Okay, so the 12,000 members of the Writers Guild Of America (WGA) will start their strike in the US on 5 November -- meaning no new scripts will be written in America from Monday...
The WGA are on strike because their writers don't receive royalties for work in "new media" -- like DVD sales and internet-only material (like "webisodes").
When the manufacturers of DVD cases are making more cash than the writers of the actual material being watched -- you know there's a problem!
In the UK, the British Writers Guild Of Great Britain (WGGB) already have a deal that covers new media -- and a good job, too, as WGGB members can't go on strike! American writers are playing catch-up with the British system, and most people are fully behind them... as writers have always been the unsung heroes of the entertainment biz, particularly in movies.
Martin Scorsese's a great director, but give him a camera crew and 130 pages of blank paper... and you're not going to get Goodfellas!
So what does a strike actually mean for the everyday American?
Well, immediately -- David Letterman and his ilk aren't going to be appear quite so witty and clever without those opening monologues being written for them! So expect every US talk show to start having an emphasis on the actual celebrity interviews!
The new US TV season is about 6 weeks into its run. Most shows have about 9-10 scripts already written, but when they run out... expect big breaks mid-season, and lots of repeats...
Reality TV doesn't need scripts, so expect shows like American Idol to perhaps be expanded. Repeats of old shows from years ago will also be very likely. What's new, eh?
US networks could potentially start buying in non-US shows to plug gaps in their schedules, and perhaps more foreign language films in US cinemas? A silver lining in some respects, perhaps! But also expect bad movies to get theatrical releases, despite ordinarily going straight-to-video!
So, while networks and studios have contingency plans in place... completed, quality scripts are a hot commodity in Hollywood right now...
Variety has an interesting article about a "Brit List" that was recently circulated in Hollywood from UK sources. It's essentially a list of the 40 best unproduced scripts written by British and Irish writers. Hollywood studios aren't sniffy about the nationality of a great writer, so now they're starved of fresh WGA material... it might get a few WGGB writers a crack at the US market -- who knows?
The last time WGA writers went on strike, in 1988, it cost the US entertainment industry $500 million, but the cost will be far greater 19 years later -- with so many new branches of the showbiz industry. Insiders predict a $1 billion loss!
I fully expect the writers to win this battle, as they're not asking for anything that's unreasonable -- just a few cents per DVD that's sold, or whenever someone downloads their work onto a mobile phone...
Is that too much to ask?
