Writer's Guild strike question.

[on:]

(If someone else has asked this, my apologies.)

Will the SWG (Screenwriter's Guild) strike affect Futurama at all? Not so much the current movies (though if it continues, it might affect any added material when they turn them into episodes), but anything after - i.e., any future series/movies.

Any thoughts? I was reading something over at TLZ, where Billy West was talking about three movies (instead of four) and it occurred to me that the strike might have some sort of effect.

[Reply #1 on:]

Well, all four of the movies have been written and recorded, so no worries there. As far as new things after the movies goes, the movies won't be done coming out until 2009 so they've got over a year to get the whole strike thing settled.

[Reply #2 on:]

First they'll have to be renewed for another season/DVD set but I think soon it's going to get squeeky tight on deadlines if they want to release the next batch this time next year. But then with 4 DVDs the releases would be every 3 months not 4.


"Give us a raise you big fat jerk!"

"Nevers!"

[Reply #3 on:]

 

Originally posted by futz:

"Give us a raise you big fat jerk!"

"Nevers!"

Now, THAT is good referencing.

[Reply #4 on:]

All the movies are done. The only things I would think would be affected would be bonus features on Beast With a Billion Backs. I'm not sure that the strike will last into next fall, as to affect the subsequent movies features whatsoever. However, if the strike lasts into next summer, the SAG and DGA will likely join up with the WGA, so you never know.

In short, don't worry about the DVDs not being released. Also remember that the President of the WGA-West is Patric Verrone, a Futurama writer.

[Reply #5 on:]

I did hear a news report over the weekend that a deal is close for Letterman, Leno, and other late night shows. Makes sense since I don't think they are large in DVD sales. But that may be one of those rumors started to make the other side go "Whaaa...?".

[Reply #6 on:]

Thanks to everyone that's posted so far. I feel better about things now. 

Well, here's hoping that all sides can come to an amicable (or at least civil) arrangement, even if for now it's only temporary. Dammit, there's too much neat stuff at stake - of which, at the top of the list (I hope) is more Futurama.   

[Reply #7 on:]

Letterman's company is going to attempt to make a deal with writers on its own. Leno and Conan are supposedly just coming back without writers.

[Reply #8 on:]

 

Originally posted by futz:
I did hear a news report over the weekend that a deal is close for Letterman, Leno, and other late night shows. Makes sense since I don't think they are large in DVD sales. But that may be one of those rumors started to make the other side go "Whaaa...?".

Well it's the use of their work on the internet too, like catch-up clips and whatnot on the network websites.

[Reply #9 on:]

This doesn't involve Futurama directly, but I have a friend who's a set construction crew member on the orignal "CSI".  He was just told by his boss to "expect this strike to go on for up to 6 months; you'd best be out there looking for short to medium length employment, as we have no settlement expected in the near future".  Man, that SUCKS for all those people whose employment & livelyhood is tied to this industry.  It's gotta be a bitch to be locked out of earning a living in the industry of your choice when you want to work...

[Reply #10 on:]

No, Futurama will not be affected by the writer's strike.  Thank heavens.  Besides, all the movies are done being made. 

[Reply #11 on:]

 

Originally posted by KurtPikachu2001:
No, Futurama will not be affected by the writer's strike.  Thank heavens.  Besides, all the movies are done being made. 

What Kurt and everyone else has previously stated is what I'm gonna say. Futurama's not affected. However, just about everything else is and it's a shame those morons can't just settle for something that's better than what they had. If negotiating doesn't work, they're just a bunch of hardasses.

[Reply #12 on:]

I don't really get the writer's strike. Does every writer have to strike or what? I don't get that every writer has to strike.

[Reply #13 on:]

 

Originally posted by PMD:
I don't really get the writer's strike. Does every writer have to strike or what? I don't get that every writer has to strike.

I think it's only those that are not satisfied with what they get, which is most of them. I hate that all stations are trying to use reality TV. RTV Sucks donkey poses

[Reply #14 on:]

Every writer is in the guild. The guild has striked. Therefore, all writers must strike or they are no longer a part of the guild. Studios usually don't want non-guild writers, and the contracts made between the WGA and the studios is that they will only hire guild writers. That's why Carson Daly got bombed for using a joke hotline as a strike dodge because he didn't have any writers.

However, the guild can do special waivers or deals with individual studios. For example, the WGA has given waivers for writers to work on the SAG Awards and has made a deal so Letterman can come back with its writers, something Leno and Conan can't say.

[Reply #15 on:]

Oh thanks for the explanation.

[Reply #16 on:]

I heard somewhere that animation writers aren't affected by the strike. I could be wrong though....

[Reply #17 on:]

If they're members of the guild, they're affected, no matter what. So Simpsons/Futurama folks would definitely be affected (Patric Verrone is the president of the WGA, and he's a Futurama writer).

[Reply #18 on:]

 

Originally posted by iceiwynd:
If they're members of the guild, they're affected, no matter what. So Simpsons/Futurama folks would definitely be affected (Patric Verrone is the president of the WGA, and he's a Futurama writer).

While this is true, if he wanted to write something for Groening he could, or he could be wavered.

[Reply #19 on:]

The strike will most likely be settled by the time they even start writing Season 6, as Season 5 is just the movies split into episodes.

EDIT: My god I haven't posted here in ages.

[Reply #20 on:]

 

Originally posted by SuperKing24:
The strike will most likely be settled by the time they even start writing Season 6, as Season 5 is just the movies split into episodes.

EDIT: My god I haven't posted here in ages.

I sincerely hope & pray there will be a season 6!

 

[Reply #21 on:]

 

Originally posted by i_need_help:
I heard somewhere that animation writers aren't affected by the strike. I could be wrong though....

No, they're all affected. It's kind of messed up because Seth MacFarlane walked out to join the strike but fox edited together some unfinished episodes to shove on the air. Animation is effected just like the others, it's just that the time it takes for it to be effected is longer because they need to do animation, voice-overs, etc.

[Reply #22 on:]

 

Originally posted by i_need_help:
I heard somewhere that animation writers aren't affected by the strike. I could be wrong though....

I keep hearing this too, but my understanding is that the writers of animated children's shows aren't a part of the WGA.  So, stuff like Dora the Explorer won't be affected because those writers aren't, for the most part, associated with the WGA, but many of the mature animated show's writers (FG, Simpsons, etc.) are, so their shows are directly affected.

I found the following in this article which I think clarifies things a little bit:

 

Wolfman has also done considerable work in animation, an area that is traditionally covered not by the WGA but by local 839, a separate union. Whether or not an animated show can be represented by the WGA depends on whether or not it is already represented by 839, and if the company that owns the rights has an existing agreement with 839.

[Reply #23 on:]

Because of the Writer's Strike, there's no Golden Globes this year.  And I'll be damned if all of television is overtaken by reality TV.  Again, the Futurama movies are not affected. 

[Reply #24 on:]

I see.

So apparently, animated shows for mature audiences are affected by the writer's strike....


Well, that's weird.

Because other animated shows, such as anime dubs and children's cartoons aren't affected by the strike.

And by the way, this is what a friend of mine said on another forum.  ^^

 

Anime dubs won't be affected because they're covered by the Animation Guild, not the Writer's Guild. Same thing with children's programs such as Avatar. In fact, the only animated programs that will be affected will be the prime-time animated shows (The Simpsons, Family Guy, maybe South Park) since those programs are covered by the WGA. But since production on animated shows generally take around nine months, we won't see the first signs of a strike until later next year.

[Reply #25 on:]

Actually, South Park isn't affected. The strike was called near the end of their most recent run, when they still had a whole episode left to do, and they did it. And looking at their politics in general anyway, it's pretty unlikely they're part of the WGA and that they'd adhere to this.

[Reply #26 on:]

Ah, that's cool.

So South Park isn't affected either.  That's nice to know (though, I'm not a big fan of South Park).


I just hope that the new Futurama episodes will be okay.  I mean, the ones they've made based on the 4 movies, and any new season they might be planning (if the DVDs sell well and the ratings are good).

[Reply #27 on:]

One of the writers for Futurama is the head of the writer's guild, Patrick Verone I think. I just hope more episodes of The Office are coming.

[Reply #28 on:]

Yesterday, I saw a news article that said the writers guild negotiators were headed back to the bargaining table.  Maybe everyone's come to their senses (or has come closer to reality).  For the sake of my buddy (who's been unable to work since November), let's hope this is the case...

[Reply #29 on:]

Don't hold your breath.  If the producers would just negotiate a fair settlement with WGA this would all be over.  We could actually forfce the issue by boycotting ALL T.V. until it's settled

[Reply #30 on:]

I asked about this WGA strike and it's effect on the Futurama movies on the Futurama Madhouse message board just to clarify things.  Feel free to check it out. 

[Reply #31 on:]

 

Originally posted by i_c_weiner:
All the movies are done.

No; principal writing and recording are done on all four, but under normal conditions there would be LOTS more rewriting as the animation comes in.

 

Originally posted by KurtPikachu2001:
No, Futurama will not be affected by the writer's strike.

In fact it almost certainly has been: if any animatic or color for movies 2-4 has been completed by Rough Draft during the strike, there has been no rewriting of it by the writers.  But if the strike is concluded swiftly, the writers should be able to perform the usual rewriting tasks without interfering with the (still vague) release schedule.

 

Originally posted by i_c_weiner:
Every writer is in the guild. The guild has striked. Therefore, all writers must strike or they are no longer a part of the guild. Studios usually don't want non-guild writers, and the contracts made between the WGA and the studios is that they will only hire guild writers.

Almost completely incorrect, even if "Writer" is assumed to mean "American TV or movie writer".  Much animation writing -- nearly all original programming on Nick and Cartoon Network, for example -- is NOT covered by the WGA.  Studios LOVE non-Guild writers because they don't have to pay them WGA minimums or make any health insurance or pension copayments.  The WGA contract with the producers covers only writing that the studio agrees is Guild-covered; in practice this means most fiction programming on the major networks (including animation) but not so-called "reality" or (most) off-network animation.  All WGA writers do NOT have to strike; they may elect to take what is called "fi-core" status, work for the studios without a Guild contract and maintain their Guild benefits, but they can't participate in the Guild's operations and it is generally considered such a sleazy thing for a writer to do that, despite reports, there are only three confirmed cases of writers going fi-core so far in this strike.

Incidentally, although "The Simpsons" TV show is Guild-covered, the Simpsons movie was not.  No major theatrical animated film has been Guild-covered.

 

Originally posted by iceiwynd:
(Patric Verrone is the president of the WGA, and he's a Futurama writer).

Originally posted by Professor Zoidy:
While this is true, if he wanted to write something for Groening he could, or he could be wavered

Groening doesn't employ the Futurama writers; 20th Century-Fox Television does.  As long as Verrone is a WGA member in full standing and the WGA is on strike, he cannot write for Futurama.   The Guild has never granted waivers to individual writers, only to projects, e.g., the SAG Awards. The Letterman show didn't get a waiver; his production company agreed to the same contract that the Guild presented to the joint negotiators for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (an umbrella organization).  The AMPTP refused and walked out, claiming that a production company would have to be crazy to agree to those terms.  Since then, several (relatively small) producers have: United Artists, Lions' Gate, the Weinstein Company, Marvel, etc.

The Guild has absolutely no incentive to grant a waiver to 20th Century-Fox to let it produce Futurama, since it regards Fox as one of the very worst offenders as far as its treatment of writers.

 

Originally posted by seattlejohn01:
Yesterday, I saw a news article that said the writers guild negotiators were headed back to the bargaining table.

Many articles said this.  It is false.  The Guild never left the bargaining table; the AMPTP are the ones who refused to continue bargaining and walked out, back in mid-December.  This may be verified by checking the coverage at the time.  It is a measure of the producers' pernicious influence that many of the most trusted news sources in the country are repeating the baseless insinuation that "the writers have returned to the bargaining table".

 

Originally posted by bobbot:
Don't hold your breath. If the producers would just negotiate a fair settlement with WGA this would all be over.

Correct.

[Reply #32 on:]

Right now there's been some movement and talking concerning the strike.  So there's a chance that there will be a deal made and a fair negotiation.  Let's hope so.  We'll know something by tommorow.