#now hopefully sag aftra negotiations can start up soon

[hawkinslibrary]

[writergeekrhw]

If AMPTP isn't playing ball, why don't the WGA, SAG-AFTRA, and other guilds (and their members) put together competition? As it stands, AMPTP is negotiating from a place of "They Need Us!", and they have shows in the pipelines (as well as otherwise-canceled movie projects) they can just bring out over time. The only way I can see to break that view would be to create alternatives so that they are just other options that the guilds don't need.

A friend and I actually looked into this in 2007-8, trying to figure out what it would take to start a talent-friendly streaming network (when they were just a glimmer). The answer turns out to be that creating quality film and television is VERY capital intensive. There are massive infrastructure and labor requirements. We would've had to raise, like, literally 1 billion dollars. So, it's no surprise to me that the companies who've "disrupted" the business since 2007-8, namely Apple, Amazon, and Netflix, have insanely deep pockets.

Plus, the amount of time it would take to ramp up an endeavor like that would be prohibitive. We wouldn't get anyone back to work any time soon.

It's much more likely to think we can split the AMPTP the same way we did the agents. If we can't make a deal in the next round of negotiations, which will hopefully start next week, that may be what we'll have to do.

At the end of the day, though, what most showbiz people want is a functioning studio/talent relationship in which we can all make plenty of money. We've had that before. Now things are out-of-balance. Hopefully we'll be able to close a new deal soon which will allow creatives have sustainable careers, both now and in the future.