Chapter 787： Screenwriter strike

If I remember correctly, what Jon Lucas said is "The Hangover". This typical **** comedy is still very marketable in North America. Since I have encountered it, Ryan will definitely not miss it, just let What he didn't expect was that Jon Lucas had been to Disney Pictures and after signing the letter of intent for cooperation, the project had to be temporarily suspended. &..

The reason is simple. As a member of the Screenwriters Guild, Jon Lucas wants to respond to the call of the Screenwriters Guild to strike.

The largest screenwriter strike since 1988, inevitably broke out.

In fact, since the 5th of last month, hundreds of screenwriters association members have gathered around major film and television companies to hold protests. They held up slogans to improve their treatment, and from time to time they shouted "Close! Hollywood is the world of trade unions." !" Waiting for the slogan.

The parade of these people in front of the headquarters of famous film and television companies such as Paramount, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox continued until this month.

Screenwriters have a low status in Hollywood. Compared with other associations, the income is lower. Except for a few gold medal screenwriters, most screenwriters cannot enjoy the movie's DVD and other revenue sharing.

The uneven distribution of benefits can be said to be the biggest reason for the strike.

According to the last agreement reached between the Screenwriters Association and the Producers Alliance, the six major film companies pay a minimum of $106,000 for original scripts, and the major TV networks offer TV scripts at a price of approximately-prime time comedy 2.1 Ten thousand U.S. dollars, 31,000 U.S. dollars in prime time drama.

Many screenwriters earn far more than this. The scripts of the films produced by major film companies cost at least US$1 million, while well-known screenwriters may get US$4 million per movie.

The average annual income of Hollywood screenwriters last year was $200,000, which is high compared to the average annual income of Los Angeles County residents and most Americans.

However, the eyes of the screenwriters will certainly not look down. They stare at the actors, directors and producers. The screenwriters compare their income with the actors, directors and directors of film and television companies. Discovered interest demands for a substantial salary increase.

According to the Screenwriters Association, the income increase rate of the association's screenwriters is less than one-half of the profit increase rate of the entire entertainment industry. Many screenwriters also complain that they are dispensable in the eyes of large companies.

In fact, this is not unreasonable. Except for the relatively good treatment of screenwriters contracted with Disney, other companies do not pay attention to ordinary screenwriters, and even because of the agreement, they do not like to use the members of the Screenwriter Association.

In the nineties. Ninety-five percent of screenwriter positions in the film and television industry are occupied by members of the Screenwriters Association, and now this ratio is 55%!

Major companies make extensive use of cheap screenwriters outside the association to produce film and television dramas, cartoons and reality shows, which also deepens the contradiction between the two sides.

As a result, the war between the Screenwriters Guild and the Producers Alliance was about to break out.

Before December, the Screenwriters Association began negotiations with the Producers Alliance. They believed that the average annual income of ordinary members of the association was less than 40,000 US dollars. Such income conditions were below the average income of American citizens, so they called for an increase in their salary and share. , Especially in the new media to get substantial dividends. The most obvious performance is the percentage of dvd and online on-demand dividends.

As we all know, the US DVD market and the emerging online pay-on-demand are quite large. In fact, this is the main source of interest for the major Hollywood manufacturers. How can the major film and television companies behind the producer alliance easily compromise.

Although not involved. But Ryan's own attitude is also tough, even if it is to compromise, it will not be so easy, otherwise the actor's association and the directors' association will be messy organizations. He will all jump out. As a representative of a big company, he will naturally stand on the side of the producer alliance.

The development of things is far from being as simple as imagined. Several negotiations ended in failure. The film company and the producer alliance insisted on their position, and it can even be said to be a tough attitude. After all, the requirements of the screenwriters association will cause the cost of film shooting and distribution to increase.

On the second day after Charlize’s reception, the negotiating group represented by Nick Conte, chairman of the Producers Union, flatly rejected a series of requests from the Screenwriters Association after a twelve-hour negotiation. An industry strike that swept across North America finally broke out this Friday.

Even companies with script reserves like Disney are inevitably affected. "The Hangover" is just a microcosm of it.

However, Jon Lucas is a smart man, knowing that opportunities are rare, and privately assured Julis Stewart that as long as the strike is over, he will immediately sign a formal contract with Disney Pictures.

The strike quickly spread to all of Hollywood, with 12,000 screenwriters participating successively, and many others took to Hollywood Boulevard in protest.

The last collective strike by the Screenwriters Association was in 1988. It lasted for 22 weeks and caused more than 500 million US dollars in losses to the entire industry. This strike will inevitably bring more pain because the entertainment industry has now grown into one Behemoths, even if they don't count the peripheral industries, still account for about 10% of the US economy, which means that the annual output value is about 50 billion U.S. dollars.

But similarly, considering the overall strategy of the future, Hollywood manufacturers, which are dominated by the six major companies, will not easily compromise.

A number of film and television dramas inevitably become temporary victims.

On the day the strike began, all talk shows were immediately suspended.

On December 17, "24 Hours" announced the cancellation of the broadcast of this season, becoming the first unlucky TV series.

On December 20th, the shooting of the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code" "Angels and Demons" was postponed, becoming the first unlucky movie.

On December 23, "007: Quantum Crisis" was temporarily suspended and joined the ranks.

On December 26th, just after Christmas, DreamWorks’ main drama "The Adventures of Tintin" was temporarily shelved...

Even so, the Producers Union still showed a tough attitude. Even if they returned to the negotiating table, they would not give in easily, and the strike continued.

The new year is here, and there is not the slightest joy in Hollywood, and the shadow of strike is hanging over the entire North America.

On January 4, 2008, the Screenwriters Association refused to write lines for the Golden Globe Awards and announced a boycott of the Golden Globe Awards.

The Golden Globe Awards ceremony was forced to cancel and changed to a press conference. Natalie won the best actress in a drama.

Everyone is beginning to worry about the Oscars ceremony next month. If the Oscars are also cancelled, it will not only be a loss of money, but also the face of Hollywood...

Even Wall Street issued a warning that if the strike lasts for five months, the economic loss will be as high as 25 billion U.S. dollars.

In this context, Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation, Summer Redstone of Viacom, Kyle Young of Universal, Don Logan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Time Warner, and representatives of Disney Ryan, held a secret meeting in Malibu.

"The strike cannot continue." It was Summer Redstone who spoke.

This is the consensus of everyone. Although the $25 billion figure is pure Wall Street nonsense, the strike will last too long and it will definitely affect the earnings of major groups.

"We can't compromise easily." Ryan's attitude is clear. "Don't forget, the agreement between the Producers League, the Directors Guild and the Actors Guild is about to expire. If we let go of the terms of the Screenwriters Guild, it will bring a chain reaction."

He looked at the media giants present, "I think you don't want to distribute our interests to them too much, right?"

"My people have done statistics." Rupert Murdoch said slowly, "As long as the strike ends before the Oscars, our loss is about 300 million US dollars."

Although there is competition with each other, they are a natural community of interests in this matter, and as a well-informed media group, how can they not make some preparations in advance.

"Don't forget, it's not just us." Ryan snorted coldly. "It is estimated that the strike will cause up to 285 million U.S. dollars in wage losses to the screenwriters, and the loss of income for other film industry associates is 500 million. US dollars."

The strike of the Screenwriters Association will not only face the producer alliance, but the stalled crews and programs will also harm the interests of other professions.

"Then we have reached an agreement?" asked Don Logan, the chairman of Time Warner's board of directors.

Others nodded, and Ryan finally said, “Go back to the negotiating table and drag the negotiations until the Oscar is approaching. Let the Producers League and the Screenwriters Association face the pressure from all quarters. We will definitely make a difference. Some concessions do not allow the Screenwriters Association to easily achieve its goals."

This strike is hurting the interests of the entire industry. Compared with the producer alliance backed by major companies, the screenwriters association will bear greater pressure.

On January 15, under the heavy pressure of all parties, the Screenwriters Association had to announce the release of Grammys. They first made a compromise.

Then, the Producers Alliance also made concessions and started a new round of'informal negotiations with the Screenwriters Association with News Corporation President Peter Scherney, Disney CEO Robert Iger and the producer. The negotiating group represented by the chairman of the alliance Nick Conte, the chairman of the Screenwriters Association, David Young, the executive director of the West Coast Screenwriters Association, and John Bowman, the head of the association’s coordination committee, returned to the negotiating table. The strike was finally over. The dawn.

However, as Ryan said, the Producers Alliance will not give in easily. This is bound to be a see-saw negotiation.

At the same time, the media group, which is the parent company of the six major companies, is also spreading news in the media to exert pressure, such as claiming that the scripts reserved by major companies are sufficient to film next year; , Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea bought the copyright of the film, and even introduced overseas screenwriters for tentative writing, etc.

In fact, this is putting pressure on the editors' association.

Of course, people like Ryan also know that the producer league must make concessions. (To be continued...)

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