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NBC fires all of the production crew from "The Office"

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While I'm against people getting paid ridiculous amounts, which apparently they're not (according to msnbc article), I think they should get a share if their work is getting reproduced in other forms.

I'm all for supporting the brains behind the shows.
 
Originally posted by: aceO07
While I'm against people getting paid ridiculous amounts, which apparently they're not (according to msnbc article), I think they should get a share if their work is getting reproduced in other forms.

I'm all for supporting the brains behind the shows.

yeah, I'm not sure where people are getting the notion that writers are "well off", especially in california where the standard of living is so high
 
Anyone else see the irony of people who write for a show about how the working life basically sucks along with all its misery are on strike?
 
jenna from the office has a good quote that will maybe put it in perspective for the people who don't understand why the writers are striking

"The Writer's Guild has taken the position that the writers should receive residuals if the show re-airs on the internet just like they receive residuals if it re-airs on television since in both cases the studios are making money. The issue is a huge deal, because the internet is clearly where the future of entertainment lies.

Right now, a number of successful shows (like Lost for one) have stopped showing repeat episodes on TV at all, and have replaced them with ad-supported streaming video on their websites. If you're a Lost writer, or actor, or director, or a teamster that's no residuals at all for that show, and that's a big pay cut. We all count on the extra income that residuals provide as it can help us through a slump in our career when we aren't working as regularly. It is our safety net. In 10 years I may need those residual checks to cover my electric bill. You never know. Hollywood is a fickle town. If in 10 years, everything is rerun on the internet, the current union contracts say the studios don't have to pay us a dime."

i wonder why ppl are blaming the writers who are obviously striking for something they deserve rather than the real greedy folks who are involved in this. (the studios)
 
losing 102 off camera people isnt going to hurt the show too much. I mean will it really detract from the show if they replace the makeup people or the 8 drivers?

That being said, I understand the writer's strike, though I hate the fact that they are doing it and killing my TV
 
Originally posted by: BrownTown
Personally I don't watch any original shows on TV, so I could give a rats ass about the Hollywood writers going on strike. Kinda funny though, what will all the fat people do now that they can't just sit in front of a TV all day?

I watch a lot of TV and am hardly fat. Good gross stereo type though!
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7
Originally posted by: CKent
Considering how bad TV is these days perhaps it's best they never come off strike.
Dear god, no, because you know what that means? More reality shows. More. Reality. Shows. Dear sweet bullet, you shall be my unending relief from the hell that has become television.

Hah, I don't have to worry about reality shows killing off TV. 😀
 
Originally posted by: weezergirl
jenna from the office has a good quote that will maybe put it in perspective for the people who don't understand why the writers are striking

"The Writer's Guild has taken the position that the writers should receive residuals if the show re-airs on the internet just like they receive residuals if it re-airs on television since in both cases the studios are making money. The issue is a huge deal, because the internet is clearly where the future of entertainment lies.

Right now, a number of successful shows (like Lost for one) have stopped showing repeat episodes on TV at all, and have replaced them with ad-supported streaming video on their websites. If you're a Lost writer, or actor, or director, or a teamster that's no residuals at all for that show, and that's a big pay cut. We all count on the extra income that residuals provide as it can help us through a slump in our career when we aren't working as regularly. It is our safety net. In 10 years I may need those residual checks to cover my electric bill. You never know. Hollywood is a fickle town. If in 10 years, everything is rerun on the internet, the current union contracts say the studios don't have to pay us a dime."

i wonder why ppl are blaming the writers who are obviously striking for something they deserve rather than the real greedy folks who are involved in this. (the studios)

QFT. Why the fsck don't people get this? They're only asking for their fair share. The studios aren't dumb.. under the current contract structure, they see online reruns as a huge money saver. Why play repeats of Lost and pay all those residuals when you can play a much cheaper-to-make reality show?

Yes, it's going to have an impact on downlevel people in the industry, and that's unfortunate. But the pressure should be on the studios, not the people asking for what's due them. This is their only tool.

Instead, it's all "Boo Hoo I can't watch my show this week. Damn those writers!" -- People are so myopic... they only react to the immediate problem, and never look more than 1 step back for the real issue.
 
Originally posted by: Homerboy
Originally posted by: Pabster
Originally posted by: CKent
Considering how bad TV is these days perhaps it's best they never come off strike.

Agreed. :thumbsup:

If not now... exactly when was a good time for TV in your guys' books?


dudes probably got a shelf full of i love lucy and the golden girls.
 
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
dudes probably got a shelf full of i love lucy and the golden girls.

:laugh:

No, but I find both of those shows highly preferable to the garbage that has passed for network television the last several years.
 
Originally posted by: Queasy
well, that just makes the writers look like a bunch of douches.

Why? The writers didn't fire them.

Do you think that maybe the multi-billion dollar NBC is trying to make the writers look bad by firing people they could've paid through the negotiation?
 
Originally posted by: weezergirl
jenna from the office has a good quote that will maybe put it in perspective for the people who don't understand why the writers are striking

"The Writer's Guild has taken the position that the writers should receive residuals if the show re-airs on the internet just like they receive residuals if it re-airs on television since in both cases the studios are making money. The issue is a huge deal, because the internet is clearly where the future of entertainment lies.

Right now, a number of successful shows (like Lost for one) have stopped showing repeat episodes on TV at all, and have replaced them with ad-supported streaming video on their websites. If you're a Lost writer, or actor, or director, or a teamster that's no residuals at all for that show, and that's a big pay cut. We all count on the extra income that residuals provide as it can help us through a slump in our career when we aren't working as regularly. It is our safety net. In 10 years I may need those residual checks to cover my electric bill. You never know. Hollywood is a fickle town. If in 10 years, everything is rerun on the internet, the current union contracts say the studios don't have to pay us a dime."

i wonder why ppl are blaming the writers who are obviously striking for something they deserve rather than the real greedy folks who are involved in this. (the studios)

Studios generally the most greedy corporate entities I've come across. They wholehearted believe in getting something for nothing and will cheerfully screw anyone they must to get it. It is only getting worse too as they try to leverage new technology to strip out more cost without considering if it is a good long term solution.

My own industry has really started to close ranks against them in the last few years in order to preserve our businesses.
 
While those other workers are laid off, they collect Unemployment Insurance from the State.

boo hoo dee frickin hoo.
The New Amerikan Credo is "every man for himself".
 
Those who blame the writers for this and label them 'spoiled brats' have obviously never attempted a career in the arts. First, not all writers are rich. Second, those who are deserve to be rich and their wealth is what creates the shows you so love to watch.

Life as an artist means a one in a million shot at striking it rich, a slightly less distant shot at making a living, and an almost guaranteed shot at complete failure and poverty until you find a new career. This is the nature of the business--so many people want to enter that entertainment businesses (be them publishers, studios, or playhouses) can get away with paying entry level artists a pittance for their work. For many, simply being allowed to work is enough and the pay is literally nothing. To choose a career as an artist is foolish, the only motivation being that slight chance of striking it rich but more importantly having your work have a significant impact on people's lives.

So when those with the right talent make it through, we must reward them properly. When the creator and head writers of The Office make millions of people laugh nightly, they deserve to drive a Porsche. The path to their career was much more uncertain and difficult than blowing through four years of college with an almost certain $50,000+/year salary waiting comfortably at the end of the tunnel.

More specific to the WGA strike, this is their work and they are being compensated not one dime for its use in the next major medium--the internet. How can you criticize them for opposing this?

 
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
Originally posted by: Homerboy
Originally posted by: Pabster
Originally posted by: CKent
Considering how bad TV is these days perhaps it's best they never come off strike.

Agreed. :thumbsup:

If not now... exactly when was a good time for TV in your guys' books?


dudes probably got a shelf full of i love lucy and the golden girls.

:laugh: Golden Girls was funny though.

As has always been the case, there are some great shows and some bad shows on TV. It's our own fault, because some of the worst shows are also the most popular (CSI). And some really great shows get canceled early. But I honestly think we've had some of the best TV shows of all time recently - Arrested Development, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the first 4 seasons of West Wing. If you want to include premium channels, you have Entourage, Rome, the first season of The Sopranos. The original Law & Order is not so great anymore, but SVU has surpassed it and is up there with the Brisco seasons.

Everyone likes to hate on network TV nowadays, but there is some really good stuff out there if you give it a chance. The Office, How I Met Your Mother, Carpoolers, The Big Bang Theory - all good shows, worth watching.
 
Maybe when they re-hire writers after the strike, they can get some who can actually write something that will make the show funny...the current batch sux...
 
Originally posted by: BoomerD
Maybe when they re-hire writers after the strike, they can get some who can actually write something that will make the show funny...the current batch sux...

Winnar :laugh:.
 
I thought I heard that the average writer's salary was 30k a year? And the production crew gets paid less than that? What are they staffed by mexicans?
 
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: ObscureCaucasian
So what does this mean exactly?

That when the writers go on strike, it's the little people behind the scenes that you don't always think about that are the ones really getting screwed.

Yeah, only because the asshole studios are firing those people because it makes the strikers look bad. It has nothing to do with money, or cause and effect. They're doing this on purpose to smear the image of the strikers. And people like jpeyton will swallow this shit and like it, too.
 
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