John August

Search Results for: residuals

Strike, days 73 and 74

Strike

I was out sick this morning (on the mend, thank you), and will be headed to a conference in Arizona tomorrow. So I’ll have no news from the picket line for the rest of the week. I predict it will be dark and cold, with some good conversation that I’ll sadly miss.

The general consensus is that there will be some kind of DGA deal announced soon. Could it solve the strike? Maybe, if the terms included make meaningful strides in internet residuals. It’s hard for the studios to claim they have no idea how they’ll make money off the internet when all six majors signed on to Apple’s new rental service.

Strike, days 33-36

Strike

On Friday night, I went in to WGA headquarters to help load up vans for the coming week.

Part of my motivation was banking hours; loading vans is a four-hour shift, and actually counts as two normal shifts. But my larger goal was to learn more about the infrastructure behind the strike.

[Ever since picketing began](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/on-the-line) last month, I’ve been curious where everything comes from, and how all the systems operate. ((I’m a process nerd at heart. At dinner parties, I’ve been known to interrogate strangers working in interesting fields, as if trying to construct the database for an expert system to replace them.)) After all, the WGA doesn’t normally function as a field organization. It’s mostly people at desks, registering scripts, checking residuals, and dealing with the bureaucracy of running a guild. But suddenly, there are thousands of picket signs, and phone banks, and white vans full of supplies.

Clearly, someone had to set up these logistics. I assumed it was some outside contractor, but no. It’s basically just writers and re-deployed staff. Case in point: Jerome, a blog-reader I met during the first week. On day 13, he oversaw the [sign-making session](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/strike-day-thirteen) in which I got to demonstrate my facility in duct-taping. He was also in charge of Friday night’s van-loading.

Basically, there’s one van per studio being picketed. There’s a list of what each location needs: X number of signs, X number of insulated orange water coolers, X boxes of snacks, etc. It’s very straightforward. Most nights, you’re really just re-filling supplies, since the same basic stuff should have been returned to the van after picketing.

Last Friday was the big rally at Freemantle, after which stuff got thrown into vans pretty haphazardly. So everything had to be emptied out, then restocked from scratch. No biggie. Honestly, it was nice to have a job that had clearly defined objectives. Unlike picketing, you could see what you’d accomplished. You knew when you were done.

We were midway through the job when word came down that negotiations had broken off. Disappointing? Certainly. But it was strange to be getting this news while readying the vans. No one wants this strike to drag on for months. But I can tell you firsthand: on a systems/process level, it’s surprisingly well-run, with really good morale. No one was ducking out early.

This morning I went back to picket with my usual crew at Paramount. It was the fastest shift so far. I didn’t check the time until 8:20 a.m., at which point I was nearly done. A lot of the conversation centered on preschools, since half of us have kids in that zone.

Tomorrow, I’ll be taking the day off (the second of my two banked days from Friday). Thursday, I’ll be picketing (and speaking) at the Indie Gate at Paramount from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. After that, there are only two more days of picketing until the winter holidays.

Pencils down

Film Industry, Strike

A few minutes ago, the WGA announced plans for the strike. Barring dramatic progress in negotiations over this weekend, it’s happening.

pencilI’ve largely avoided talking about contract negotiations and the strike, ((At least now we can retire the term “looming strike.”)) because I have no particular insight. I’m not on the WGA Board, nor the negotiating committee. But because I’m one of the higher-profile screenwriters, people give whatever I say unwarranted authority. And you know, I’m [all about authority](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/writing-digital-age).

Now that we’re at the 23rd hour, I can clarify a little bit more about what’s going on, and where I stand.

Last night, I went to the largest WGA meeting in history, held at the Convention Center downtown. The negotiating committee explained the progress (and lack of progress) in negotiations with the AMPTP, and confirmed that a strike would be occurring. Representatives from helpful allies, including SAG and the Teamsters, also spoke. I was encouraged by the thoughtfulness of the negotiating committee, who are dedicated to achieving a fair deal without unwarranted suffering.

If you know absolutely nothing about the issues — or if you have to explain it to your grandmother, who’s upset that her favorite soap opera is off the air — here’s my very short summary of the situation.

* Writers for film and television are paid a small fee when the things they write (movies and television shows) are shown again on re-runs or DVD. These are called residuals, and they’re much like the royalties a novelist or a songwriter gets.

* Residuals are a huge part of how writers are able stay in the business. These quarterly checks pay the mortgage, particularly between jobs.

* There’s widespread belief that the rate paid to writers for DVD’s is too low. It was set 20 years ago, when DVD was a nascent and expensive technology. DVD’s are now cheap and hugely profitable, yet the rate remains fixed.

* Downloads will eventually supplant DVD’s. That’s why it’s crucial to set a fair rate for them now, and avoid the same trap of “let’s wait and see.”

* There are other creative and jurisdictional issues (such as animation and reality television) which are also on the table. According to the AMPTP, residuals are the major stumbling block, however. ((Nick Counter: “The companies believe that movement is possible on other issues, but they cannot make any movement when confronted with your continuing efforts to increase the DVD formula, including the formula for electronic sell-through,” he said. “The magnitude of that proposal alone is blocking us from making any further progress. We cannot move further as long as that issue remains on the table.” Link to Variety.))

Yesterday’s Variety and Hollywood Reporter featured [this ad](http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2529), in which showrunners from almost every drama and comedy on American television made it clear that they and their staffs would be doing no writing during a strike. Television will feel the impact of a strike long before features, because the season is only half-written.

But if there were an equivalent ad for feature writers, I’d sign it. As would every feature writer I know.

I’m contracted on two scripts right now, but they’ll be sitting unopened in their folders until the strike is resolved. I have a [deal to write a spec for Fox](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/the-big-fox-deal), but that will also have to wait. Pencils down means pencils down. I’m not writing any features or television until there’s a contract.

So what will I do in meantime?

First, I’ll man the picket lines.

After that, I’ll turn my attention to the 100 other things going on in my life that don’t involve movies, television, or 12-point Courier.

Over the last five years, the craft has become a smaller proportion of my daily life. I’m a father, a technology nerd, and a trustee of my university. I’d like to [get married](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2005/dear-governor-schwarzenegger-marry-me). I’m helping to raise money for the new School of Cinematic Arts at USC. I’m starting an American arm of [FOMO](http://fomo.us) to help the orphans of southern Malawi.

I also write a lot of things that aren’t movies or TV shows. I really enjoyed the [magazine](http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=life.lessons&conitem=03044e632f144110VgnVCM20000012281eac____) [writing](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/the-advocate) I did this past year, and plan to do more. I wrote a play that I need to workshop. And I have this website, which is desperate for some re-tuning.

So I’ll be busy. And when the strike’s over, I’ll be excited to go back to the job I love.

Defeat keeps on going

Asides, Follow Up

“My Glorious Defeat,” the article I wrote for Men’s Health, is now up at MSN.com ((May 3, 2011 Update: MSN.com is link no longer active, but can be accessed at Men’s Health. )) (No, I don’t get residuals.)