Life?
I don’t watch TV but I’m VERY interested in how movies are going to be affected. When will we start seeing a crunch, if any? I say if any because there must be tens of thosands of unfilmed scripts in Hollywood. You’d think that even with no new scripts they wouldn’t run out of things to film for a couple of hundred years.
But, if there is a crunch, will we get more foreign-language films as a result? Will some movies stay in the theaters longer if there’s a shortage?
I told a friend about this thread, and she’s wondering about two shows not mentioned yet:
“Big Love (on HBO)”
and
“Ask if she knows anything about Holy Money – small budget film that is in post-production – I’d be interested.”
So, do writers keep on writing while on strike? Do you think many of the writers have material ready to go to finish out the seasons if the studios and writers were to come to an agreement soon?
Some probably do, but they’re not supposed to. The motto is “Pencils Down Means Pencils Down” which means no writing in a professional capacity whatsoever.
Dearest Moderator – fair enough to me. I had only voiced my opinion when asked. This had only been meant to be informational anyway. Seriously, I’m sick of debating and defending positions on unions, strikes and all that crap anyway.
Onward.
cricetus: it means that in a season that would consist of 22 episodes, 13 episodes have been written (up to a shootable script) and will end up being shot and aired before everything shuts down and goes to reruns.
**How I met your mother: ** I think I did that one before… 11 of 22 will be completed.
Life: The only one I have on my list is “Life is Wild”… and for that one, 12 of 13 have been completed.
Stargate Atlantis: Currently airing, production completed.
Holy Money: As far as I understand, this is a Belgium/Italy co-production and is not affected by the strike. 
All is proceeding at the expected pace and on schedule.
On writing: We have a lot of material that has been broken, so we’re ready to roll once we get back to work, but let me tell ya, it’s going to be “crunch time”. The hours are going to be insane, big ensemble-cast shows are likely going to shoot in tandem if at all possible, and I expect many shows to go from 12/14 hour a day shoot schedule to 16/18 hour days at the very least. It’s going to be nasty while we catch up.
On unfilmed scripts: The thing about those is that most of them are in “spec” format. None of them are actually shooting scripts. They’d need a heck-a-lot of work to be ready… and therefore, they’d need writers. You may see more British or Australian (or Canadian) television series on the air for a bit – bought shows – but there are caps to what we can air.
Thanks. I hear stories about agents/actors/directors having piles of scripts to read and I always imagined there were tons more than never got read at all. I don’t know the specific differences between a spec script and a shooting script, but I can make a half-assed guess. Is the spec just the basic story and characters, without camera moves blocked out? I should read up on it.
Interesting. There are caps in America? I didn’t know that. I’ve heard of caps in Canada and France but had never heard of one in America, probably because it’s never had to be used.
Btw, I just want to say that I support the writers 100%, and hope you get everything you ask for. Where would we be without writers? If not for writers, none of my favorite movies would exist. Everything starts with the writers. It amazes me that some people don’t seem to realize that.
I think that’s a closer description of what’s known as a “Treatment”. I think a spec script is a first draft, written in such a way as to gain attention and impress, but not ready to work right out of the box. Though I could be wrong.
(I do not work in television)
My guilty pleasure was watching one soap - General Hospital.
Of late, it is quite obvious there is a writer’s strike.
The scripts are truly horrible and I am almost relieved to realize it is soon not going to be an issue for me to stop watching this crap anymore. Already I am fast-forwarding the hour episode and watching it in 10 minutes tops.
The biggest clue to a writer’s strike for me is the fact that my DVR is practically empty and I have pretty much seen every film I want to see On Demand.
That portion of your post reminded me of the little squabbles that used to break out where I worked in my younger days.
The salesmen claimed that everything started with them because without them, the company would sell nothing. The purchasing agents made the same claim, reasoning that without them, there would be nothing to sell. The warehouse and delivery workers also claimed starts-with-us status because without them, you could buy and sell all you wanted but no one would ever get any of it.
With television and movies, same same. The finest script ever written will not endure crummy cinematography, incompetent directing, half-assed production, bad acting, and/or inept editing. Disregarding whatever dead weight there might be, all who contribute to a production are vital.
I honestly have no idea what the writers are asking for, because I haven’t read the proposed labor contract. But I do hope that both the writers and their employers achieve a mutually satisfactory agreement that will benefit them both — because as our owner used to chime in when we had our squabbles, “Without me, there’d be none of you.”