The New York Times reported yesterday that some of Hollywood’s highest-ranking suits are trying to cancel the time-honored system of paying residuals to Writers, Actors and Directors for the re-use of movies and TV shows after the first run. Their 'brilliant' idea is to pool the revenue to recoup their own costs [and profits] before sharing a dime with the talent who made that income possible.
The Studios want a joint review with writers reps and the talent guilds, but their greed-flecked proposal was rapidly shot down in well-deserved flames by the WGA's negotiator, John F. Bowman, "They declare windfall profits to Wall Street, while pleading poverty to the talent community…We don't need a study; we need a fair share of the revenue our work generates."
I couldn't agree more.
Under the current system, Writers, Actors and Directors are paid for the re-use of movies and TV shows in accordance with a residuals agreement forged when the Studios could easily recover their costs at the Box Office. But that hasn't been happening for over twenty years, so now they want to get greedy, and seem almost shocked when other people don't care for their self-serving plan.
This fatuous, arrogant and disrespectful insult could only have occurred to an elitist clique whose seven-figure salaries are guaranteed, no matter what. But it may just be a bargaining chip; The Studios and the Unions are already heading for a stoppage in late October, and if this was ever presented as a serious proposal it could turn what's expected to be a minor interruption into all-out war.
Only one group could see this proposal as a good idea - Netflix, who'll suddenly gain 10-million eager subscribers when all the Networks go dark. The clock is ticking. This promises to be quite a scrap...
The Studios want a joint review with writers reps and the talent guilds, but their greed-flecked proposal was rapidly shot down in well-deserved flames by the WGA's negotiator, John F. Bowman, "They declare windfall profits to Wall Street, while pleading poverty to the talent community…We don't need a study; we need a fair share of the revenue our work generates."
I couldn't agree more.
Under the current system, Writers, Actors and Directors are paid for the re-use of movies and TV shows in accordance with a residuals agreement forged when the Studios could easily recover their costs at the Box Office. But that hasn't been happening for over twenty years, so now they want to get greedy, and seem almost shocked when other people don't care for their self-serving plan.
This fatuous, arrogant and disrespectful insult could only have occurred to an elitist clique whose seven-figure salaries are guaranteed, no matter what. But it may just be a bargaining chip; The Studios and the Unions are already heading for a stoppage in late October, and if this was ever presented as a serious proposal it could turn what's expected to be a minor interruption into all-out war.
Only one group could see this proposal as a good idea - Netflix, who'll suddenly gain 10-million eager subscribers when all the Networks go dark. The clock is ticking. This promises to be quite a scrap...
No comments:
Post a Comment