9/27 UPDATE: The WGA Board has approved the tentative new deal and lifted the strike as of midnight Tuesday, September 26. Writers can return to work pending full authorization of the new contract by the membership. The guild released details on the new contract, showing how the union was successful in getting agreement on their major issues, along with some compromise with the AMPTP. The actors union (SAG-AFTRA) is reported to be set to begin negotiations with the AMPTP within days.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Hollywood may soon be getting back to work, starting with the writers. After a week of negotiating, the Writers Guild of America and the group representing the studios, AMPTP (which includes Paramount), came to a tentative agreement, which was announced late Sunday night in a joint statement. This could put an end to a strike that began on May 2nd. The combination with the SAG-AFTRA strike has had a huge impact on the industry, including a devastating impact on local economies and workers. The news of the tentative deal is already having an effect, with media stocks (including Paramount Global) jumping in early trading up 3%.
In the case of Star Trek, the tentative deal with the WGA could result in a resumption of some work on the live-action projects. However, no actual production can commence until the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved and the actors return to work. The impact of an end to the WGA strike will vary, based on the project.
A tentative deal
The writers went on strike over a number of issues with a focus on streaming residuals, staff minimums for writers’ rooms, and the impact of AI. Details on the new three-year deal have not been made public yet, but in a letter to members, the WGA Negotiating Committee stated, “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional—with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.” Once the final deal is drafted it will be presented to the WGA board, currently scheduled to happen on Tuesday. If approved by the board, the deal will be made available to the membership for a ratification vote. The Board may also vote to lift the strike pending the authorization vote, allowing writers to get back to work even before the deal is finally ratified. As of now, the WGA has suspended all picketing, however, members are still encouraged to join in on SAG-AFTRA picket lines.
Prodigy writer Julie Benson at the United We Trek picket event in Hollywood (Photo: TrekMovie)
Some work for Star Trek would restart
With the actors still on strike, filming production (along with casting and other work involving the actors) cannot commence. The AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA have not been at the negotiating table since June but are expected to return once the WGA deal is finalized. Speaking to TrekMovie during the “United We Trek” rally at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood on Star Trek Day (September 8), Picard actress (and SAG-AFTRA Negotiating Committee member) Michelle Hurd stated:
They have to get to an agreement with WGA. And I have faith and I’ve had hope that when they come to that agreement, they’re gonna come to right to next table with us and they’ll make an agreement. And as long as everybody’s going to play nice and play fair, this strike can end.
Michelle Hurd (L) with Picard costars Isa Briones and Santiago Cabrera at United We Trek Hollywood picket (Photo: TrekMovie)
While those negotiations continue, and if the WGA board lifts the strike, writers will be expected to return to contracted work just as the actors continued to work when the WGA went on strike before the SAG-AFTRA contract ended in late June. Because many writers do double duty as producers and showrunners, a return to work for WGA members will mean more than just a return to scriptwriting. Let’s break things down on how the lifting of the WGA strike will impact each production.
Strange New Worlds
A third season of Strange New Worlds was mostly written and about to go into production when the WGA strike began in May. A return to work would allow the writers room to finish scripts for the 10-episode season. The strike lifting will also allow key pre-production work to restart. In his recent TrekMovie interview, producing director Chris Fisher said most pre-production had been completed, including AR Wall visual effects for most of the 10 episodes, but nothing could resume until co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers were no longer on strike to supervise and approve the work. In his August interview, Fisher told TrekMovie, “Once the strike is over, fingers crossed, I don’t think it’s going to be long ’till we’re back up and running.” This means filming in Toronto could start very soon after a deal with SAG-AFTRA is struck. With production starting in the fall instead of the spring, some adjustments would likely have to be made, especially with regard to any location shooting due to filming running through the winter in Canada. And even though actors had already been cast for the first episodes, some schedules may have been changed that could necessitate some recasting of guest stars.
Strange New Worlds co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman at United We Trek picket in New York (Photo: TrekMovie)
Discovery
Production on the fifth season of Star Trek: Discovery was completed in late 2022, and reshoots were completed earlier this year to change the season finale into a series final after Paramount decided to make it the final season. All indications are that work is complete, but with the strike lifted, co-showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman can oversee any remaining post-production. Paramount has yet to set a release date for season 5 beyond “early 2024.” They will certainly not want to release the show until after the SAG-AFTRA strike ends so that the stars can participate in publicity for the final season.
Discovery star Wilson Cruz at the United We Trek picket in New York (Photo: TrekMovie)
Section 31 movie
Another project that was put on hold due to the strikes was the Section 31 streaming movie event starring Michelle Yeoh. While it appears there is a finished script, some of the same pre-production work can also recommence for this project. Initially, it was expected to go into production this fall, and if the SAG-AFTRA strike ends, that can still happen. Production would be done on the former Star Trek: Discovery stages in Toronto. The Discovery team shares both personnel and assets with the Strange New Worlds team, including the important AR Wall. Chris Fisher told TrekMovie he doesn’t see any issues with both working in parallel, saying, “I don’t see why if the strike ends if they say ‘go,’ I don’t see why everything Star Trek can’t start up and start to get going.” One unknown for the Section 31 project is how much casting work was done ahead of the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike in mid-July. No auditions or negotiations can be done during the strike so if many key roles are required to be cast, this process could delay the project.
Starfleet Academy
The fourth live-action project that can recommence work would be the planned Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series. When the strike began, the writers’ room was still at work crafting scripts for the first season, and that work would be able to resume. With co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau no longer on strike, other pre-production work could also commence, but casting would have to wait until after the SAG-AFTRA strike wraps up. Originally this show was planned to begin production in early 2024, but it is unclear how much an almost five-month WGA strike has set the team back.
Lower Decks
The animated Star Trek shows fall under the TAG (The Animation Guild) contract, so writing has continued for the fifth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. In his TrekMovie interview earlier this month, supervising director Barry Kelly said, “We are already getting scripts from season 5, and they are hilarious.” Even though voice work is allowed under the TAG contract, recording for season 5 isn’t expected to start until after the SAG-AFTRA strike wraps up.
Lower Decks star Jack Quaid at United We Trek Hollywood picket (Photo: TrekMovie)
Prodigy
Even though Star Trek: Prodigy was removed from Paramount+, work on the second season has continued. Like Lower Decks, Prodigy falls under the TAG contract, but writing and voice work on the second season had already been completed before the double strikes. In an August TrekMovie interview, co-executive producer Aaron Waltke said, “I believe we’re still continuing on track to produce all 20 episodes by the end of the year.” The main issue now with Prodigy is finding the show a new streaming home for seasons 1 and 2. On Star Trek Day, at the United We Trek event, show creators Dan and Kevin Hageman told TrekMovie they continue to be very optimistic that the show will find a new home, and active talks are still underway.
Prodigy’s Bonnie Gordon, Kevin Hageman, Aaron Waltke and Dan Hageman at the United We Trek picket event in Hollywood (Photo: TrekMovie)
Other development
One of the stipulations of the writers’ strike was that WGA members were not even allowed to have meetings about developing new work. This means no pitches or development for any additional Star Trek series were allowed, but with the strike lifted, that work could start again. In theory, this could allow for discussions regarding a follow-up to Star Trek: Picard, such as showrunner Terry Matalas’ hope of a “Star Trek: Legacy” series. In August, Paramount Global’s CEO and CFO talked about how even though the company was pulling back on content spending for streaming, they were moving to a strategy focused on “super-serving” key audiences and franchises, informed by deep analysis of user data.
Star Trek is certainly one of the key franchises for Paramount+, and the data analysis could lead the company to reassess plans for the franchise. It’s possible this could impact some of the planned projects and/or bring other projects into active development. However, this reassessment could be more long-term, so projects that are already well underway will likely continue on as the company is likely interested in getting Star Trek content produced for 2024 and 2025.
The end of the WGA strike could also allow for development and writing work to continue on the much-delayed Star Trek 4 project at Paramount Pictures, along with the development of any other Star Trek film projects. Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins (who took over in 2021) has stated that getting Star Trek back on the big screen is a priority for the studio; however, they (and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company) have not been able to get any project beyond the development stage since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond.
Voyager star Bob Picardo at the United We Trek picket event in Hollywood (Photo: TrekMovie)
Focus on the actors
The next big step will be a deal with SAG-AFTRA. The new deal with the WGA (along with a previous June deal with the DGA) are helpful, but the actors have some unique issues that have proven to be sticking points with the studios. At the United We Trek event earlier this month, Michelle Hurd told TrekMovie:
We’re fighting for a living wage. We’re fighting for the right to do this beautiful thing, this art form of storytelling, and being compensated. And Lord knows there’s enough of the pie for us all to be able to make a living.
Hurd also acknowledged that the strikes have had a big impact across the board on those who work in the industry:
A lot of people everywhere are hurting, it’s not just L.A., it’s New York, it’s across any place that has SAG-AFTRA actors, they’re hurting right now. And again, the strike can end as soon as the AMPTP decides to come to the table. That’s when it ends.
Strange New Worlds stars Melissa Navia and Ethan Peck at United We Trek picket in New York (Photo: TrekMovie)
NYCC 2023
One other impact will be on New York Comic-Con. Paramount recently announced plans for a Star Trek Universe panel on October 14 without any celebrities. However, this deal would allow for writer/producers (such as Alex Kurtzman) to attend the panel to make the promised “reveals and surprises.” Of course, if a deal with SAG-AFTRA arrives in the next couple of weeks, actors could also end up on that panel.
Executive Producers Heather Kadin and Alex Kurtzman with Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green at New York Comic Con 2019 (Paramount+)
TrekMovie will continue to monitor events and provide updates on how all the Hollywood deals can impact Star Trek.
Excellent summary!
INDEED!
Michelle Hurd is AWESOME!!! The work that she has put into this strike and it’s hopefully positive outcome has been inspirational and she deserves to be commended!!
As Any Trek Actor Would Be,Michelle was quite Logical in her assessment of what has to, happen next.
Anthony, you guys always provide great coverage and excellent analysis. Thank you for all you do!
So glad things are moving in the right direction! While almost none of the Trek in production appeals to me and I don’t know I’ll be watching any of it, it’s great seeing labor unions flex their muscle and making those corporate hoarders share the wealth that comes from their craft.
As for a Trek project I would really like to see them make…I’m kinda at odds with what it would be. But it would be a serious show about science fiction, with serious characters that are adults and act like them, respect the chain of command, but are interesting enough in their own right to find natural humor through their workplace drama – you know, the way it used to be, without the speechifying of Disco, the terrible story arcs of Picard (minus S3), the silliness of LD, and yeah I guess you could say the silliness of SNW at this point too.
But more very Short Treks. Those are great.
I’m right there with you in your analysis of the weaknesses of these shows in comparison to what worked well or worked superbly on other older trek series.
If the strike does resolve now, it’ll be interesting to see if they bring in some fresh or more competent blood for future Trek (not holding breath on this!)
While all this talk about bringing the greedy to their knees is music to my ears, I do have to say that I find the creatives on Trek getting overpaid — as in, they got employed, which is more than they deserve! — but there are lots of WGA folks out there who could deliver genuinely thrilling and thoughtful trektainment that I would pony up money to see time & again.
If only … if only … (tos ref for those old enough to … remember.)
While I disagree to some extent with both of you on the current shows (or at least am better able to enjoy them in spite of their flaws and weaknesses — just as you were able to, Kevin, in the case of PIC S3), I’m totally with you in the case of reaching an equitable settlement to this strike. Long past time to start sharing the wealth.
I let P+ go last month (there were some old backlist feature films I wanted to see) and hadn’t rewatched any of ps3, so obviously my initial enthusiasm didn’t hold. I think the big disappoint for me remains SNWs2, because except for the crossover I didn’t like any of them enuf to rewatch.
I’m finally getting around to streaming THE OFFER and am so far enjoying it, though perhaps not so much as I got the impression you did — two eps in I’m having good fun, but it’s also striking me as pretty frothy and shallow. I understand that it’s two very different genres, but as the dramatization of the making of a Coppola masterpiece so far it’s definitely no HEARTS OF DARKNESS.
Agreed on HEARTS … though a part of me thinks that doc could have been much shorter, they could have just held on that script page where every single word is crossed out and replaced with handwritten changes.
I think in retrospect the problem such as it is with THE OFFER is that it is very much from Ruddy’s POV, and apparently even that is seriously souped up and altered. The Watchmen guy playing Robert Evans was a total joy and that remains my main takeaway (along with him not even getting nominated.) Also, Ribisi is for once somewhat watchable (he has been ruining everything I’ve seen him in going back to THE X-FILES in an ep we call ‘lightning boy’ even though the real title is DPO.) The fact I didn’t even think about rewatching THE OFFER during all these months of P+ shows just how much I dislike rewatching a whole season of something instead of just good episodes of a show … more and more, I think my full rewatches are going to be limited to ‘best of the best, sir’ type stuff like CARNIVALE, THE WIRE, THE HOUR and DEADWOOD.
We did get our Halloween viewing off to a good start yesterday with TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME and THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, which though vastly different in every way, are still in my alltime top five horror flicks, (along with odd-numbered EXORCISTs and a film to be remembered later.)
Totally with you on CARNIVALE (though I’m more partial to season 1 when RDM was there), THE WIRE, and especially DEADWOOD, which in spite of my general blasé attitude towards the Western genre may be, pound for pound, the best series in the history of American television. (Anyone who says otherwise is a f’kin hooplehead who’s fit only for Wu’s pigs.)
No familiarity at all with THE HOUR. What is it and where can I find it?
It’s a UK series starring Dominic West from THE WIRE, Ben Whishaw and Rosaland Garai. It’s about a British one-hour news program in the late 50s (starts around the time of Suez), and it got cancelled after 2 years, leaving Whishaw’s character very much … well, not, as he was.
It’s not on the level of the other series …for one thing, it gets some history wrong (Whishaw calls Garai ‘Moneypenny’ but Moneypenny’s flirtation with James Bond is principally something from the films, which were years away at this point.) It does deal with a lot of issues, and not always from the direction one might expect. It also has superb supporting players you’ll recognize from GoT and ZEN (for fans of Caterina Murino and Rufus Sewell), plus a really amazing season 2 regular in Peter Capaldi playing a very serious role that’ll have you forgetting LOCAL HERO completely.
However … I don’t think it is streaming many places and the disks are hard to come by. We have defective disks for both seasons and I only lucked into a replacement for s1 on the weekend at a thrift shop. But I’d say it is worth the effort.
What did you think of the DEADWOOD wrapup movie? I really liked it, especially the scene with Seth Bullock and the character whose name I will have to represent here as N—– General.
I’ve come to think of CARNIVALE as the prequel to TWIN PEAKS in a lot of ways, especially after season 3 of the latter, which in episode 8 puts the Trinity test as a kind of starting point for all manner of otherwordly mayhem. RDM did really good work on CARNIVALE (and he just pronounced it like ‘carnival’), but he told me that it was the most unpleasant writer’s room situation he ever faced, with people all backstabbing one another and him having to ride herd constantly. I’d have to check the published interview to be sure, but I think he said that he turned down coming back even before GALACTICA turned into a series order, just cuz he hated the environment despite the great premise.
Interesting stuff on RDM, thanks. I got to meet him at Michael Piller’s funeral, and was very pleased to have the opportunity to tell him what his work had meant to me.
The Deadwood movie mostly struck me as a chance to put a happier bow on the story, with the town getting the better of Hearst this time around. Standout scenes for me were Swearingen/Wu (as always), Bullock’s take-out of the thugs who’d murdered Charlie Utter and his confrontation with the corrupt sheriff at Trixie and Saul’s wedding, “Waltzing Matilda,” and Al’s final benediction to the Almighty, which was one for the ages.
It all went down well enough, but tbh I thought it was unnecessary, as (and I know I’m in the minority on this) I always found the conclusion to the series proper to be note-perfect, if unfortunately premature. In that final scene, poor, besotted Johnny asks Swearingen if the prostitute he’d sacrificed to save Trixie’s life suffered, to which Al replies, “I made it as quick as I could, and I’ll have no more to say about it.” He then returns to scrubbing her blood off the floorboards, muttering to himself (as he did to that Chief’s head-in-a-box earlier in the show’s run), “He wants me to tell him a pretty story.” What more fitting final word could there be for a series that traded-in decades of pretty Hollywood lies for a cauldron of a town where you could practically smell the fear and desperation commingled with the piss in the streets, yet still see the essential humanity of those who lived there?
Man, if I’d been clever enough to write that episode, I’d probably be knocking at your door to say ‘thank you’ just for that last sentence of your post. If you could fit that sentiment on a tombstone, it’d make for an awesome epigraph.
If you’re not ‘cheating’ by channeling Mr. Ellison, then you’re doing a damn sight better than right fine with your own phrasing, Michael.
(tip of hat plus deep bow)
Dude, that’s very kind of you to say and, for reasons I won’t get into, very welcome at this point in my life. Truth be told, though, I think you nailed it re the cribbing from Ellison, in style if not substance. There are times I genuinely wonder if I’ve had more than an original thought or two in my entire life, if that. 🤯
Forgot to mention how gratified I was, too, to see David Milch get the chance to have the last word on what will most likely be his signature work, before Alzheimer’s took him down for good, as it did my father when he was only a year older than I am now.
RE: your dad, that’s gotta be rough to have to get through. I’m getting brain scans and taking neurological tests about every 18 months now because I am so forgetful and occasionally severely confused. But as is my way, I always do well on tests — SATs were so good they almost overcame my dismal GPA, and I remember getting a perfect score on a written county librarian test during my 20s even though I hadn’t set foot in one since jr high (then blew the next 8-10 oral interviews for the job over four years that I remained ‘on the list’) — so there’s still some question about whether I have actual damage or I just happen to neglect and ignore nearly everything I hear that isn’t part of my narrow areas of interest.
And regarding the ‘original thought’ business … more and more, I’m finding that the times when I came to a right or proper conclusion on an important matter– even if it required drawing on outside input to reach my position — are often more satisfying than relying on coffee or my alleged smarts to deliver an ‘ah-ha’ moment of genius. Not saying there isn’t a thrill to get the creative rush (at least as I recall having them!), but that it isn’t necessarily as satisfying in the long run looking back at things.
(am trying really hard here to avoid saying, ‘it is not logical, but is often true.’)
In the US, The Hour is on Acorn TV, which is even more niche than BritBox. But you can find it on Pluto and Tubi, it’s just going to have some annoying commercials randomly.
Didn’t realize this, thanks. We get 1-week free offers for Acorn through our streaming all the time, and occasionally watch Pluto and Tubi as well. Perhaps this will prove to my wife that the SEARCH ALL function doesn’t seem to search all at all!
Absolutely with you on the wish for a serious Trek series sans juvenile hijinx.
And I cancelled P+ after SNW ended. I’ll renew once Discovery comes out.
Thanks for keeping us updated and for your analysis of what it all means for Star Trek!
AI can’t be beaten
Sure it can. Just hit it with a good paradox and it will explode.
Just ask James T Kirk that.
From the little snippets I am reading so far, it sounds like the writers got significant AI protections and streaming residuals, but had to reduce their demands about artificially controlling the size of writers rooms.
If so, this is exactly the outline of my fair compromise proposal for both sides that I have been suggesting for months here, but got crucified on from so many fans here.
Artificially controlling the size of writers rooms always seemed weird to me. The reason Mando and Ahsoka are good is because they have a singular vision behind them. These modern Trek shows seem to be a case of too many people needing to contribute. Less so on Strange New Worlds because that’s episodic by nature.
But god forbid you say that around here re: writer room size lest you get called a bootlicker and all kinds of other epithets with no real discussion as to why it’s a good thing **creatively** (of course, there is no arguing that it’s a great deal economically….but that wasn’t the debate)
My question for you and Emily is, do you think this deal point was born of absolutely zero forethought, research, polling, etc. by the negotiating committee and Guild members?
certainly and almost certainly as well it would be a huge win economically for any writers fortunate enough to benefit from it. Again – that has never been the argument of anyone that has dared to even ask the question if it’s a good ** creative ** idea.
I would not at all expect anyone to say ‘nah’ to money and job security over the creative process.
I worry that going into this will get convoluted, but the creative reason is that it’s a way to combat “mini rooms,” where virtually every show **already** assembles a room for a week or two, takes all their ideas, and then one writer is tasked with fleshing them out and doing all the rewrites. This is an exploitable stress point by the studios, impacting quality of product and the guild (financially).
The “showrunners who are quietly opposing this” are a couple of outliers getting massive amplification from the industry trades, the three main ones of which are owned by own company (Penske) and are unambiguously mouthpieces/press secretaries for the studios.
So, “creatively,” the studios already see the value of writers commingling their ideas they just don’t want to pay them to write the scripts.
Heck, Aaron Sorkin had a writers’ room. They just fed him ideas, mostly. There’s always been a writers room of some sort — older shows usually would have 1-2 on payroll and farm out the rest to freelancers; but again, more than 1 writer worked on shows.
“Ah, but Tiberius Mudd, you massive piece of trash, you absolute idiot, what about these 6-8-10 episode shows? They don’t need writers!” — well, the economic and creative argument go hand in hand. If fewer writers are getting work, then there will be fewer writers to work in the future. The traditions and skill dies with this generation — not just ideas that get rehashed, but the ideas of what’s possible, by learning about the process of making TV. Economically, the guild dies.
I have no argument Tiberius Mudd! Indeed Sorkin did have writers pitching story ideas and such (at least on West Wing, and I assume his other shows). That’s the best response I’ve seen here and I thank you for it. So it sounds like the upshot intent is not necessarily just X number of writers for writers’ sake, but to ensure contracted employment for the duration of a show rather than one week of spec work essentially and then nothing. What you’ve outlined makes far more sense than anything I’ve seen from any reporting from even pro-union sources.
Thank you for that. I know writers like Taylor Sheridan poo-poo the idea, but I feel like they are outliers. You can’t apprentice to become a great showrunner if you aren’t part of a staff where you can learn.
Trek is a perfect example – look how many successful showrunners today graduated from Michael Piller’s school of drama or were only one degree of separation from it. Ron Moore, Ira Steven-Behr, Naren Shankar, Rene Echevarria, Robert Doherty, Brannon Braga, Bryan Fuller, Manny Coto, Robert Hewitt-Wolfe…
Well said.
Are you kidding me??? Mando and Ahsoka are snooze fests! Stopped watching Mando after the first season and Ahsoka after 1 episode. Incredibly dull and worst writing. All these shows are is fan service. Every Star Wars show has been a big waste of time in my opinion. *YAWN*
Not enough pew pew for you?
You might not like either show but they’re very popular and well loved overall.
No, not at all … I find the dialogue drags. The scenes are far too long. And in Mando – you have nothing happening for long periods of time… no dialogue, no interaction… just dramatic music with filler video.And the writing is horrendous!
People complain about Trek writing and that it’s all fan service. Wow… take a look at all the Star Wars TV shows… COMPLETE fan service based on one character and referencing the movies and other shows throughout. Was looking forward to them and was utterly disappointed. Don’t even get me started on how bad the acting was – especially for some A-List talent.
Mando season one or two or basically lone Wolf and Cub (from Japanese movies) Samurai movies. If you love that sort of stuff you’ll love Mando.
And the pauses are good, not bad. Hey, no offense, but you sound like many younger viewers today who or over condition on both video game pacing and the pacing of many shows today where something has to be happening every second or you don’t feel entertained. The long pauses with the vistas and the music is actually one of my favorite things about the show.
I am far from being a young gamer. In fact, the last time I played video games was on my Sega Genesis system. The “67” in my username is not because it is my favourite number. Pauses are fine… but when they drag on… it becomes doing. It is like they are trying to fill the time. The pacing in the shows are horrible. I find that there is no emotion in the dialogue as well. Everything is monotone, which doesn’t help with the extended, long vista shots. I couldn’t care less if it was action packed or not. But it is much ado about nothing. And the series I was so looking forward to, Kenobi, was another disappointment. If you cut out all the endless filler about nothing, you could have had a movie. A dull movie. But a movie nonetheless. After any episode, I would be left saying… “that’s it???”
I get your comments, but my preferences are different the as I appreciate the show, which works best as problem on a new planet every week show western/samurai thing. I will say that Katie Sackoff’s character is cringe-worthy. And season 3 was bad.
Yes, absolutely, that’s exactly all you were saying, with no tone surrounding your proposal. Are you fishing for one of us to say, “Well, it looks like they finally came to their senses and listened to you!”?
They didn’t listen to me, but it certainly broke around the parameters I was suggesting for the compromise.
I’d frankly be satisfied if you just stayed silent given we both know I was right, but hey, make a fuss about it if you must…lol
Unsolicited advice: Unless you’re a small child, it never, ever looks good when you clamor how you were right and complain that you were unjustly treated for posting something that now happens to be true and for which you unjustifiably take credit for.
I say this with respect, but Walmart has a 2 for 1 sale on diapers until end of September.
Nope. I took so much shit here from the people who were 100% advocates of one side on this who refused to even consider that the “all bad, 100% wrong, rich bastards who do nothing to bring us movies and tv series” studios had a couple economic issues that legitimately needed to be dealt with — that you damn right I’m going to have my “I told you so” moment.
Besides, I just checked with Walmart and they are sold out on diapers from the “the writers and actors are 100% right on every issue” advocates who were buying them up in bulk all summer. I couldn’t even make an advanced order for them as some dude with initials TM has pre-purchased the entire next Proctor and Gamble container coming into the port of Long Beach from Shanghai.
It just makes you look bad, so you’re not helping yourself. Anyway it was snarky but friendly advice. You’re free to ignore it. IDIC
Please tell me the minute I start worrying about how I look here, because that will be the day I retire from participation. :-)
Fair point.
Absolutely LOVE how you run circles around UpperDecks-NormalNecks by BOTH employing logic AND evoking emotion (❗️🖖❗️), while the guy basically just stands there all smug, declaring himself the winner of an argument solely based on a likely business deal, while admitting he preferred you to stay silent! No matter the eventual deal disclosure, you win with class, sir! 👏😄
I have absolutely no issue with you being entertained here at my expense, and I’m sure your emoticons charm many. That being said, when you said here:
Absolutely LOVE how you run circles around UpperDecks-NormalNecks by BOTH employing logic AND evoking emotion
Please direct me to the specific logic his post that you are referring to? You are certainly correct that he is invoking emotion though, so good job on being 50% correct here.
You also said:
No matter the eventual deal disclosure, you win with class, sir!
Please direct me to that win of his? My examination of the issues over months here recommended a negotiation on issues that is largely panning out to be correct, while his 100% advocacy for one side positions had to be abandoned by SAG to negotiate a solution that worked for both sides. That’s a win for me, and a “no-show” for him at best, if not a loss.
His reply to nkc, dated September 25, 2023 3:39 pm. A winning post right there, no matter the outcome!
Also, I’m NOT charming you with my “emoticons”?! Awww… 🥺😭😂 <—emoji
Ah, I get it, you’re like that dude who inexplicably shouts “Tiger Blood…winning” after a bender when everyone else is like, “WTF?”. Lol, OK, congrats!
Nope, but no surprise from somebody like you, who’s consistently attempting to stir up doodoo ’round here. LOL, ‘n all that jazz. 😘
Outstanding summary of how this effects Star Trek — THANK YOU!!!
Huzzah! Now hoping for a swift – and more importantly, fair – resolution to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Studios, pay your actors! And don’t repurpose their likenesses for future works unless they specifically allow it, with compensation.
Hopefully writers can resume work on Star Trek development.
Paramount hasn’t announced just how much this strike has cost them but WBD revealed a $500 million hit. We’ll start to find out in the coming weeks which shows won’t survive. The studios will blame the strike but things were already a mess before the strike.
500 million? OOPPHHH That sounds like it hurts. They totally deserve it though, especially after pulling Batgirl. As does Paramount re:Prodigy if it happened to them too.
Yea the pulling of Batgirl was a huge international incident that many are extremely upset about. It’s just horrible.
Internally it actually was and a $90 million write-off barely registers with a $45 billion debt load.
An international incident right up there with Crimea and Karabakh.
And January 6th, plus Iran’s nuclear weapons program
You forgot climate change and the impending Yellowstone super-volcano eruption.
It could have been licensed elsewhere and recouped its cost.
The studios will try to save face by saying they saved money by breaking the cycle of rampant spending and rationing out their content. There’s a sliver of truth to that, but the number one show on network TV last week had only 3.6 million viewers and the box office had its worst performance of the year. They are hurting in the markets they have had all the power over.
Meanwhile Netflix got to be in the same room as Hollywood to help dictate terms for a problem they largely caused. The smarter tactic would have been for the old media companies to negotiate deals separately from Netflix, Amazon and Apple and make them sweat longer. The tech companies are playing a different game than the studios and I don’t know how many people really have wised up to that.
My impression was that Lower Decks voice recording was mostly blocked by the WGA strike actually, as any improvisation done by Tawny and others (which they do a lot) would be considered “writing” and could not happen as long as a WGA strike is one, even if the contract for animation voice recording is (AFAIK) not struck by SAG-AFTRA. Did I get this wrong?
Good for them.
It’s great to see the writers getting what they deserve! Hoping the same for the actors soon as well.
Some good news for the writers, now let’s see what happens RE the SAG. Maybe wishful thinking, but it would be nice to see production return for SNW S3 in the next month or so with S3 hitting the streaming airwaves before the end on next year.
No matter what, I hope the writers and actors get what they deserve! Streaming and AI has rrally turned the industry on its head, and these new contracts are critical for the future of both the writers and actors.
How soon before Star Trek Academy starts to film?
I’m just glad it’s over and it sounds like the writers got pretty much everything they wanted. If so, GOOD! Hopefully they will cave to SAG soon and we can get back to complaining how much Star Trek sucks again! ;D
All kidding aside, it’s nice this didn’t go into next year and maybe we will see more than just Discovery and Lower Decks next year.
Oh and I see the edit feature has finally been fixed. Cool!