With that in mind, look what is happening before the strike really has had an impact… The last set of movies are bombing. Fall TV ratings are down. It’s pointless for the WGA and AMPTP to argue with one another over revenue and profit. Both are getting smaller than the mouths they must feed.

But if you must, by all means keep up the strike. There are several new games out this season, and I haven’t even managed to find a Wii yet. And when I feel like literature, there’s always a good book or free ice cream at the blogs.

“Already hardened veterans of Hollywood, the four film stars began to talk of forming their own company to better control their own work as well as their futures. They were spurred on by established Hollywood producers and distributors making moves to tighten their control on star salaries and creative control, a process which would evolve into the rigid studio system.”

It’s Hollywood, make a sequel.

I’m curious though, do you think it’s time for some of the more future looking writers to start “jumping ship” as it were and try and create their own market share and not deal with the Hollywood machine. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of advantages in that huge powerhouse still, but as you say change is in the wind.

As I mentioned before I’ve already seen at least one decent star level cast and crew “break” off from the norm and form “Sanctuary For All.” I’ve also heard rumors of Joss Whedon taking his popular (but not financially sucessful in the current system) Firefly series directly to the internet and fans through Games and Direct to Web TV. Do you guys think that’s the future where the studios are being bypassed and production houses go direct to the fans?

What’s making the networks especially nervous are this fall’s ratings, which were dismal even without the strike. In the most recent “sweeps” period, which ended Nov. 28, every network except Fox logged dizzying declines among the critical demographic of viewers ages 18 to 49 compared with the year-earlier period, according to Nielsen Media Research. Third-place NBC shed 13% as heavily promoted entries such as “Bionic Woman” sputtered. (First-place ABC shed 10% in that demographic, while runner-up CBS was down 8%. Fox was fourth but gained 3%.)
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-et-channel9dec09,1,4079711.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter

Can anyone say “makegoods?”

The old world of the last strike was, as Steve points out, rather mundane and predictable. Unfortunately, the business model of that world is failing. Television viewership across the spectrum is down and only a misguided fool would believe the primarily reasons are DVD sales and internet downloads. Did music downloads kill the music industry? The correct answer is that the music industry killed the music industry in much the same fashion that the entertainment industry is killing the entertainment industry.

The reason the suits don’t want to give up more of the DVD revenue stream is that they can’t if they hope to stay in business. Their original business model of ads for network shows has been losing revenue for years. The costs associated with network programming have been increasing. They were squeezed between the rising costs and declining revenues and they needed another revenue stream. Luckily, for them and you, they found it in the videotapes and DVDs. Do you honestly believe that the Hollywood suits knew videotapes and DVDs would turn out to be as successful as they’ve been? Review your comments about how stupid the suits are before answering. In 2007, it looks like the writers made a bad deal in 1988 but how did that deal look in 1990? I’m guessing pretty darn good.

Other posters are correct in stating that Hollywood is the center of creative accounting. My response, so what? Quit living in the old world and quit being a victim. If you believe that a big part of Hollywood’s future is on the internet, and it is, then you need to work with the studios to develop an internet business model. Work with the studios to define what a successful internet presence looks like. Once you’ve defined success then it’s a simple matter of divvying up the profit/revenue streams. Remember, if you agree the model upfront then you can’t be hosed later.

You can either start thinking like winners and share the biggest pile of money on the planet or you can keep acting like losers and finish destroying your livelihood. For a bunch of creative thinkers you’re sure not very creative or visionary.

Hollywood has been inbreeding for so long now that they are killing off their own empire.

Good riddance to the royal Guilders.