'Touched'
[NAFDA] "There will be an occasional happy, so that it might be crushed under the boot of the writer." From Zorro to Angel (including Wonderfalls, The Inside and Drive), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath.
From the digitalspy article:
The SAG's agreement gives studios three options in the event of a strike: they may hold onto series regulars and pay them a full salary, suspend them on half-pay for up to five weeks, or terminate them. If terminated, they are guaranteed a re-hire when production resumes. The SAG argues that putting the actors on unpaid leave while keeping them tied exclusively to the studio violates its agreement.
Cute! [link] (Picture of a wee kid with a sign saying "It's Old Media to Me.")
If terminated, they are guaranteed a re-hire when production resumes.
Aha. That's cool.
The SAG argues that putting the actors on unpaid leave while keeping them tied exclusively to the studio violates its agreement.
In that case, yeah, it sort of does violate the contract, eh?
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Peter Chernin, president of Fox parent News Corp., said the Writers Guild of America strike will probably save his company money.
"We save more money in term deals and, you know, story costs and probably the lack of making pilots than we lose in potential advertising," Chernin said, adding the walkout that started last week is "probably a positive" for the company.
In the short term he is correct, Kevin. However, 2009-10 will complete suck.
Yeah... He missed that bit off what he told reporters. (You could almost suggest there's spin going on here from both sides!).
I'm going to love seeing The Simpsons when it returns after all this.
Fox will come out ahead because of American Idol. It will absolutely dominate in the spring, and holding 24 might even be a plus for them.
I'm not saying you have to believe what the management of publicly held companies say, but I want to point out that there's an extensive legal regime governing what officers say about company prospects. So he has to have a reasonable basis for his remark, even if proved wrong.
I don't think he's wrong, looking at it. 24 was sinking anyway, nearly all the other networks will be out of drama by then, and America loves American Idol. Net can kill off a few of their lagging shows with the strike, too.
It sounds like News Corp's immediate focus isn't immediate. It's long term revenues, which indicates they will dig in to not budge as their position. Which is sad.
I think Fox is better shape than most because a) Idol and b) they have fewer hours to fill.
And $2.7M for each 30 second ad during the Superbowl doesn't hurt either.