# Writers on strike! Quick...fill in for your favorite shows! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-on-strike-quick-fill-in-for-your-favorite-shows/425060 "2007-11-02T21:09:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-on-strike-quick-fill-in-for-your-favorite-shows/425060/101 "2007-11-06T18:08:47Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] I honestly think that 1% of the people who think they can write actually can. [/QUOTE] Sadly, that includes the people who are paid to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-on-strike-quick-fill-in-for-your-favorite-shows/425060/102 "2007-11-06T18:14:53Z")
[QUOTE=kidchameleon] I don’t begrudge them getting paid, just whining about it. [/QUOTE] :rolleyes: Of course you do. “It’s more than I make, so… SHUT UP!” is really a fantastic thing to say to people who are fighting to get a slice out of companies that are screwing them out of profits made off THEIR BACKS. We’re seeing NOTHING out of the internet downloads market right now – while networks are making money hand over fist. Tell me, is that fair? That’s OUR WORK out there. I don’t care if you make two million dollars a year writing drivel, you’re still entitled to a share of the profits. They managed to offer us something along the lines of the current DVD rate – which is a farce. We were trying to double that rate. We’re not talking 20%, here, like you seem to have dreamed up. We’re talking in terms of cents on the sale. The last offer the AMPTP made was a joke. They were essentially making a mockery of residuals when it came to internet downloads and new media jurisdiction. They were requesting windows of “free reuse” for downloads before residuals would kick in, no residuals for streaming theatrical product… and this “promotional use” loophole in which they could show complete episodes and theatrical releases on ANY PLATFORM without paying any residuals of ANY KIND. Um… no? Again, I don’t care if you’re making millions as a best-selling novelist, screenwriter, or movie-maker… or hell, as an inventor of a great gadget. This is YOUR WORK. You are allowed to stand up for yourself, damn it. Ok, yes, it does come down to money for some. For the big guys, it’s a drop in the bucket. For others, it’s our mortgages and our grocery money, or the stepping stones in our careers. You wanna use my stuff? Pay me for it. Simple as that. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-on-strike-quick-fill-in-for-your-favorite-shows/425060/103 "2007-11-06T18:40:48Z")
This reminds me of when Schwimmer, Aniston, Cox, et al of _Friends_ demanded more money out of WB when NBC saw what a hit the show was. The other incredibly smart thing they did was David Schwimmer’s idea. Both of his parents are lawyers, and he got the other five together and got them to agree they would all ask for the same amount of money and all demand the same raise at the same time. That way, the studio couldn’t pit one against the other…NBC might have been able to lose one or two Friends, but not all six at once. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-on-strike-quick-fill-in-for-your-favorite-shows/425060/104 "2007-11-06T19:59:29Z")
[QUOTE=Elenfair] :rolleyes: Of course you do. [/quote] No I don’t. Just because you are a script writer doesn’t mean you can put words in people’s mouths. > [@](#): > > “It’s more than I make, so… SHUT UP!” is really a fantastic thing to say to people who are fighting to get a slice out of companies that are screwing them out of profits made off THEIR BACKS. We’re seeing NOTHING out of the internet downloads market right now – while networks are making money hand over fist. Tell me, is that fair? Yeah. Every company makes their money of the backs of the people working for them. > [@](#): > > That’s OUR WORK out there. And you get paid for it. I get paid for my work. I don’t get paid royalties for filling out the creation of others, the people that came up with the idea in the first place and the people/company that take all the financial risk. > [@](#): > > We’re not talking 20%, here, like you seem to have dreamed up. Stop misconstruing what I wrote. I repeated the same amounts from [here](http://www.cynopsis.com/content/view/2964). Maybe you should go reread what I actually wrote instead of selectively quoting. > [@](#): > > You wanna use my stuff? Pay me for it. Simple as that. So are you telling me that script writers aren’t paid for the work they do? Pull the other one. (Do I owe Monty Python royalties for that? :rolleyes: ) ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-on-strike-quick-fill-in-for-your-favorite-shows/425060/105 "2007-11-06T20:26:59Z")
**kidchameleon** , all manner of people in the entertainment industry make residuals. That’s just the way the industry is set up. What the writers are asking for is a proportionate share that is updated to reflect changing technology and distribution methods. If you have a beef against residuals _as a concept_, knock yourself out. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-on-strike-quick-fill-in-for-your-favorite-shows/425060/106 "2007-11-06T20:44:23Z")
[QUOTE=Dante] I corrected **Elenfair** ’s post so that yours makes sense now. You’re welcome. [/QUOTE] **Dante** , when quoting another poster (i.e., actually using the quote tags), please don’t change the quote in any way. I know you were doing it for comedic effect, but we’d rather the quoted posts remain with the original text. You can, however, paraphrase someone by putting the edited text between apostrophes. Please see [post=7697048]this post[/post] for further explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-on-strike-quick-fill-in-for-your-favorite-shows/425060/107 "2007-11-06T21:01:12Z")
[QUOTE=SkipMagic] **Dante** , when quoting another poster (i.e., actually using the quote tags), please don’t change the quote in any way. I know you were doing it for comedic effect, but we’d rather the quoted posts remain with the original text. You can, however, paraphrase someone by putting the edited text between apostrophes. Please see [post=7697048]this post[/post] for further explanation. [/QUOTE] Gotcha ya. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-on-strike-quick-fill-in-for-your-favorite-shows/425060.md?page=5)