy millions |
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Thursday, 20 December 2007 |
Scribes and studios must find equal ground and soon
By Stacey Powells
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
“It isn't about who is right and who is wrong anymore. Both sides need to get back to the table and hammer out a deal...we are looking at thousands of people losing their houses if this continues, and it seems like they don't care.” -Cathy Frank, Post-production producer and frequent Mammoth Lakes visitor
It's hard not to hear bits and pieces of what's been going on in the entertainment industry these days. Last week, talks broke down again between the WGA (Writers Guild of America) and the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers), and folks above and below the line have “had it up to here!” The strike began on Nov. 5, and has the seeds of being just as devastating as the 1988 WGA strike, which lasted five months, from March 7 through August 7, that year. It was the longest writers' strike history, surpassing the 1960 Writers Guild of America strike by one day. The main disagreements in contract talks back then concerned reduced residuals for hour-long shows, along with reduced pay for reruns of television shows in foreign countries. Oh, and that home video issue regarding residuals per unit sold.
With the advent of New Media, the issues this time around are a bit different. The strike is against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a trade organization that represents the interests of American film and television producers. More than 12,000 writers are affected by the strike.
The Writers Guild has indicated their industrial action would be a "marathon." AMPTP negotiator Nick Counter has indicated that negotiations would not resume as long as strike action continues, stating, "We're not going to negotiate with a gun to our heads—that's just stupid.”
Every three years, the Writers Guild and the AMPTP negotiate a new basic employment contract, called the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA). In the 2007 negotiations over the MBA, an impasse was reached, and the WGA membership voted to give its board authorization to call a strike, which it did on Friday, Nov. 2, with the strike beginning the subsequent Monday, Nov. 5.
Among the many proposals from both sides regarding the new contract, there are several key issues of contention including DVD residuals, union jurisdiction over animation and reality program writers, and—perhaps most importantly—compensation for "new media"—content written for, and/or distributed through, emerging digital technology, such as the Internet.
Trickle down effect
The extended effect of the strike is the trickle down effect to the average worker, which reaches way beyond the limits of the negotiating table and strike lines. Businesses, such as nail salons that relied on their lunchtime business from studio employees, are on the verge of closing down. Venus Nails in Burbank, which catered to the nail elite from Warner Brothers, NBC, Disney and Universal, is looking at cutting their “open for business” hours down by at least half. Post-production producers, music editors, makeup artists and visual effects houses are all suffering.
“I just wish they would continue talking,” said Barry Wittman, key makeup artist for the CBS Television series Criminal Minds. “That's what bothers me. They need to talk in order to negotiate anything, so if they walk away from the table it isn't helping anyone.” Wittman has been working in the industry for more than 23 years. “There's not much I can do except apply for unemployment. I have about four weeks left before I have to start dipping in to my retirement and get hit financially in a major way. Everyone I know in the industry has changed their lifestyles dramatically. No one goes out anymore. We all stay home.”
Cathy Frank, a post-production producer and frequent visitor to the Mammoth Lakes area, says she hasn't seen it this bad in the industry in years. She is working on the new television series Cashmere Mafia for ABC and will be out of work as soon as all post-production needs are met, which will be the middle of January. “Everyone on the Sony lot is depressed, anxious and discouraged,” Frank said. “I've been in this business for more than 26 years and I'm not trained to do anything else. It isn't about who is right and who is wrong anymore. Both sides need to get back to the table and hammer out a deal. It's really, really bad. The studios have deep pockets and can hold out because they are owned by big conglomerates like General Electric, but we are looking at thousands of people losing their houses if this continues, and it seems like they don't care.”
SALT is a company that does visual effects and graphic design for television shows and commercials. The CBS television show Numb3rs is now shut down and they used SALT for their “Charlie Vision” on the show. “We visually show Charlie's verbiage throughout the show and walk the audience through his visions,” said Cari Chadwick, co-owner of SALT, who also spends many winter vacation days skiing Mammoth Mountain.
Chadwick went on to add, “They've only shot 12 episodes when they normally would have had 24 shows in the can by the end of the season, but as of Nov. 22, the work stopped.” She hopes that they can continue staying afloat with commercial work, but if that doesn't happen, they are looking at having to lay off employees. “We are a small company in a big pond, so we will have to adjust. We can last for a while, but basically, half of our business is gone because of the strike.”
Camera Operator Mike Malone has been skiing the runs at Mammoth for more than 43 years, but will have to cut back his excursions up U.S. 395 if the strike doesn't end soon. “I've been pretty lucky because I was working on Dancing With the Stars and Dr. Phil, which don't have writers, but my gig with Jimmy Kimmel is over, since they can only do repeats,” Malone said. “The worst thing is that most of the writers who pushed for the strike can live for months on what they've made, but many working class folk are basically living paycheck to paycheck and having a very tough time.”
Nancy Bennett, Vice President of Original Movies for Lifetime Television, said all their scripted projects have come to a screeching halt. “Anything I have in development is on hold because I can't call the writers to make changes,” Bennett said. “If we don't have the writers writing, then the producers are waiting around and everyone the producers have working for them will eventually be laid off unless there is some kind of solution to the strike.”
An executive, who works in one of the music departments at a big studio in Hollywood and wants to remain anonymous, is annoyed at the hypocrisy of it all. “The administration building has a new marble floor and a spiral staircase and they are remodeling the executive dining room in the commissary. They have money for that kind of stuff, but they can't pay the writers what they deserve. The studio heads all saw this coming but they don't seem to care. It makes no sense.”
Grant Conway, a music editor on the series Ghost Whisperer, is looking at Jan. 11, 2008, as being his last day on the job. “We were supposed to do 23 shows, but the last episode I'm working on is only number 12. We were lucky because we had a couple of extra scripts lying around, so we are working a month longer than other productions,” Conway said. “If the strike goes into the second week in February, then our season is out the window. At that point the show will have to hire a whole new crew and staff when we can get back to work. It's a real mess.”
Certain aspects of the music industry are also feeling the effects of the strike. Lionel Conway, president of Stage Three Music, says his company is also taking a hit. “We haven't gotten any quote requests—the process by which television and film productions ask permission for use of a song in a project—for television or films since the strike started,” Conway said. Stage Three Music controls the early works of artists like ZZ Top and Aerosmith, and they usually get requests for their songs on a daily basis. “It's unusual not to get a daily request for the Aerosmith song Dream On, but nothing is happening. If there are no shows in production, then they don't need music.”
Many people are acquiescing to the fact that the strike might go on for a long time and are looking at having to find work outside the entertainment industry. The Directors Guild of America is holding off negotiating with the AMPTP until the WGA works out their kinks, and the Screen Actors Guild will be hot on the heels of those negotiations because their contract is up in June 2008. Until then, sit back, grab your popcorn and prepare to watch your favorite episode of your favorite television show over and over and over again.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 28 December 2007 )
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Copyright © 2008 The Mammoth Times All Rights Reserved
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