Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 11 april 2017
Writers say ‘Peak TV’ has hurt

them; contract talks extended

JAKE COYLE rejected by the guild. The negotiations resume on
AP Film Writer WGA negotiating com- April 10th.”
So-called “Peak TV” and mittee recommended a Other significant bargain-
its expansive array of series strike authorization vote, ing points involve the writ-
has been great for view- which the guild board and ers’ health plan, script fees
ers, say Hollywood scribes, council both seconded. If and residuals across cable
but not so much for writ- no settlement is reached, and streaming platforms.
ers. On Monday, the Writ- Guild members will begin According to the WGA
ers Guild of America will voting on whether to give — which numbers about
In this Nov. 26, 2007 file photo, striking writers carry live sized resume negotiations over a their bargainers the autho- 20,000 — median earnings
photos of legendary actors, Marlon Brando, left, and James new contract with the Alli- rization to strike on April 19. for writers dropped be-
Dean to express their support to members of the Writers Guild
of America (WGA), outside the Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles. ance of Motion Picture and The current three-year con- tween the 2013-14 season
Associated Press Television Producers, which tract expires May 1. and 2015-16, and more
represents broadcast and Many doubt negotiations and more writers are find-
cable networks and movie will end in a strike; the two ing it difficult to make a
studios. sides came to agreement living even in supposedly
With the WGA moving to in 2010 and 2013. Still fresh flush times.
authorize a strike, Holly- on the minds of both writers In Hollywood as in many
wood is hoping to avoid a and producers is the pro- other industries, techno-
crippling work stoppage tracted 2007 strike. With- logical change often drives
like the 100-day strike of out writers, late-night hosts labor negotiations. The writ-
2007 that put prime-time TV were forced to improvise ers struck in 1985 over the
into reruns and blockbuster on the fly, the production VHS home video market,
movies on hold. schedules of major films and later felt unfairly left
Several issues are on the ta- were jumbled and a sea- out when DVD revenues
ble but the most prominent son of scripted television soared in the 1990s. The
point of debate revolves was virtually shut down. Es- 2007 strike was primarily
around the changing na- timates suggest the strike over compensation for dig-
ture of the television land- cost the Los Angeles econ- ital rights.
scape. omy somewhere in the In a way, these negotia-
That there are more series neighborhood of $1.5-$2 tions, propelled by today’s
than ever — 455 this sea- billion. TV landscape, are more
son, more than double But screenwriters, who straightforward and leave
the number six years ago have seen their earnings less to speculation. The pro-
— may seem like a plus for slide over the last decade, ducers in 1985 argued that
TV writers. But those shows are emboldened to claw VHS was a nascent tech-
also run for fewer episodes back some of their losses. nology and, in 2007, said
than the traditional 22-24 “One of the most impor- that the digital realm was
episode broadcast series. tant thing we learned from too young to grasp. “Peak
Short seasons of 8, 10 or 12 2007-2008 is that you get TV,” however, is already
episodes means less pay nothing without fighting for here and no one doubts its
for writers whose payment it,” says Keyser. “We didn’t effect on the industry.
is structured on a per-epi- have our minimums, our If the Writers Guild strikes,
sode basis. credits, our pension and it would join another Hol-
“Nowadays, two-thirds of health plan or our jurisdic- lywood union involved in a
all shows including some tion over new media with- digitally-driven work stop-
on broadcast, are pro- out ultimately saying that page. Video game voice
duced with fewer episodes we were willing to fight for actors, who are part of the
but we’re still paid episodic those things. SAG-AFTRA union, have
fees,” says Chris Keyser, a Yet Keyser, a former WGA been on strike since Octo-
veteran writer and WGA president, says he’s “hope- ber 2016, with no resolution
negotiating committee ful” for an agreement. in sight.
co-chair. “I, for example, “There is plenty of room for One of the main sticking
have a show on Amazon. the companies to make points is the union’s de-
And I will work for about a move here,” he says, mand that performers who
the same amount of time claiming they collectively work on games that sell
as I used to work, almost made a record $51 billion more than two million units
a year, for eight episodic last year. “They certainly receive additional com-
fees. So I am working for can afford to do it.” pensation. The payments
a fraction of what I used In a statement heading would only affect certain
to work for, even though into the resumption of talks, studios that have contracts
the companies are mak- the producers alliance, with SAG-AFTRA, including
ing double what they used which represents about 350 major games publishers
to make — and I am not companies, said, “Our ob- Activision, Electronic Arts
alone.” jective continues to be to and WB Games. The com-
Five days of bargaining reach an agreement with panies insist the proposal
are scheduled to begin the WGA at the bargaining is untenable, but say they
Monday after an initial two table. We hope the Guild have offered raises that are
weeks of talks ended with will engage with us on the financially equal to what
an impasse and an offer issues in that forum when the union is seeking.q