2008 Woodie Awards
The writers' strike shouldn't have ended
Point
Ben Brown-Steiner
Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: Opinion
After nearly fifteen weeks, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) settled on an agreement with the major studios, bringing an end to the strike. And while the writers have gained some of what they were looking for, they missed an opportunity to get what they really deserved, and it is going to be nearly impossible for them to get the studios back at the negotiation table with the same leverage they had this year.
The WGA had gained considerable leverage, which could have led to a significantly better settlement than they have agreed on. In particular, the Academy Awards, which are scheduled for February 24th, were threatened with cancellation. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) had previously declared that their members would not cross the WGA's picket lines, effectively shutting down the awards ceremony and media frenzy.
The SAG contract expires on June 30th, and if the WGA held out until then and joined with the SAG, everything from sitcoms to movies would have been shut down (although reality shows would flourish in this type of environment, since there is little to no premeditation or need for writing for that type of drivel). If this were to happen, the WGA and SAG would have virtually all of the leverage, and the major studios would be in serious trouble.
Instead, the major studios made a last ditch effort so appease the WGA. And it worked. The presidents of the WGA sent an email to their members, declaring that "We believe that continuing to strike now will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks," and that "while this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve...our strike has been a success."
Some disagree. Joss Whedon (of Firefly fame) declares that "if we see the finish line we will flag and they [the studios] are absolutely counting on us to do that." He adds "I have been mugged an embarrassing number of times...and the only mugger who still hurts my gut is the one who made me shake his hand."
The WGA had gained considerable leverage, which could have led to a significantly better settlement than they have agreed on. In particular, the Academy Awards, which are scheduled for February 24th, were threatened with cancellation. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) had previously declared that their members would not cross the WGA's picket lines, effectively shutting down the awards ceremony and media frenzy.
The SAG contract expires on June 30th, and if the WGA held out until then and joined with the SAG, everything from sitcoms to movies would have been shut down (although reality shows would flourish in this type of environment, since there is little to no premeditation or need for writing for that type of drivel). If this were to happen, the WGA and SAG would have virtually all of the leverage, and the major studios would be in serious trouble.
Instead, the major studios made a last ditch effort so appease the WGA. And it worked. The presidents of the WGA sent an email to their members, declaring that "We believe that continuing to strike now will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks," and that "while this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve...our strike has been a success."
Some disagree. Joss Whedon (of Firefly fame) declares that "if we see the finish line we will flag and they [the studios] are absolutely counting on us to do that." He adds "I have been mugged an embarrassing number of times...and the only mugger who still hurts my gut is the one who made me shake his hand."
Be the first to comment on this story