The last two paragraphs of this article ( [link] ) sum up the AMPTP's main gripes:
Studios argue that it is too early to know how much money they can make from offering entertainment on the Internet and on cell phones, iPods and other devices.
Like any new venture, there are going to be a lot of unknowns. Paying writers a residual may actually help them control initial costs. Using the excuse that they don't know how profitable a venture will be should only be effective on demands for a higher scale.
Producers are also uncertain whether consumers prefer a pay-per-view model over an advertising-supported system. They say they want the economic flexibility to experiment as consumer habits change in reaction to technology.
Either model will either be profitable or not profitable. Writers want residuals on the profits. Economic flexibility is another way of saying they want the milk for free so they don't have to worry about satisfying the cow.
This is why the WGA is on strike. Because the AMPTP actually believes this horseshit.
"We don't know how much we're going to make so we can't pay our employees."
Sure, that makes sense. I know that's what my firm does.
t eye. roll. for. evah.
Like any new venture, there are going to be a lot of unknowns. Paying writers a residual may actually help them control initial costs. Using the excuse that they don't know how profitable a venture will be should only be effective on demands for a higher scale.
It's a bullshit excuse in any case because it's not like iTunes (just for example) is some nebulous possibility for the future - there is content for sale online right now. Whether or not it's a successful revenue stream doesn't change the fact consumers and advertisers are paying for online content. Some of that money is owed to the content creators, end of story.
I think they're, ultimately, querying how much money is owed to content creators.
Right, but why not pick a non-zero number now to satisfy the writers' demands? They can always renegotiate later, can't they?
0.001%?
I can't speak from any WGA experience (uh, obviously), but from what I've seen with unions and corporations before, they'll make a non-zero number offer at some point soon, and it'll be absolutely shite.
NYT article on the picket line in NY: [link]
Hee. Someone on my flist was perusing the TV Tropes wiki for How to Kill a Character:
7. Hire Tim Minear.
And, hee:
Quote from the The New York Times:
"To fans of the WB's recently canceled Angel, the writer Tim Minear is known affectionately as the Tim Reaper: the master of the fatal plot twist."
They have a big rat out! I love the big rat. Do they have that other places?
