I think what Steve’s saying is on target. In the same vein as “the military is always preparing to fight the last war”, the strikers are renegotiating the last strike. In a static world that’s fine and dandy but in a fluid environment it’s fatal.
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.
