Will Writer’s Guild strike kill Roommates?
Provisions in the rules for a potential Writer’s Guild of America strike also cover writers working for web and mobile content productions.
Could the new MySpace series “Roommates” have a shorter lifespan if the WGA opts to hit Hollywood with a strike?
MySpace is getting into creating and exclusively distributing the four college girls plus a guy with a camera show at what could be a really bad time. As Xeni Jardin noted on Boing Boing, if the WGA strikes, its members will have to stay away from Roommates and similar web, or mobile content, series (Hollywood Reporter cited):
It’s well-understood that such a move would have a major impact on conventional entertainment productions — movies and television. But the strike rules contain clauses that would also affect writers working on (or pitching, or negotiating) projects for the web or mobile platforms. The guild wants more pay for content distributed in “new” media.
The Rules prohibit writing services performed for a struck company in connection with new programming intended for initial viewing on non-traditional media (such as the Internet and cellular telephones), and the option or sale of literary material for that purpose.
New media should also mean new compensation for the people who help create the content. The reality of reality shows is that they are scripted to a great degree, even if it’s just mobisodes popping up on one’s iPhone.
Via Boing Boing
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