The Studios messed up, and the unions will win

I'm pretty firm in my belief that the studios are going to be the ones to cave and give much more when the strike ends. And I want to talk about why and focus on one specific aspect that I think the executives really didn't factor in.
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[@meogatopreto]

Do you know what is even worse? The studios cut marketing budget for YEARS by demanding that the creators, workers and actors promote the film and series on their social media, instead of making an proper campaign, so they basically educated the public to follow the actors and showrunners and writers instead of the studio because they wanted to spare some cash.

[@christianwise637]

As always, capitalism sows the seeds of its own destruction

[@nikk-named]

It's seriously quite funny how they repeatedly shot themselves in the foot, held themselves up through the creatives and their products, and when that falls away, they complain that they can't run anymore. Like... You did this to yourself. Now burn. And deal with the consequences.

[@CapriUni]

Also, this is a strike over Streaming, and starting last year, before these strikes even started, Studios were already canceling popular series, Just So they Wouldn't Have to Pay the Writers and Actors Residuals. So the studios pissed off the audience, and got the audience on the strikers' side before the strike even began.

[@cmmosher8035]

Not only cancelling but removing series to make them unviewable. Warner Bros has disappeared a bunch of their animation. Disney has already removed their Willow series.

[@averyl6086]

Wow, I didn't know that

[@Dave102693]

There’s still a good amount of people are the c-suite’s side.

[@nonexistingvoid]

@@cmmosher8035 and this is why many turn to pirating, so they can actually watch things they'd be willing to pay for if it was available

[@averyl6086]

@@Dave102693 c suit?

[@devrarobertson8179]

I think in the past it's been portrayed as rich people vs. rich studios fighting over money. Seeing the truth, that these actors we know and love are fighting for survival, has been eye-opening.

[@bleh329]

That seems to be in the impression people get whenever educators go on strike. And it's a real shame... The government lies about the teacher's demands and make it seem like they're just being greedy.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

The CEO who said that its a necessary evil "to starve them out of their own houses" I say that its a necessary evil to starve execs "bonuses to pay for yachts"

[@ivysaurus267]

really makes you wonder why execs exist at all

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

@@ivysaurus267 delegation of authority

[@ocularpatdown]

@@haruhisuzumiya6650 Parasitic skimming of profits.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

@@ocularpatdown that's the end result

[@jamiedoe6822]

The fact that the studios have hired a new PR crisis management firm definitely underscores the studios are losing the public.

[@rebeccaabram2312]

And that move is giving the Unions a pitch perfect soundbite for social media. "Studios Spend Millions on PR rather than pay workers a living wage!"

[@CorwinFound]

The timing was bad for the studios in another way. We are seeing a major resurgence of support for labour all over the place, across diverse industries. And the actors and writers unions have done an extraordinary job of making sure people understand that this is a working person's labour issue, not greedy stars wanting more. When the "demands" include things like being paid for rehearsal time and writer's not being fired wholesale for the sake of AI... well those are things that real people understand. It's also beneficial that the most labour progressive generation, Gen Z, is also the most social media savvy. The studios are truly looking like ridiculous villains right now and they will fold.

[@noahkarpinski1824]

We're all feeling pressure from being stepped on

[@Cool-Vest_Leo]

Hopefully this inspires people to vote for various people that will expand pro-union laws.

[@jamesspires7092]

May the members of AMPTP suffer the same fates they wish upon the WGA and SAG-AFTRA members.

[@Coolcoolcooldude]

One thing I can't believe is that one executive said that their plan is to wait until members start losing their homes. How is that supposed to make me side with the studios? I'm sure that's the truth but why would you say that to the public?

[@foxinasweater2300]

I truly believe that after you make so much money you lose touch with reality. Not as a gimicky saying but they genuinly don't realize that them saying something like that is unpopular. Because their banks are still full and their private planes still fly and the people who serve them champaign still do so with a smile. The gross wealthy are literally untouchable, and so they don't even consider what consequences might happen from saying horrible things because what consequences happen? People online get mad? They don't care because they have no reason to care. Most people the consequences of doing something awful are awful. For these people it just isn't. "Too big to fail"

[@abdalln8554]

Cus he's rich. Rich people feel insulated from consequences because 99% of the time they are.

[@CapriUni]

ColdCrashPictures (KZbin channel) recently put out the video: Current State of Hollywood: a Rant (Age-restricted), saying they made that comment in an attempt to intimidate SAG-AFTRA into not striking... it didn't work. ✊🎭✍

[@FrumiousMing8]

I'm sure his PR person was 💩ing themselves after that exec said that but he's probably so rich he just doesn't care about his public perception. Cause he doesn't have to, he can just fly his 10 jets to his 5 yachts and just not have to care about anything else but his Scrooge McDuck piles of money.

[@bleh329]

I think they're under the impression they don't have to worry about what the public thinks. They think this is just between them and their employees, despite the pattern of customer dissatisfaction they've been sowing.

[@cynthmcgpoet]

It's always jarring to have the execs say the quiet part out loud, but this is what all executives think about the working class. Even white collar workers are expendable to these out-of-touch billionaires.

[@LydiaTarine12]

And so many of people they're counting on to turn on the writers and actors also work for huge corporations and know _exactly_ what it feels like to be expected to do with less so the execs at the top can have more.

[@Dave102693]

Yet so many entitled adultchildren think that they can replace writers and actors with AI because they won’t “put garbage scripts and forced politics and forced it down our throats!” Some are in even this comment section saying that.

[@catherinecrawford3058]

I remember being shocked into silence when one of the execs at my job said that 'people didn't want to work anymore' when they were paying minimum wage which left people homeless.

[@Donnagata1409]

Of course we are expendable!

[@Idkpleasejustletmechangeit]

@@Dave102693 it's pretty funny how some people think using AI means that the scripts won't be "garbage with forced politics" considering that AI has garbage writing skills and can't object to writing a political message if asked to. It'd be way easier to turn Hollywood into a propaganda machine using AI. AI doesn't have morals. AI won't feel bad for making propaganda. AI can make more propaganda in a shorter time. AI is the perfect propaganda tool.

[@newyorknewyork196]

No one wants to be replaced with machines or AI . Peoples need jobs CEOs do not create content

[@tommarsdon5644]

I don't know, if say, the machines and AI were owned by the people and their profits would go back to people, I'd be all for it! Remember (most) people don't care about losing their job, people care about losing their wage.

[@irondragonmaiden]

@@tommarsdon5644 Yeah, but that would require actually rethinking the entire economic system from the ground up... which, honestly, we should be doing as is, since we have more people than jobs at the moment.

[@pixelfire86]

​@@tommarsdon5644Precisely. Automation should make people's lives easier. But because the "privileges" of food, shelter, medical care, and other basic necessities are dependent on employment (for most), automation is instead a threat to livelihoods. Capitalism truly corrupts everything.

[@jayjimenez5435]

Tell that to Buzzfeed and all their AI posts...

[@entropic-decay]

the position of CEO is in the perfect spot to be replaced by an AI. Does very, very little and costs exorbitant amounts of money.

[@NankitaBR]

I see this very clearly in comments about series that have had new seasons released recently and that will have their next seasons seriously delayed because of the strike. The comments usually go something like "I'm extremely frustrated with this delay, I really wanted to watch more of this series, but I think that the writers and actors are right and the studio executives should give them what they are asking for. My frustration is entirely directed against the studio executives, and not towards the strikers."

[@m0dulegirl]

And Prime just cancelled two shows they had ordered second seasons for, including A League of Their Own, which breaks my heart. So dropping shows out of spite is not going to get the studios any brownie points either.

[@ruggedascent]

What did the powers that be think would happen when their greed snowballed to the point that regular humans couldn't clothe/feed themselves or put a roof over their heads? The public are more inclined to listen to striking workers because we're ALL being squeezed dry by this system.

[@Frommerman]

Think? They didn't think at all. Our society is run by people who have never once experienced a consequence for their actions. They are literally incapable of thinking about what would happen because the very idea that people might behave like people and do what masses of people tend to do to the venal and corrupt is an out-of-context problem for them. It literally never crossed their mind that their power could be taken from them. They don't even know what not having power is like. They aren't people, in other words. People know what consequences are. People value empathy and the lives of others. The corporate husks running our world lack these basic facets of human existence. To think of them like people is a mistake.

[@emiliskog]

I always find it funny when people call strikes inconvenient since that is literally the idea inconvenience people to force the companies to discuss the issues

[@rose_thyme1254]

I agree completely. And there’s also a bunch of solidarity bc so many people are struggling with rent and wages and inflation. I’m doing a PhD in physics which isn’t even remotely in the same field but I want the writers and actors to win bc we Should All be paid more. And we’re running out of people who disagree bc we have so few safely nets left (especially in the US)

[@TheSightOfTheStars]

Power to the union and feeding the algorithm! Thanks for continuing to support and cover the strike, Vera, here's hoping that better condition leads to even more wonderful, beautiful, and creative media to watch in the future!

[@jasonhill8506]

I hope these strikes show that all workers deserve better

[@imrustyokay]

I don't understand why the studios are so angry at the unions, the studios are just reaping what they're sowing.

[@fardareismai4495]

Ah but you see, these pesky Unions stand in the way of more money, so they should just go away. It's a sick system, and Unions are so important because of it.

[@TheDumdei]

People don't like being held responsible for their actions.

[@Frommerman]

Because studios aren't people, and the "people" who run them shouldn't be thought of as people either. They are the appendages of the studio itself, tools for the sating of the limitless hunger of shareholders. They say these things because their minds have been broken by the studio and the inhuman corporate culture it makes. Because, due to this inhumanity, they don't understand how real people actually behave.

[@jamesmooney3472]

They kinda tried to blame the WGA and SAG recently for Dune 2 being delayed. You probably won’t find a bigger fan of Dune (2022) than me. I haven’t been this excited for a sequel as far as I can remember That being said, if it can’t be made without paying actors and writers fairly I hope it never comes out. I think they are so disconnected from the public that they genuinely don’t understand that most people are against them.

[@CouncilofGeeks]

I saw one reviewer try to blame the strikers and studios equally for that delay and then get dragged all up and down Twitter for it.

[@jamiedoe6822]

Forgot to add they also underestimated the growth of union support as millennials and gen Z have grown as consumers of studio films and tv shows.

[@GrannyGamer1]

Everything im learning about the strike is coming from people on the picket lines. Even blocking sidewalks and pruning trees. Not one big shot is talking on social media. I love this so much!💯🦄💐💪🏾

[@Stephen-Fox]

Any thoughts on the report that Ted Sarandos - co CEO of Netflix - is apparently worried about setting a precedent for other markets with contract negotiations coming up soon? To quote All Your Screens: "Netflix's Ted Sarandos seems to be concerned with agreeing to terms that will used to set a precedent for other territories where Netflix has heavily invested in local production. The immediate concern would be the UK, where unions there are already making some noise about next year's negotiations. And there are similar future concerns in South Korea, India and other APAC markets."

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Good. Screw ‘em. They shouldn’t be able to just go to a country where exploitation is easier.

[@Dave102693]

I’m glad that’s the case. I hope those other unions win too.

[@KarolYuuki]

I hope this does happen. People deserve working rights everywhere

[@KjoshWaddellBananasAreGood]

​@@CouncilofGeeksI've always though world wide unionization would be a good idea, so you couldn't undercut by going to a place with child labor or wages that aren't livable.

[@celia1888]

Good. France already had terms they needed to agree on because we have rules to help (not that much tbh but still more than many countries when it comes to tv/cinema) and they were forced to adapt. So not only they should do it, we now they can do it.

[@louise102nd]

Also the fact that the hit pieces of hey your favourite show is being cancelled due to the strike doesn't hit the same as the 2007 strikes either because the studios have been cancelling shows for no reason left right and centre we now expect any new show to die after 2 seasons

[@nobodyspecial2053]

Two other layers to the public relations- first, whenever the executives talk, they show themselves to be asses, and two, hollywood has been seen to be in decline for a while, particularly since the pandemic

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

We have a lot more boots on the ground. We get to see how determined the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are. In spite of the heat, there are cool themed pickets. Some people are wearing costumes, others have clever signs. It's way easier to see how much the writers are worth now. Nuff said.

[@zljmbo]

how does that saying goes? "divided we beg, united we negotiate"

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

United we bargain Divided we beg

[@SaintDharma32]

The smart money would read the notes your leaving. But money does not make them smart.

[@hudsonhaynie1632]

The difficulty of AI is that it doesn’t shift jobs to other fields, like manufacturing automation, but destroys them. It feels like Pandora’s box. Everyone has been saying that AI would replace the manual labor, but the first thing It does is threaten artists!

[@ArrowOdenn]

I added up the cost in the table at 3:03 and altogether it's 0.627%. Why are studios fighting over paying their working less than 1%? Have I misread the table?

[@CouncilofGeeks]

No you haven't. And they're doing it for the same reason that the GOP insists that cutting SNAP benefits (aka food stamps) will balance the budget even though they account for less than 2% of spending. Because they don't see the value in it and if they make a fuss about that money it distracts from all the waste happening at the top.

[@adamdavis1648]

Also, I think the studio execs just want to hoard as much money as possible. Rich people always seem to whine whenever someone proposes a policy that would leave them still rich but not AS rich as they are right now.

[@goeldicotton]

I’m very glad these videos are keeping me a bit more in the loop on the strike then I would be otherwise

[@LadyQuotes]

I love that opening, "I got a few notes" so good!

[@evanlinden4410]

Me too, it made this theater actor smirk

[@jrbaskind]

The executives should lose their jobs and money and houses and cars.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

And yachts

[@fightingfaerie]

Oh yeah. Don’t forget the multiple multi million dollar yachts.

[@Frommerman]

Fuck it. Some of them should lose their necks. At the very least, all the ones who are rapists definitely should. It's not possible all the Weinsteins got got. Also, who seriously thinks any of them will learn a godsdamned thing until they are meaningfully threatened? They've ruled by force and arm-twisting too long for anything else to have meaning. None of them have experienced a real labor movement before, the kind that abducts the boss in the night so the next guy knows who's got the power. None of them understand that it's even possible for the world to be any other way. They're not going to change until they are forced.

[@iantaakalla8180]

In addition to the facts that yachts are expensive, they are major sources of pollution and signs of excess. Yachts should not exist.

[@Sina-aka-potatosupreme]

I haven’t see anyone who read the demands and said: What they demand is too much. All I ever heard was “how the fuck is this not already a thing?”. This strike makes it so clear to the wide public that the working conditions are terrible and they get screwed over by the companies when they release things on streaming platforms. Back when Scarlet Johansson fought for her money because Black Widow was only released in Disney + many people were just thinking that she is a big name, she will be fine. But even back then my thought was: When they screw her over like that, what does that mean for smaller actors who don’t have a massive name recognition?

[@amethystimagination3332]

“Fuck the rich, fuck corporate” is a really common mindset these days. So unless it’s a delusional “future millionaire” or someone who doesn’t understand the industry, the public is gonna be on the side of the workers automatically.

[@GreenShell212]

I think another contributing factor in this is, thanks to the culture of greed that's been growing in multiple industries and political parties over the years, there's a lot of sympathy for anti-capitalist sentiment. People are sick of seeing CEOs and business types rake in billions of profit while their employees and staff can barely afford to put food on the table.

[@fightingfaerie]

Yeah the dissent towards the ridiculously wealthy 1% has already been growing for years. Eat The Rich

[@thelonelybookworm6164]

"You have a stockholder meeting coming up. And you are gonna have to explain to them why their most profitable branch is bleeding. So they may be looking for a little... change in the CFO. So I don't think I need to wait out Dunder Mifflin. I think I just need to wait out you." - Michael Scott - WAG and SAG-AFTRA

[@owenwildish331]

I do hope the actors and the striking writers remember those who supported them during this strike when this is over and start to connect with their general audiences and the fans better than they have been in recent years and try to restore the entertainment industry. Also, it seems the Hollywood studios, Silicon Valley and those controlling them have become far too powerful. As the saying goes, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

[@samuelbarber6177]

Absolutely on that second point. I think it’s pretty obvious now that Disney, for instance, has, or is at least trying to build, a complete monopoly on the entertainment industry, as they continuously buy up or make lucrative deals with other franchises and studios. Multiple of the highest of the grossing films of all time such as Titanic, Avatar and Avengers: Endgame are under their control. And some people think they’re socialist.

[@luvamiart8567]

As Robert Caro said (and I took it from the Lindsay Ellis video about the ending of Game of Thrones): "Power doesn't always corrupt. Power always reveals. When you have enough power to do what you always wanted to do, then you see what the guy always wanted to do.” I think this is relevant. Absolute power on one person is never to be desired, and too much power can make people detach from reality, but some amount of power doesn't necessarily have to corrupt, although it will always reveal about that person.

[@gehrehmee]

How are you thinking they should connect with audiences?

[@owenwildish331]

@@gehrehmee By getting out of the Hollywood bubble, within reason, listening to the general audience and fandoms and accepting fair criticism, they must stop attacking and outrageous one-size-fits-all name-calling anyone who might not agree with them and blaming the general audience and fandoms for the failures of the films and tv shows if they do fo fail, be honest about those failures and real reasons why they do.

[@SomniRespiratoryFlux]

In addition to all of this, I have to find myself wondering the effect that the streaming boom itself may have on the public's perception. See, in previous strikes, there was an implicit threat to consumers that was leveraged - this strike will ruin or delay your favorite shows or movies. And back even in 2007, that was a pretty tangible problem to your average person, because there was a lot more focus on just catching what was new. But I think with streaming, there's suddenly a big backlog of stuff that people can more accessibly turn to for movies or shows if they want that, either rewatching stuff they already know or finding something new, even if they didn't already own the discs. And much more accessibly too, rather than having to rent a DVD or catch a rerun. Now, I do have to wonder about the ethics of watching stuff on a platform that's being struck against during the strike, but the simple calculus is that I don't think, technically, people need so much newly produced content as it is. Maybe if there's a show that got left hanging it'll be uncomfortable, but people have much more to fill the gap. The constant stream of new releases isn't as important to the average viewer, and thus the ability to leverage them against the unions is weakened. I'm not an expert, so I can't be certain about it or put numbers to it, but that's how it seems to me.

[@PS-dm1dq]

Honestly I'm just gonna say it, who needs to pay studios or streaming services when there's pirate bay? Fuckin execs dont pay their workers anyway, why pay them?

[@CouncilofGeeks]

This is an interesting point, though some of that “catch the new episode” need has shifted to “announce the new season” - Good Omens is a solid example of that response.

[@SomniRespiratoryFlux]

@@CouncilofGeeks That is true, like I did say, new seasons of existing shows would probably be more likely to still receive demand, but new shows, new movies, and even some movie sequels would probably not seem as necessary. And admittedly, it's just my instinctive thoughts, I absolutely could be reading trends wrong or wrongly assuming other people are thinking about it like I am. Still, I feel like even with the cases of there being demand for new material, your point stands that people are more likely to correctly assign the blame for the delays than in previous strikes. You'd hope so, at least.

[@juls_krsslr7908]

My concern is that the unions will win the battle, but not the war. Like you said, most executives saw social media as an extension of their marketing department. They assumed, like most wealthy white men, that everything in the world exists for their benefit. But what happens when these people realize that systems they expect to serve them are allowing other people to gain power? They quickly figure out a way to make the system work for them at the expense of everyone else, or they destroy the system. If the unions win, I fear that any resistance or organization that occurs through social media will be eliminated. It has already happened on Twitter. The studios are going to be ready the next time this happens, and marginalized people will suffer as a result. I'm not sure how to prevent this, but not striking is not the answer. I just hope all left leaning people are ready for the backlash a union win will provoke.

[@anna-flora999]

How are they supposed to prevent it?

[@leiffitzsimmonsfrey4923]

I'd buy that if the unions were up against an oppressive government, but they're not. Hollywood can buy a senator here, a judge there, but they don't have the power to dismantle or control social media.

[@CassiusStelar]

"you dont take on your opponent when they're at their strongest, *Bob*" Yeah, Bob, this aint Dragon Ball

[@DorifutoRabbit]

Adam Conover and Ron Perlman's videos are great!

[@patrickmccartney2418]

SAG-AFTRA should double their demands every month there is no resolution.

[@jayjimenez5435]

They should also stop with these Interim Agreements to further drive home their point!

[@Dave102693]

@@jayjimenez5435yeah those are f’ing stupid

[@LuckyAthedia]

@@jayjimenez5435 Interim Agreements are important to show that the studios without the resources of the ones holding up negotiations are able to meet their demands. It also allows some of the union members to work as well as the other unions/groups involved. But the biggest thing is showing that these demands are perfectly reasonable.

[@hoodiesticks]

That's not going to encourage the AMPTP to negotiate. Companies can do math, and they'll cave when the math is no longer in their favour. Increasing the union demands is just going to delay that point.

[@anna-flora999]

​@@hoodiesticksthey can do math. They know that by delaying, once they'll eventually be forced to negotiate, they'll have to concede more

[@PS-dm1dq]

Ok so I just learned who Ron Pearlman is... I instanly fuckin love this man. He has my respect forever. ✊

[@theshadowdirector]

It's pretty difficult for an entirely private, Entertainment industry to politicise and rally public opinion against strikers. With the public sector and/or essential services , that can get messier and unions have to factor in people's sentiments.

[@Dave102693]

Exactly

[@visionary202]

Thank you so much for your continuing coverage of this! Additionally, you are beautiful; you are valid; and you are loved

[@vvitch-mist20]

I hate the concept of investors because it feels like a business focuses on pleasing them instead of their audience/customer base. However in this case I'm cackling on the sidelines. I'm an indie author so I've been keeping tabs on this, I honestly can't wait for Publishing get hit next.

[@NankitaBR]

I'm honestly torn on just one thing about this strike. On one part, I really want the executives to just gove in so that the strikers can get what they deserve as soon as possible, but on thw other side I'm seeing so many more workers from other industries becoming emboldened by this and negotiating their rights as well and not just taking any crappie deals but actually going on strike as well when their demands aren't met that I think this honestly could lead to a big strike, even a sort of general strike in the US. So the strike endings early and the studios giving in is good for the strikers, but them not giving in anytime soon *might* (big emphasis on *might* , I don't know *exactly* what would happen in that scenario) be good for a lot of workers in general.

[@fightingfaerie]

Yes! US workers revolution, heck worldwide worker revolution!

[@user-hn7en8dq3t]

I’m involved with (different) union efforts at my school right now, and it’s very demoralizing sometimes. Thank you, Vera, for giving us workers something encouraging.

[@jamesdominguez7685]

Another thing the studios don't seem to grasp is that a relatively small number of people are Universal fans or Netflix fans. The closest they come to that is diehard Disney fans as well as fans of studios that don't produce live action, like Pixar. You know who people ARE fans of? Actors, writers, showrunners, directors, cinematographers, soundtrack composers, and all the other publicly identifiable people who actually create this stuff. Nobody sees a movie trailer and thinks "Oooh, that executive producer has done great work, I should check this out!" They come for Rian Johnson, Margot Robbie, Hans Zimmer, Timothee Chalamet, and so on. Not only that, but all of these creatives - if they choose to engage - have a direct line from their mouth to their fans ears, just as you pointed out.

[@Taquinqua]

Gives me hope to see these strikes play out

[@uosdwiSrdewoH]

Honestly I hadn't even considered social media. The studios were already making such idiotic moves that, any normal person would understand, are going against their best interests. 2007 doesn't seem super long ago and I have vivid memories of what went down. I must have gone all Mandela Effect and folded social media into what I saw. Except thinking back I don't remember seeing anyone from the unions telling us what was up. The late night hosts gave updates but I couldn't even tell you the name of anyone from the WGA. Speaking of late night hosts, they have decided that the world needs another podcast. Although this one could be something. If you haven't heard of it, it's called 'Strike Force Five' which is the name of their text chain where they discuss the strike and what they need to do/can do. It's John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert and the Jimmys. The first one was them all just chatting but they'll be doing strike updates and talking about whatever and all the money made goes to help anyone currently striking who needs it.

[@nikk-named]

Execs cut the shows we love. They limit our access to them, they throw them out of their streaming services. They control what happens in a show/movie, and make it difficult for writers and showrunners to actually tell the story they want... These huge companies, have shown on so so many levels, that they don't care for the story, they don't care for the vision, or the people... They care about the money. They've shown this time and time again. And now, that the strike hits, and we hear from the minds behind and around our favorite shows, the things that give us life on sad days, that help us through difficult times and makes us laugh. Now that we get to hear from the people behind it, that they want to tell these stories. That they want to bring this to the people and want to give the characters the best stories they can be given, but if nothing changes they risk their livelihoods doing so? If I could choose between someone who's never cared for or supported my interest in my life, and someone who has the glint of passion in their eyes and has helped me and now needs our support? I'll choose the workers a hundred percent of the time. And seeing how the general public has so far reacted? I'm definitely not alone in that.

[@drwhogamer1650]

I think one of the clauses for the union contracts should be: “A portion of writers/ actors wages must come out of (insert executive here)’s salary!”

[@nikk-named]

I think a big weapon on the side of the strikers is the people who actually posted how much (or rather little) they make on their jobs and residuals. How everyone is still living paycheck to paycheck. We as audience members want to see our stars thrive. We expect them to. How could they not? They're amazing. They brought us our favorite shows. And, with everything we've been taught about how money is SUPPOSED to work: greatness gives money. So seeing that. Seeing the embarassingly little amount of money studios give the actors? The writers? It induces rage. It induces this feeling of unfairness. And that's... That's the power the people have. As you said, execs can't lose anymore money-wise. But they don't look for minus. They look for plus. And if you've been going for increases all your life, even a lower increase may look like a failure.

[@meander112]

The people united will never be defeated! ✊

[@wendypierce5621]

The studios just hired a third PR firm but I doubt it will make a difference,

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Too little too late I expect. The fact that they took this long to do it shows how unprepared they were.

[@wendypierce5621]

@@CouncilofGeeks my first thought was "really, they have money to spend on PR but not on writers or actors."

[@CouncilofGeeks]

@@wendypierce5621 well yes. They’ll spend the same money just to hold onto control of the industry.

[@Excelsior1937]

Good. Hire more PR firms, hire a hundred of them! The quicker they’re draining their money the better XD

[@Moongirl12121]

I’m so glad the workers haven’t been forced to stop striking. They’re doing the Work and the respect that I have for them can’t be expressed. We will win.

[@bleh329]

Leading Executive: "the timing of this strike is very disruptive." Thank you, CEO, for confirming the strike is working 😂😂😂

[@TevelDrinkwater]

I remember that Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was made during the 2007-2008 WGA strike. With digital distribution, I wonder if a variation of the 1942-1944 Musicians Strike could occur. IIRC, some smaller labels settled quickly, while the major labels held out and used their back catalog. This gave a leg up to some smaller labels. In the current strike, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are negotiating with the AMPTP, an industry consortium. As I understand it, a company outside the AMPTP could sign a deal and start filming. Indeed, I think Disney and Universal left the precursor of the AMPTP for a decade before returning back in the sixtieor seventies.

[@chanku18]

IIRC that's actually what some other companies, such as A24, have done. They are currently able to continue filming and production on a few movies because they agreed to the demands until a final agreement is negotiated with AMPTP.

[@emilyrln]

Here's hoping the investors break before the workers do!

[@HonoredMule]

I really hope you're right because it's just _so_ satisfying watching anti-consumer and/or anti-labor businesses fail. Every single company trying to peddle in-house proprietary platforms so they can own a bit more and we own a bit less needs to die. The very _concept_ needs to become economic poison. Hell, maybe distribution (platforms) and production shouldn't even be allowed to exist under the same umbrella (over a certain business size). Let each survive on its merits, and exclusivity deals be a direct shotgun to the foot. The Epic Games and CraveTV's of this world would crumble so fast you wouldn't have time to make popcorn, and all our lives would be enriched by it. It mean, maybe there wouldn't be so many willing to burn it all to the ground if leaders actually _tried_ fulfilling the many empty, broken promises of capitalism. (Just your friendly reminder to hold your elected representatives' feet to the fire for _every single_ corrupt move they take; make false, corrupt representation the shittiest job of all.)

[@cmcginn3610]

I think the recent ruling on AI copyrighting will have a big influence in the studio's caving also.

[@Dave102693]

Studios will find ways around it

[@borjankosarac3645]

So Vera, what you’re saying about the copyright is… if I completely ripped the “Secret Invasion” opening for my own purposes and I had the money to layer Disney’s a*s, I might be able to win? ^.^’ Jokes aside, this is reassuring and the schadenfreude is very real. Like, remember when Bob Iger was the “likeable CEO” and we completely ignored how *his* pro-China policies meant the Ancient One “couldn’t be Tibetan”? Yeah, that’s not something I miss. Meanwhile, the court of public opinion is very strongly in favour of the unions, and the social media that they originally loved to utilise has now hoisted their metaphorical petard. ;-D

[@CouncilofGeeks]

I mean… Iger benefited for Chapek being even worse. But that doesn’t mean he was ever “good.”

[@SebastianSeanCrow]

I think one of the wildest things I learned about this outside of the shit residuals, was learning that super famous actors who are like in everything have 2nd and 3rd jobs **while acting**. Not while in an off seasons or whatever, but having to go wait tables or put on a Walmart vest or whatever and then after shift **go to the fucking set**. Like **famous people**!!! People who are KNOWN for their work! People who’ve been in so much! I was so surprised. Shocked. Like wtf. These are people who **made it** they shouldn’t have to worry about these things! And of course depending on how their career is they’re almost forced to live in extremely expensive areas as well.

[@lynxietheroaha5240]

the unions should win, lets fucking go GET THAT SHIT DUDESKIES LETS FRIGGIN GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@seanfulldark]

Considering, I have said times times again that investors can be listed as regular average people which means an investor can watch Disney and know what's going on, and now they get communications from the actors and the writers who are working on the things that you invest and throw money into instead of having to talk through some idiot producer who doesn't actually watch a darn thing he produces. I mean I give crap to the video game industry but at least nine times out of 10 ahead of the video game industry are also people who've actually worked in the field sitting down spending long hours programming they've actually done their crunch time zones versus most of the corporate CEO's of these movie studios they've never been in front of a camera or even behind one and this is the reason why they suck at understanding optics after all they rarely get death threats meanwhile the actor the rider the director they can remember their mailbox and having to check for a bomb now the producers are finally feeling that wrath you can't hide yourself behind making a terrible costume to that looks like throw up just so that way you can cancel a show that the queen of England likes is that Doctor Who reference I'm making yes it is. And Gunsmoke fans know exactly why Gunsmoke was cancelled.

[@superkid801]

Excellent video! Those workers deserve better! Loved both Ron's and Adam's videos they did. Keep on fighting!

[@miramavensub]

It's crazy how badly people get paid on Hollywood sets. I'm an E-list p🌽n performer and my day rate is 3× that of a Hollywood actor for a major streaming show. Writers get an even worse pay structure.

[@DamienMalfoy]

Pro Union since birth Pro Union Till Death... No matter the workers union I stand behind you!! We are stronger together, We are feared as a force!!!

[@JosRocks410]

As an aspiring actor who hopes to create content one day, I am very excited & hope that the unions win (even tho they probs will they might not) So am excited. Movies have been out of touch for years, getting worse every second, I hope that this strike ends up with better written films as writers and actors get more creative freedom & are able to make stuff akin to the usually better version of films found in the drafts instead of the badness that those same films end up releasing as

[@Swenglish]

I remember KZbin being a thing during the last WGA strike, and Twitter taking off either during or right after it.

[@jasonthayer1309]

I hated seeing so many shows leave Max.

[@COrraThereal0ne]

omg same

[@CatherinePuce]

I agree on a lot you said but the streaming service can always buy content outside of USA. The strike is only in USA. Canada, UK and many other countries produce series and movies that the Netflix and Hulu of this world can buy to add on their stream. This is a way for them to gain time.

[@vapx0075]

Exactly! Why are they paying the executive class so GD much? Baseline + stress + smarts + retention should NOT be add up to that GD much! Writers and actors need to organise into co-ops if things stay dystopian like this.

[@marocat4749]

Waiting,but yess,and playing intothestrikescomplins behaving openly likesupervillains didnt help either. and te citysarborist office sue what yyoucan outof them. Tote other things. It just gets me. Its the petty stuff that gets medespite theway worse things done and wishing homelessness on the writers with glee.

[@butterflypooo]

Social media is messed up but it did really help to move the #metoo and #BLM movements in a way that wasn’t possible before. There is a collective power in it that a lot of higher ups don’t understand. Tbh, I never liked most Hollywood films. Lately, they are putting out the same tired stories, trying to remind us of the glory days when Hollywood started off. I really hope we don’t have to see the same garbage anymore. As always, you have a deep and nuanced perspective about power dynamics that I really appreciate. Thanks Vera 🌟

[@mrrd4444]

Looooved listening to this breakdown. Already things I knew since I've been following Adam so closely, but god damn it's wonderful to see this message pushed forward so widely.

[@TroyTheCatFish]

Fantastic Video as Always! :) 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 ❤❤❤ 💖💖💖

[@nazokashii]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts

[@nephtys369]

This is such an important strike. It will be precedent setting and those striking are some of the most recognizable and influential people in the world. They must win so people without platforms have a leg to stand on.

[@otakubullfrog1665]

While appealing to the public directly is probably bolstering the union's support right now, they should probably still seek to get a favorable deal quickly because, as a conflict drags on, the number of people on the outside who are actively following the day-to-day action in the trenches tends to drop off and the number of people who become less concerned with who wins or loses or who was at fault initially and just want to see it end tends to increase. Adam Conover's first video explaining the position of the strikers is probably going to have more of an impact than his thousandth one.

[@user-qk4kg7xw8o]

Amazing Video :)

[@dl2725]

I just have so many creators on my patreon already, but you deserve some mwah 😘

[@FlyingTeaRex]

Love these updates :)

[@codasylphanthi2187]

Can confirm, most of the information I have absorbed about this writer's strike has come from Neil Gaiman and Will Wheaton's tumblr pages. :p

[@mrmadness2699]

❤ let’s hope this is an inflection point and leads to the revitalization of unions as a political force

[@prowolf633]

As an aspiring writer and character designer, I am fully supporting the Writers and Actors and all the other unions to win! AIs and Robots should never even touch writing media, it takes human creativity to make the best stories and thosse writers deserve good pay. I'm also hoping the SAG-Aftra strike can possibly help revive the cancelled media HBO Discovery has mistreated, especially their animated shows and movies (don't dare taxoffs can't be revived, tell me to give up and cry or any of that bullshit, I've been bullied enough by animation haters here), all those shows and movies (animated or live-action) deserve to use the potential they have (Fun Fact! the Raised By Wolves writers have posted photos of themselves on Instragram at the picket lines). How manchildish, spoiled, entitled, pompus, and cartoonly greedy these executives have behaved are ridulous and unbelievable! They actually believe everything would just go their way just caus they had money and thought a majority of the population would take their side (and ones who have sided with them are idiots and/or those who don't respect or care about how important writing is). I will support these strikes until they get their much-neede pay!

[@rogerbell8429]

I support the unions in their actions and I am going to play devil's advocate here to illustrate a point. If the studio executives try to introduce measures that are so outrageous that they know will never be accepted and the unions fight them on this and get the measures reduced with the unions believing they have won, then I think you need to look carefully at the situation to see who has actually won. The studio executives didn't actually expect to get their measures introduced and maybe they have got what they actually wanted all the time - it was just a negotiating tactic to start with these outrageous measures. And even better they manage to get the unions to think that they have won so the members are happy. So if there are new measures introduced that the studio executives wanted to introduce all along which benefit them and are detrimental to the workers and they have managed to get the workers to happily accept these, then that is a a win-win for the executives. They aren't going to admit to this of course otherwise it would be self-defeating. I accept that if the unions didn't fight then the situation would be a lot worse but it all depends on what the executives' original realistic goal was all along to work out who has really won.

[@CouncilofGeeks]

The fact that the studios have repeatedly returned to the negotiating table with literally no new offer and only continued to push the original rejected offer says to me that this is not strategy. They didn't "overshoot" in order to negotiate down. Because there's almost no middle ground to be found. They want AI, and the writers and actors said "hell no." They want to be able to keep skimming residuals and the unions are clamping down. They're wedged into a corner.

[@hugoCastellnaos]

The studio never went to the table, they hire a company to do negotiations, in order for the company to make there money they have to low ball to just a degree. So even if the studio where going to negotiate the middle man company also want to make money.

[@m0dulegirl]

That’s giving A LOT of credit to the studios. They’ve made a hash of their publicity (really, whoever made the “starving them out” comment aught to be drawn and quartered for all the damage it did to the studios’ already meager case), been completely unable to present a coherent case for why they need what they’ve asked for, and generally shown a “go f@#k yourself” attitude to the unions, who create the product, and the audience, who consume it. It’s like they are a bunch of over-privileged white guys living in a bubble their wealth created - oh, wait, that’s exactly what they are! And may their worlds come crashing down around them.

[@dearyvettetn4489]

Add podcasts to the media power of actors and writers. I was listening to one from Lacy Mosley who’s an iCarly co-star who basically said that the studio heads underestimate them. They expected dispare and desperation but the strikers are in for the long haul and I for one support them 💯. Now off I go to make another donation 💵✊🏽

[@Donnagata1409]

Here's hoping you're right, Vera! Workers should be properly paid for their work. (Oops, missed the typo)

[@callisto8413]

Now a days there is no longer just one side of the story. The WHOLE story is out there and folks can find the facts pretty easily. The CEOs can't stop the public from listening to the writers and artists and actors.

[@THELATINOWILLIAM]

great video!!! thank you

[@paygetilton1437]

Delicious. Finally, some good f🤬ing news.

[@jayjimenez5435]

To be honest, the Studios and Creatives should've been better utilizing their streaming services to gain a competitive edge over the Networks by adhering to the make the entire Series/Season available all at once instead of the traditional week-by-week basis. They screwed themselves right out the gate.

[@jamesphillips2285]

I heard that is why Netflix pulls shows as soon as a show gets a cult following. If you binge watch, they don't have to pay residuals; because the first few weeks is considered promotional. One of the points of contention is making viewership numbers public.

[@teazen_tea]

Not sure what to comment but want to support for the algortum!! Great vid

[@uosdwiSrdewoH]

My concern is it won't be till a quarterly earnings call when the studio heads have to report that things are going to be a bit lean for awhile before any serious pressure will be applied and which quarter that will be exactly. I mean, Netflix was coasting along losing so much money yet year after year they'd continue buying more and more content and nobody batted an eye. It wasn't until they lost what was a relatively small amount of subscribers that anyone started to notice. How big of a situation will be needed for the shareholders to finally step in?

[@glenmorrison8080]

4:57 important to keep in mind that studios don't need to hold a copyright on scripts to make money off of them. If they produced a show from the public domain script, that recording of the show would still be copyrightable. The main complication is that in theory I competitor could take the same script exactly and make the show, but that's mot especially likely to happen.

[@twilighterification]

Thanks!

[@sicdavid6292]

I have witnessed Hollywood studios negotiate with unions and you need to know the weight of the room. Every studio has a lawyer. A union gets one lawyer. This strikers have 2 lawyers vs 9 studio lawyers. One other thing. Both sides already know the outcome. So, save yourself the worry.

[@lisakaz35]

I hope so. I miss Colbert.

[@nancykerrigan]

😂 you me and my mother.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

Steve Colbert ❤

[@AkumasFate]

Thanks for the video! May the strike stand strong and the Studios give them all they demand!