The media conglomerates walked out of talks with the writers after issuing a list of demands and hiring Clintonista Chris Lehane. This is an attempt to crush the union. It's not about money for these moguls, it's about power. Jane has more.
Write the executive in charge of your favorite show with this nifty FDL tool to let them know that they should negotiate with the writers in good faith.
I took that picture on the picket lines a few weeks ago when I was in LA after spending some time chatting with a screenwriter. He told me there is lots of weird hedge fund money coming in to fund movies, and new attempts to distribute films on the internet. The overall environment for producing great content is becoming more competitive and more difficult for the studios, and I imagine that if they don't settle with some good solution for the writers, the real danger is that they will simply lose their content business.
Why write as a slave for GE or CBS when you can write and own part of your content going through another distribution outlet?
As a small example, here's a creative and creepy show done by food star Michael Thomas on youtube.
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