November 24, 2007

4 cents/DVD for the writers

There is a big ninety-DVDs-in-a-box collection called the United Artists 90th Anniversary Prestige Collection which could be yours for the affordable (note the sarcasm) sum of $869.00.

Now the writers share per box is approximately $3.60. That’s four whole cents per sold DVD.

Oh, and as Nikki Fine points out that’s only for the movies post 1960. Those made before that, well, they get nothing. Nada. Scrap…

Poor wealthy writers creating all our tv enjoyment over there in Hollywood, yeah it’s so hard to understand why they’d want a bit more of the million dollar cake when without them the tv stops spinning and films are forced to be post-poned/shut down left and right. After barely a month.

In the future the internet WILL be a huge part of the market, both in movies and tv. It already is. While a lot of people are illegaly downloading their fave TV shows, a lot are also finding the legal stuff, such as the purchasable flicks, the i-tunes, etc. Right now the writers of these performances get nothing.

Blatantly speaking, shouldn’t nothing in pay checks at some point start equaling crappier writing, or none at all? And why is it so unfair or difficult to attempt an agreement on this? I’m not excellent with math, but even I get that the studios risk loosing millions on a pro-longed strike (no matter what they say about re-newals), and they will cave at some point.

The writers are stubborn, and they’ve got no huge sums (most of them) to go back to work for, so why not stay out striking until they feel treated justly? The studios, however, will need to seriously put effort into their preparation for Monday’s talks.

Stay safe and remember to enjoy the weekend (i.e. smile a little)

/Des

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