Valley Star

Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Paul Olden DESPERATE SUPPORT- "Desperate Housewives" stars (l to r) Eva Longoria Parker, Marcia Cross and Nicollette Sheridan pose for a photo while walking with striking members on the Writers Guild picket line at Universal Studios on Lankershim Boulevard in Los Angeles Nov. 8.

Media Credit: Paul Olden MAKE NOISE FOR THE WRITERS- Striking Writers Guild members Chris Barbour, left, and Cheo Hodari Coker try to get the attention of drivers at a Writers Guild strike site at Universal Studios on Lankershim Boulevard in Los Angeles last Thursday. Barbour writes for "CSI" and Coker is a movie writer.

Media Credit: Paul Olden WRITERS TRYING TO MAKE CENTS - Striking members of the Writers Guild of America began the second week of their walkout Monday at various Hollywood studios including Warner Bros. on Olive Avenue in Burbank.

Television and movie studios came to a near standstill this week when members of the Writers Guild of America stepped away from their keyboards and took up picket signs to go on strike. Valley College students may soon be feeling the effects with so much of their everyday lives tied to the entertainment industry.

The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have failed in negotiations to settle the matter of residual rights for DVDs and especially "new media" in their current contract dispute. The writers are requesting an increase of 4 cents per disc to 8 cents a disc in revenue from DVD sales, citing lower production costs and the booming TV on DVD market that did not exist before.

"What it really boils down to are residuals," said Valley cinema Professor and writer/director Eric Swelstad. "We know the trickle down situation will hit Los Angeles, we ask for patience and understanding. We want this strike over as much as anyone."

The WGA wants the new worlds of iTunes, cell phones and digital downloads ironed out before they sign their rights away in a new contract that will affect a new generation of writers.

In a statement from AMPTP, President Nick Counter calls the WGA strike "precipitous and irresponsible." He also states, "Instead of working toward solutions that would give the industry the flexibility it needs to meet today's business challenges, the WGA leadership continues to pursue numerous unreasonable proposals that would result in astronomical and unjustified increases in our costs, further restrict our ability to produce, promote and market TV series and films, and prohibit us from experimenting with programming and business models in new media."

"We want them to use the same formula used for repeats on television," Swelstad said about residuals for downloading episodes off of websites like iTunes. "There is a scale already in place for that, but producers say downloads are an untested market, just like they did when home videos came out. Now they want 5 or 6 years before they decide on residuals, but they brag to their share holders in New York about the millions they are making off downloads."

The writers explain that this strike is about tomorrow's talent, and that many Valley students who aspire to be screenwriters will be the ones who truly benefit from a new contract.

"This battle is as much about the writers that come after us, than ourselves," said Trey Callaway, a writer for "C.S.I. New York, from a picket line in front of NBC studios in Burbank. "We are trying to ensure the next generation of writers are protected."

More than 12,000 writers will be affected by the strike. This is the first picket line since the 1988 WGA strike that lasted 22 weeks and cost studios an estimated $500 million. But Valley students who work in the Burbank area will be paying too. With so many people out of work, many businesses are cutting back on staff at restaurants, hotels and many other places that rely on foot traffic from the entertainment industry. Without the writers, production on major television series is shutting down. Shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "The Tonight Show" are now on hiatus and several more shutdowns are expected.

Already stars have been showing support for the writers. Jay Leno, Eva Longoria, Tina Fey and Julia Louise-Dreyfus have been seen on the picket lines delivering pizza, donuts or taking up signs themselves.

The writers are prepared for a long battle with current negotiations off the table. Viewers may soon be hit with reruns of their favorite shows, but many producers have been preparing for the strike and have advanced scripts written and ready to go. Movie producers have also been working hard in a race to get film scripts prepped as to not take too large of a hit.

Whatever the outcome, the events that transpire today on the picket lines will have a ripple affect that will be felt by students in the weeks and months ahead.

VIDEO: Below is video shot by Valley Star Photo Editor Paul Olden Nov. 12, at the Disney Studios in Burbank.

Some of the striking Writers Guild members brought their children to the picket line on a day off from school for Veterans Day.

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