At 12:01 am on Monday, the Writers Guild of America will go on strike. My WGA membership is only an associate one, and I'm not sure I'll ever get paid to write for TV again (although seriously, what is an Ivy League law degree good for if not to get a writing job on the Daily Show?), but I'll still be picketing in spirit.
If you want to know more about why the writers are striking, a good starting point is "Share the Wealth with Writers, an LA Times piece by screenwriter and WGA board member Howard A. Rodman. Here's a sneak preview:
"...on each [DVD], the companies pay more to the manufacturer of the box and packaging (about 50 cents) than they pay in residuals to the writer, director and actors combined (about 20 cents)."
The writer's share of that 20 cents usually breaks down to about four cents. If you write with a partner, you're down to two cents. A single new release DVD usually sells for about $20. Something isn't right here.
That's probably the best OpEd I've read about the strike.
Posted by: Annika | November 04, 2007 at 10:26 AM