Fans4Writers.com - Support the folks who feed our minds
You may have noticed there’s a slight altercation going on between the writers of TV shows and movies (the Writers) and the association of motion picture and television producers who run the entertainment companies (the AMPTP). It’s a simple misunderstanding, easily corrected: the writers feel that they should continue to receive a small percentage of the shows and movies they created as the industry moves towards putting everything online. This percentage, called a residual, is part of the deal made for each script and is the second part of the promised payment. The reasoning follows that if the show/movie is popular and gets shown a bunch of times, the studios and the writers (and the actors and directors) all benefit since their contributions all resulted in something of proven value.
The AMPTP’s position is even more simply stated: No.
Since the Writers literally cannot give in on this — imagine finding out that your boss found a way to not only weasel out of paying you half of your promised income but gradually reduce your remaining income as well – they may be in for a long strike indeed.
For the AMPTP this must seem like a win-win. They have enough scripts and whomped up reality shows to fill the airtime for a while, they got to cancel a lot of development deals, they essentially get a do-over for an overall disappointing TV season, and since they own most of the big media they can make sure that their side is the one that gets presented to the viewers. Case in point: the LAPD estimated that 5,500 people showed up for the strike at FOX studios Friday. Jesse Jackson was there. Seth McFarlane was there. Rage Against the Machine played live. And celebrities and writers filled the streets. Big news for LA, yes?
Small blurb in the paper. Not mentioned until the very end of the local news, and then briefly. Most news coverage has been about how the viewers will suffer, how the other workers in the industry will suffer, and not a lot about how the writers are plain and simply being ripped off and blocked from any revenue from this new invention, the Internet.
Only you know? Funny thing. The fans are already on the Web. We’ve been here for years, talking and arguing and sharing. And, at times, mobilizing. Which brings me to Fans4Writers.com.
Fans4Writers.com started out like a lot of things do around here: some people chatting on a webpage. In this case, it was me and gossi and lexigeek and ravenu and some others talking about the strike and deciding to send some pizza to where Jane Espenson was going to be. In an hour we had a collection, a volunteer (thanks dreamlogic!), and a plan. In a day we had thank yous from writers, props from Joss, some mentions in the news, and a lot of fans asking how they could get in on the next food run. The site was born.
(Mostly thanks to The One True B!x. While several of us have tossed in ideas and graphics and copyediting and news-gathering, B!x has seemingly worked ’round the clock for several days straight to pull the site and forum together. We can’t possibly thank him enough, although a Remote B!x Back-Patting Device (TM) is in development.)
We’re gathering info on fan efforts to give you a one-stop location. We’re posting messages from writers out on the lines. We’re keeping you posted about new developments in the strike. We’re still taking money for writers food runs, to be held at least once a week at different locations until the strike ends. We’re offering tips on how you can tell the AMPTP that you support the people whose ideas bedrock their business.
And we’re asking you to help. Everything you love on TV began with a writer. Every line you remember from a movie, every plot twist that made you gasp, every relationship that tore you up inside, every joke that made you laugh, all came from a writer. And while we recognize the importance of management and distribution, the fans know exactly who creates the shows they love.
Help keep the writers going in what is sure to be a tough road. Head to Fans4Writers.com and find out what you can do to help, jump in the forums and say hi.
Don’t write until it’s right.
