Job Opening? Writers Go On Strike
So, Hollywood is in need of writers, in case you haven’t heard. As of 12:01am today, more than 12,000 members of the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) didn’t show up to work today. Instead, they showed up to the picket line, as a last ditch effort to come to an agreement failed.
As it’s only been a few hours, the consequences of this strike have yet to appear, but it is pretty obvious what is about to happen if they don’t come to a quick conclusion. First to be affected, will be the daily/nightly talk shows that rely heavily on current events for their material. Expect those to go into reruns—if not tonight, very, VERY soon. Shortly there after, daytime television (i.e. Soap Operas) will start to feel the pinch, as they rarely ever show repeats, and generally don’t have a stockpile of scripts to work off of. What they’ll do, I don’t know. It’s only a matter of time before prime time TV and the rest of regular programming is affected by the strike.
Movies have it the easiest for now, as Hollywood—seeming to prepare for the strike—stockpiled scripts. The problem, of course, arises when a movie that is in production needs rewrites and re-shoots.
Most people don’t realize the impact that this strike will have on their daily lives. It is generally perceived that a writer—especially one in Hollywood or New York—is well compensated for their effort and they should complain about a few pennies here or there when there are still starving children all over the world. Well, this might be true, but the last time the WGA went on strike, nearly 20 years ago, it cost the industry $500 million over the course of the 5-month strike.
People might not thing it’s that big of a deal now, but in a few months from now—if the strike hasn’t ended and their favorite shows go in to reruns indefinitely—they might be singing a different tune. Once their stockpile thins out, and the new stuff has aired viewers are going to get bored and move on. And where the viewers go, advertisers will follow.
If it cost the industry—which is a huge part of California’s economy—$500 million 20 years ago, imagine what that figure could end up being today.