And you people really need to stop with the 'getting our shows back' rant - no shows are even off the air yet, with the exception of late night comedy. If you really cared about the craft of making television, you'd be for this and not selfishly whining about missing your entertainment which, for the most part, hasn't even happened yet.

Look, everyone is saying that the writers SHOULD get increased residuals. I'm saying...why? Showrunners, yes. People who hammer out story beats and arcs for the season. Or writers for movies. But most TV writers are hired guns who are given a story to write. Sure their work is creative and inventive, but it is something they are hired and tasked to do. Is their work any more creative than, say, an art director who builds a great set that is used over and over and over again yet sees no residuals? Why are they "entitled" to more residuals?

Also, some TBers above have said that writers are not asking for a raise, but just a share of residuals. True. But do you think studios are just going to eat a loss when they start paying out these thousands and eventually millions of dollars? No. They will cut back where they can: the shows budget, which means non-unioned and non-contracted workers (i.e. the lowest paid of the entertainment rung), such as production assistants, craft service, office coordinators, etc. WILL BE PAID EVEN LESS. Thanks writers.

Again, I'm not saying all this to suggest the writers SHOULDN'T get their due. I'm just saying it's not as simple a situation as people are making it out to be. Yes, studios are greedy fucking corporations. No argument there. But whoever thinks the WGA (and SAG, and the DGA) is the David to that Goliath better have their head examined. This is two Goliaths going at it. The little guy are all the other showbiz workers who are scraping by right now just trying to pay the rent and buy some groceries.

"I understand that NBC Universal mailed out a stack of these 'force majeure" letters which began arriving Friday at the agencies of various actors. One of the Battlestar Galactica thespians tells me: "When our agents and managers phoned business affairs for clarification, they were told that we are on suspension without pay. We are not terminated. We are on hold to BSG with no pay in perpetuity until the strike is over. When the strike does end Universal/Scifi will then decide whether they want to bring the show back or let us go. Until that time we are in first position with BSG and will have to clear any other project with Scifi/Uni.

"They are not following article 61 of the SAG agreement and are about to get a lot of calls from SAG lawyers. They say that since we have shot the minimum 13 episodes of this season, as per our contracts, that they are under no obligation to pay us or let us go. We are essentially on hiatus. To say yesterday was a tough day on set as this information was slowly presented to us would be a profound understatement."

"But it appears the actors and their reps are planning to fight this idea of putting actors on indeterminate hold without pay under a "too bad we own you" power play. Regarding BSG, NBC Uni's SciFi channel is being told that, since the terms of Article 61 appear to be breached, the actors can terminate their deals and attempt to find work elsewhere.

I smell a brawl brewing."

Ron Moore on his own blog about this: "I refuse to believe that we won’t finish, that we won’t be back to film our final stories, but I know and accept there is that possibility."

That oughta to send shivers down everyone's spines.

There is more linkage to this story - the good, the bad and the ugly - at Deadline Hollywood Daily [dot] com for more information.

in fact, I am negotiating for the studio execs to make more money off my writing- they have blind-homeless puppies to nurse back to health.... who am i to deny blind-homeless puppies... did i mention the puppies have puppy aids as well? no...well they do. and on top of everything else , these kind caring studio execs have to chew the puppies food for them just so they won't starve to death(did i mention the puppies are toothless too?)

gotta go, my 4pm blowjob is here...

i support the blind-homeless/tootless- puppy aids- care givers that run the studios

sarcasm is much easier

let one of them come out here and try to even make it... they'll be fluffing on bi-curious midget porn by spring...

how long before you got used to the smell?

i gotta imagine with your head up your ass for so long, at some point you just got used to the smell

do you not understand the root of the strike- the studios are making profits off "alternative media outlets" and the writers see none of those profits.

so the suits make more money, the shareholders make no money, but the creative talent that behind the money making talent doesn't? please explain why that is "better".

the reason the shareholders profit above the writers/actors/crew is because (are you ready for this) THE SUITS ARE MAJOR FUCKING SHAREHOLDERS DIPSHIT!!! Who do you think gets big profit sharing and stock packages(not to mention golden parachutes)? writers? key grips? best boys? NO, THE STUDIO EXECS DO!

they don't give a rats ass about your 3% paycheck contribution into a 401k plan

i suppose you also believe that when you go to las vegas, you actually believe you have a chance at winning?

if you are going to insist on having your head that far up your ass, at least try to keep one foot in reality

"I've talked with a few IA guys over the past few days, and they were generally unaware of a few things in their own contracts with the Alliance. To whit:

1) Their unions, including I.A.T.S.E., IBT Local 399, Studio Utility Employees Local 724, IBEW Local 40, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 78, and the Plasterers & Cement Masons Local 755‚ ALL RECEIVE RESIDUALS.

2) These residual payments go directly into their PENSION AND HEALTH FUND.

3) RESIDUALS earned working on shows CONSTITUTE 55% OF THEIR P & H.

4) If there are funding surpluses from residuals, retirees receive a 13th and a 14th check in that year, instead of the normal twelve.

We're talking $339 million in residual contributions to the funds in 2006, and a projected $351 million this year. But it gets better, and this is why IATSE members should be supporting us as the Teamsters and others are. Last year, the AMPTP entered into an agreement with IATSE, which states in part:

The bargaining parties agree that if any other Union or Guild negotiates as part of its collective bargaining agreement with the AMPTP residuals on product for iPods or similar devices, the Producers will meet with the IATSE to negotiate an appropriate residual formula.

Strike captains have been passing out leaflets at the studios for a week explaining all this, and maybe in a hundred years, every production crewmember will get one. Or, if you"re on a crew, maybe you can just steer your colleagues to this site, and speed up the process. Because here's the thing: if residuals are NOT paid for reuse on new media, every union member in Hollywood will suffer."

The following was posted on the unitedhollywood[dot]com website. Also on Tuesday, members of ALL unions will be marching in support of the writer's strike.

writer writes script. studio makes movie. movie makes 100 mil box office, another 100 mill dvd sales. writer gets paid residuals off same.

a new medium of generating revenue comes along, studio makes another 100mil, writers get no residuals off new media. cost of making dvds drops over time, studio keeps additional profits, screws the writers

using your logic- if i wrote a script back in 1986, i should only get residuals on vhs tape sales and not dvd, digital downloads, or any future medium that gets developed

i'm all for companies making money, just not at the expense of the people responsible for creating the product that generates the revenue for those companies

is it really that hard to understand?

please tell me why the writers don't deserve the additional residuals off the additional revenue the studios are receiving from all of the "new media" sources

and if you can do it without useing the tired and flawed arguement that writers are all rich sychophants living in malibu, driving corvettes and getting blowjobs every 30 minutes, it would be greatly appreciated

knight rider is coming back, why not bj and the bear. instead of the landry twins, the olsen twins. and instead of greg evigan, rob lowe.

ask tarantino how much he makes off 'true romance' in residuals and if he is willing to give up that money

residuals are how studios are able to keep production costs down- they don't have to pay up front, and only have to pay if the creation makes money

just remember, the post office is always hiring...