Craig Mazin ('The Last of Us') & other top Hollywood showrunners explain the writers’ strike
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- The Writers Guild of America called on their members to launch a strike on Monday night after the contract negotiation period with major studios ended without a new deal in place. The walkout will likely result in a halt of production on most TV shows produced in Hollywood for the first time in 15 years.
JOHN HOFFMAN (“Only Murders in the Building”), BILL LAWRENCE (‘Shrinking’), CRAIG MAZIN ('The Last of Us’), JANINE NABERS (‘Swarm’), LIZ TIGELAAR (‘Tiny Beautiful Things’) and RAMY YOUSSEF (‘Ramy’) join Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Yvonne Villarreal for the L.A. Times Envelope Showrunners Roundtable.
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Please post the full discussion. We need more roundtables like this so we can all see the different perspectives of what makes showbiz really work.
Excellent discussion, but where's the rest of it?
'The Last of Us' has made Pedro Pascal into a superstar, even though of course he has been grinding for years. No doubt that Pedro himself is talented, but the overall writing of a show makes all the difference and can let actors shine as they should.
Game of Thrones is what made him into a superstar, The Mandalorian and The Last of Us has only strengthen that.
@@alex30425 Yes, Oberyn Martell was his breakout role, but you can't compare the levels of fandemonium to what's happening right now for Pedro in 2023 after the mega success of being a leading man in TLOU. Of course being in the Mandalorian at the same time has helped greatly. :)
@@alex30425 Game of Thrones, Narcos and Kingsman marked a breakout moment for him that solidified him into a superstar. It's not one role that gave him everything else
One of the things the WGA & writers need to do (and which is probably the reason for this clip) is get out to the public that this strike is about writers just being able to make a living so they can pay the rent & buy groceries. Too many people outside of Hollywood think this strike is about writers wanting to make more money so they can buy another sportscar or another house or another yacht.
Then why don’t they talk how much writers make yearly? Most jobs have no residuals. You were paid to give a product or service, and then move on.
@@phoenix5054 The way the system works now, most writers can't make a living being writers. But I think you found the solution. They can always just 'move on.' Why didn't the WGA think of that?
@@lynnturman8157 Because they know they are in a highly visible profession where whining will get media attention? Most people don't have that luxury.
Hi Lynn, let me introduce you to chat GPT. $100 per month program they could write a script based on tens of thousands of different award-winning Scripps that have been created since the beginning of film history.
Chat GPT is also capable of production planning and helping me acquire permits for film sets. Essentially making about 90% of the production cost of a movie disappear.
If you get your way, this will be our future. If you don’t get your way, this will be our future. Cope.
@@phoenix5054they want houses in malibu, they all work and live really well. They want to be rich….don’t buy into the starvation narrative, it’s nonsense. They all get unemployment and tons of benefits…🙄🙄🙄
Where can I watch the full discussion?
'Shrinking' and 'The Last of Us' has some of the best writing on TV right now. Hoping that WGA and AMPTP resolves this asap
Those are both terrible... and so have most things been for a while now.
Its ridiculous that writers are being pushed off sets.
it's a too many cooks in the kitchen situation . too many writers , not enough jobs, so now they have to hire too many writers per show/movie which affects the writing overall . what we need is better writing .
The lack of empathy and understanding towards Striking Writers is not on. This Roundtable shares what has Changed in the Industry with Salaries that give the majority of Writers a Cost of Living that is sustainable. Why are so many on this Post condemning the Writers and not the multimillion and Up Companies who make up the Paymasters? Soften your hearts!!!
I'm on team writers!! Pay them, they shouldn't have to accept awards while making hardly any money. The actors would have nothing to say or do without them!
Did they make Velma
They make lots of money. They want to get paid for past work…it’s nonsense. Corporate execs are super greedy, but these guys want BMWs and malibu houses…don’t believe that they are “starving” 🙄🙄
@@jackjackthompson5771 I understand the general sense of greed and excess in Hollywood, but I don't think it hurts to share the wealth. The minute we make excuses for less pay equity, the 1% win.
@@vingram100 From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs
@@vingram100 well how much do they get paid?
would love to watch more of this conversation!
Where can i watch this whole roundtable?
@population-_-4209 why?
@@martinavila7401 Did the guy ever reply to your "why"? Of course not. He just knows how to shoot from the lip. Mindless.
I do hope they discussed the issues coming up with AI because that's also another huge reason why they're striking. Please post that part of the conversation!
If AI writes better than they've been doing I'm fine with that. Because their writing has sucked A lately.
@@brianlevine249 There's well written stuff out there if you know where to look. But yeah there is increasingly more sloppy writing out there. But I wonder how much of that is the writers fault or executive meddling. That changes the context of the issue with AI. Because for example at this point AI won't do all the writing. Writers are concerned that they'll be forced to revise bad AI first drafts and get paid less.
So imagine and exec gets a cheesy AI first draft written up and writers are forced to work with it. It may make content actually worse.
@@TyroneLT It may...but honestly they're at rock bottom now. They get much worst and they start falling into the so bad it's good category. And you're probably right about execs meddling. But unfortunately all that does is make it hard to tell who's actually good and bad at writing. My gut tells me most of them are bad at this point as evidenced by the horrendous dialogue being written into these shows and movies. A good writer could at least manage good dialogue in an otherwise bad draft.
@@TyroneLT I mean, I prefer stories about being human to be written by humans. Something is lost in an artificially created script.
Power to the people!!! Love you Craig!
Did this full roundtable get posted?
Where can I find the full discussion?
good luck to everyone. I hope the streaming companies buckle. I have a friend who works at one of the big streamers in the PR/Comms department, and she told me that no one in her job has even moved out there seat to stop this from continuing. They're looking for content in other countries at the moment. ugh
The Canadian Guild says they won't let 'struck' companies escape through Canada guild work.
I heard Netflix just invested 2B in more Korean content, so that's probably true.
the full video please !!
Its ridiculous that writers are being pushed of sets. We have so much dross on Netflix and Disney. To read so much praise about Swarm and then discover the conditions it was written under is appalling.
Where is the rest of this conversation??????
I'm actually glad this is happening. Let's be honest. The majority of the shows for the last 5 years has been worthless crap. Limiting to 10 episodes? Especially all comedy shows in the last 5 years are soooooooooooo freakin' lame. OMG. No real joke insight. And if you listen to these comedy shows now, it's all pre-recorded laughter. Let's not forget a lot of studios no longer allow audience into the final taping of the show's episode. Back in the old days they used to say, "This show was taped before a live studio audience."
You can't say that anymore. I don't think there is an actual new sitcoms today that use an audience.
I really hope this strike changes things back for the better. When shows had real quality writing and actually had 24 to 28 episodes a season. And not 8 or 10.
Lets be 100 percent honest these same writers have been churn out sh it TV nonstop, since the last strike. Only a hand full of series have really been great. A lot on HBO lol. I don't know whose fault that is but, hopefully this is a start to better content. I have a feeling that Netflix and apple are big culprages here, net flix especially because of how many good shows they cancel after 2 or three seasons.
Thank you for this AMAZING explain video!
post the full thing 🗣️🗣️
Full vid?
Pure corporate greed. All power to the guild
Make teamsters pay for backing the writers. Their trucks. Their trucks. Their trucks. It’s pretty simple. Listening teamsters??? I wonder if there’s ever been a group the busted unions that deserved it. Starts with a P but I can’t remember 😂😂😂😂😂. Hollywood could never find that lol teamstersssssssssss you know you are soon to be replaced too.
LoL.. what do they even need teamsters for? These aren't coal miners or off shore oil riggers..
@@ericmatthews9799 my bet is the teamsters are losing money and this helps them. AI will replace them soon enough, but yeah, stay in one lane like construction. It’s organized crime
And the teamsters get paid by their union while sitting there stopping production
@@whatsthemonsterbelow the union, at this point, can only "squeeze" so much.. while trying to remain relevant! At this point, the only thing that can back them, is the media and "optics" backing them.. but the business has been too exposed! And the "living wage", has been blown up to, the L.A. lifestyle and the contracts that they are held to.. the "cut" that has to spread around.. and now, with the EGS, the creativity that has to be limited.. and rules that follow..
I wonder if all those minimum wage workers out there breaking their backs would sympathize with unionized people... who write for a living
Pretty sure some of these people breaking their backs might be writing in their spare time to get their possible big break. Stephen King was one of those people.😌
Labor is labor. Why wouldn't they sympathize with fellow workers trying to make a sustainable living. Is physical labor the only labor that matters? You think that writers in TV/film don't deal with 14-16 hour days under sometimes abusive conditions? You think that minimum wage workers don't understand the larger issue of companies making profit by exploiting their employees? Not everyone's that blind to the bigger picture.
@@TeresaJusino I guess you have a point in that we in the general public don't know much about what it's like to be a writer. How much do they make? How long is a project? Don't they get copyrights? Isn't their union negotiating for them every year?
@@IM2357 To answer your questions in order:
1. They make peanuts
2. Brutally long
3. That's up for negotiation
4. No they are not.
@@TeresaJusino Because these people called us evil when we objected to outsourcing and mass immigration causing our purchasing power to drop like a lead ballon.
Good stuff
Dammit, those greedy CEO's are messing up my shows again
The negotiation basis for your demands can't be nostalgia about how the business used to be in the days of the Rockford files. If that were the case we should rehire the steel workers in Pennsylvania and we should keep all the Google engineers so they can make UA-cam videos all day. I'm not hearing any business reality positions which recognize the fact that (1) we don't need as much content and (2) we don't need as many writers and (3) the fact is that whether produced by Hollywood studios or made offshore by VC funded tech startups AI content is coming soon to a theater or TV near you.
AI isn't as good and will lose a lot of money so no.
WGA Strong
Residual Money.....Money payouts basically.
It makes it possible to earn a living wage! Instead of writing while homeless!
Not to sound like as ass here but the awful and unlivable mini room or gig economy these guys are complaining about is the normal way its done in other countries. I do hope their conditions improve but this is eye opening. The state of their writers is still way better than anything abroad.
A reply on here vanished but... no the current level of writing of writers in America is not the same as it used to be. Foreign work is competitive and costs less. I'm sure there is a compromise there but anyone can see what the execs see.
Does 'other countries' include those without slave wage labour? Asking for a living wage is reasonable (Must take into account local cost of living).
If an actor on set is paid 200,000 -2 million, does it make sense to refuse writers pay and time which allow for competent writing to be produced? Or would you like to see crap tv flood the market?
Most Hollywood TV of 2020s isn't as good as it was 10 or 15 years ago. They aren't the best writers anymore but they write the best stuff in English. Which is going to shift quickly as well. But also yes what the writers are asking for is reasonable. My response was based on seeing the pattern in other industries. If they get what they ask for, they will be the exception and not the norm.
@@alico8134 Excellent reply. Thank you for clarifying.
Sorry, not sorry. I do NOT support the Writers Guild of America or the current 2023 Writer’s Strike. Sure, I do feel for the handful of genuinely good writers just trying to survive who are unfairly paid, unappreciated, and unrecognized.
Someone has made assumptions about what's going on and has written a rant based on their assumptions lmao. Where does the assertion that the majority of writers are overpaid? Like separate from the AI stuff which is a whole different can of worms, it's just kind of funny that every single property you mentioned in the first paragraph is a large blockbuster-type movie with a large part of the plotting and structure determined with shareholder in mind. You recognize a significant part of the problem, you've just somehow put the greed at the feet of the working writers and not the dude who takes a 255 mil yearly salary. And idk if you've actually taken a look at what the AI systems put out but if you think big corps using AI in "writer's rooms" is gonna make the writing Better? You're tripping lol. AIs in writer rooms will continue to push mainstream pop culture writing in the direction you would hate, all for bottom line. (And that's by design btw, the models are trained to be statistical representations of the training data incredibly loosely speaking, which is generally way lower common denominator than writers rooms). I'm not about to engage in the amount of discourse with you required to talk you down from your hard-headed perspective on this, but the way this is missing the forest for the trees (eg blaming the writers for the corporate push to dumb down the pop message to reach the widest audience) I felt like I should at least leave the comment.
(I mentioned the question about writers being overpaid but never actually expanded, but like, if a dude who wrote the bear, a widely watched and acclaimed tv show, has to do that living in an apartment with no heat I just have such a hard time projecting wealth on the majority of writers lol. Anyways have a nice life there's very little chance I reply I just had to counter-word-spew lmao, you just have a lot of the symptoms understood but stopped too early in the command chain, and with the AI stuff I just strongly disagree with the idea that the tech is gonna be at the level where it'll actually be like many-job-replacing quality. Esp since the openAI guys see another technical advancement as required for the next set of improvements, instead of just throwing more data at it. But the corps will definitely try to replace anyways.)
You are talking about your hatred of modern superhero content, not screenwriting as a business.
I can't wait until you're replaced by a robot.
boohoo
Writing has not been good for the last 15 years.... you are not worth what you think.
If you want to know what it's like to write for production get a real job Being sandbacks and ladders and lights around. 90% of those people want to be writers
Nonsense, they want to be rich, not just have a paycheque 🙄🙄
Not true. Writers don’t work all year. They are often 4-6 week (and often less) jobs on Television. They are unable to make this a full time career anymore because of how residuals (what they rely on when not working) have dried up. A writer for Handmaid’s Tale works as an Uber driver most of the year. Streaming have shrunk the size of writer’s rooms and there is no opportunity for growth.
(regarding ai topic) Should we not have invented the calculator so mathematicians can stay relevant? How about the bic lighter?........if you're such a great writer, wake up and realize, you guys are holding Maslow's Hammer upside down.
Talk to me when you are replaced by a robot smart guy.
@@lisabergeron8120 Thanks for noticing... this is your opportunity to not call the Hollywood system your daddy anymore, and produce your own visual representation of your script the way you see it, using ai, and whoever tells the best stories will float to the top.
Go ahead, try and make that sound like a bad thing just so you don't have retract your previous statement, thus proving your head is in the wrong place. You're never going to cry upstream enough to change the trajectory of cyclical patterns in history.
There's going to be swaths of people, droves of generations that just plain don't care whether a real camera or microphone was used to make their favorite movies/stories. Same way you don't care if your accountant is an actual mathematician or uses a calculator.
Your entire business has always been inside of technology but not vice-versa. History not only repeats but it rhymes, get with times in-order to shine.... Or write yourself into a corner, and that will be the end of your story.
Again, thanks for noticing Lisa, ciao ✌️
How will i get my dose of woke garbage now? 😢
Define woke.🖕🤡
Lol, bring on the AI written scripts I say. Bye Felicia!
Can't wait until you are replaced by a robot.
Who cares? The TV show wrote out Bill and changed the episode. Whoever thought that was a good idea, please lose your job.
Whoever decided to pussify Joel. Please lose your job.
????
Boo hoo go cry about it
Neil druckman
Writing sucks....AI has to be Better. There done. Didn't take 5 minutes.
AI steals concepts from human writers.
@@TronSAHeroXYZ And so do humans. Human writers have a bulk of content that they consider influential to themselves and it shapes their style and content.
Look at the shows lately a lot of the diversity stuff has crippled the industry because of the hiring parameters
Homogeneity has diminishing returns.