3 ms·

This is pure speculation, but I imagine there are plenty of people that could write a passable show, and would even do it for free if given the opportunity. Sam

This is pure speculation, but I imagine there are plenty of people that could write a passable show, and would even do it for free if given the opportunity. Same with other art. What leverage do these writers actually have?

notaustinpowers 3y ago
Look at the previous writers strike and what happened to shows like Heroes. Except now it's even worse now that we're in the streaming age. Netflix and other streaming platforms want a half or full season written before the greenlight a project, rather than just a pilot episode. The quality will dive just like in did last time, and people will unsubscribe or just stop watching Netflix which is the last thing they're going to want.
jjulius 3y ago
A passion for the work and a desire to work in the industry. And I'll go a step further and seize on the word "passable". Would you rather watch a show that's simply good enough to "pass" as a show, or something of higher quality? Plenty of people can write something that you could pass off as a show, but I'd imagine that that number drops as you reach for something of a higher caliber.
- zeroCalories 3y ago
  There are plenty of people with passion. That's not significant leverage. As for quality, it's not clear to me that current shows/movies are even that good in terms of writing. If you are a truly talented writer that can make/break a work you should have similar leverage to a director or lead actor, but studios don't think you are and that's why you're in a union. Maybe if your buddies that are actually talented gave a creditable threat of committing career suicide that would be good leverage, but it doesn't seem like a real threat when top talent will always be paid well.
  - jjulius 3y ago
    >There are plenty of people with passion. That's not significant leverage. Passion "for the work", not necessarily simply writing a show itself. I'm talking about being in a writer's room with others for eight-plus hours a day, dealing with the opinions of others, being OK with having your ideas axed because some producer didn't like it for whatever reason, the process of pitching ideas, and everything else the job entails.
    - zeroCalories 3y ago
      That's the same with any creative job. Being an actor isn't easy, but there are still hordes of people that will work 100 hour weeks.
yardie 3y ago
You end up with more Game of Thrones season 6. Where Benioff and Weiss (2 inexperienced writers) try to write a season without George R. R. Martin and turn it into a steaming pile of shit. Yes, anyone can write a passable show just like anyone can write compilable code.
crazygringo 3y ago
Writing for TV is much, much, much harder than you might think. I encourage you to enroll in a screenwriting class if you don't believe me. You'll understand soon enough. :)
wahnfrieden 3y ago
Every strike has threat of scabs. Scabs can be fought back against, but scabs are also not loyal to the owners and will leave when the bonus pay doesn't keep coming in Absolutely no implication that unions are loyal, no
- zeroCalories 3y ago
  Are you implying the union is loyal and not just looking out for themselves?
gmarx 3y ago
I think it's the opposite. Most of the people actually working as writers cannot write a passable show. Writing something original and compelling enough for people to watch all the way through is extremely difficult. One of the tricks of good movies and TV is the audience takes it so for granted after a while that it looks easy. Acting is similar. Most people think the only thing that keeps them from being an actor is looks. Try saying lines out loud and you will begin to see the problem. Try to write a pilot.

notaustinpowers 3y ago

Look at the previous writers strike and what happened to shows like Heroes. Except now it's even worse now that we're in the streaming age. Netflix and other streaming platforms want a half or full season written before the greenlight a project, rather than just a pilot episode. The quality will dive just like in did last time, and people will unsubscribe or just stop watching Netflix which is the last thing they're going to want.

jjulius 3y ago

A passion for the work and a desire to work in the industry. And I'll go a step further and seize on the word "passable". Would you rather watch a show that's simply good enough to "pass" as a show, or something of higher quality? Plenty of people can write something that you could pass off as a show, but I'd imagine that that number drops as you reach for something of a higher caliber.

zeroCalories 3y ago
There are plenty of people with passion. That's not significant leverage. As for quality, it's not clear to me that current shows/movies are even that good in terms of writing. If you are a truly talented writer that can make/break a work you should have similar leverage to a director or lead actor, but studios don't think you are and that's why you're in a union. Maybe if your buddies that are actually talented gave a creditable threat of committing career suicide that would be good leverage, but it doesn't seem like a real threat when top talent will always be paid well.
- jjulius 3y ago
  >There are plenty of people with passion. That's not significant leverage. Passion "for the work", not necessarily simply writing a show itself. I'm talking about being in a writer's room with others for eight-plus hours a day, dealing with the opinions of others, being OK with having your ideas axed because some producer didn't like it for whatever reason, the process of pitching ideas, and everything else the job entails.
  - zeroCalories 3y ago
    That's the same with any creative job. Being an actor isn't easy, but there are still hordes of people that will work 100 hour weeks.

yardie 3y ago

You end up with more Game of Thrones season 6. Where Benioff and Weiss (2 inexperienced writers) try to write a season without George R. R. Martin and turn it into a steaming pile of shit. Yes, anyone can write a passable show just like anyone can write compilable code.

crazygringo 3y ago

Writing for TV is much, much, much harder than you might think. I encourage you to enroll in a screenwriting class if you don't believe me. You'll understand soon enough. :)

wahnfrieden 3y ago

Every strike has threat of scabs. Scabs can be fought back against, but scabs are also not loyal to the owners and will leave when the bonus pay doesn't keep coming in Absolutely no implication that unions are loyal, no

zeroCalories 3y ago
Are you implying the union is loyal and not just looking out for themselves?

gmarx 3y ago

I think it's the opposite. Most of the people actually working as writers cannot write a passable show. Writing something original and compelling enough for people to watch all the way through is extremely difficult. One of the tricks of good movies and TV is the audience takes it so for granted after a while that it looks easy. Acting is similar. Most people think the only thing that keeps them from being an actor is looks. Try saying lines out loud and you will begin to see the problem. Try to write a pilot.