New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

The factors above open a huge can of worms for corporations and the talent they employ. Current contracts in place preclude the earning of revenue by employees in such instances based on outdated technologies for viewing entertainment. The only options used to be in theaters and on television in some form, whether that be through VHS tapes or network/cable broadcasts. New negotiations are required to allow for the emerging technologies. The writers are the first group sticking their hands out and asking for money to be placed in them. The corporations that run Hollywood have no interest in making such an agreement because the instant they do, actors and directors will expect the same concession. That triples the lost revenue such a compromise would incur. Corporations hate anything that damages the bottom line, but a deal that will need to be paid out to three different groups is particularly unwelcome. This leaves the entire industry stuck in neutral, as it were.

Moving forward, the key area of compromise must be the Internet. It is simply impossible to imagine a scenario wherein writers agree that there is no money to be made on the Internet. They have hilariously tweaked corporate bigwigs on this matter throughout the strike. Videos have been pieced together catching them in glaring examples of doublespeak. Perhaps my favorite thus far involves a statement denying that there is any way to define the amount of money available for entertainment on the internet. It is immediately followed by the same company's employee stating in an interview that $500 million or more in financial windfalls are available in the upcoming year alone. If you want to watch further humorous examples such as this, this is the site to monitor. Any place that shows video of Todd Bridges blaming a previous cocaine addiction on the writer's strike is aces in my book. And while I have tried to maintain neutrality throughout this discussion, I do want to point out there is a brilliant video satire up here that accurately sums the discrepancy in financial gains and losses between the writers and the companies against which they are striking.

As far as exactly how much all of this impacts the industry, a lot of it depends upon how much longer the strike continues. In the short term, the areas of notice are the awards shows. The Golden Globes and the Academy Awards both utilize writers to bring the funny during their shows. While the idea of an unscripted four hour Oscars show is appealing to any fan of chaos, rumors are surfacing that the show may be delayed or even canceled if the strike continues. Key to this is the idea that people who attend such awards may be viewed as picket crossers by those currently on strike. Given that Hollywood has always been considered a glorified high school where everyone knows everyone, such a reputation could hurt those in attendance over the course of their careers. Whether industry mainstreams choose a risk-averse approach by sitting out the major events will go a long way in determining whether they proceed as normal or have altered schedules.

Continued:       1       2       3       4       5