On the Writer?s Strike (And How it Affects You, Horror Fan)
After a breakdown in talks last night, the writer?s guild has officially gone on strike. There was much speculation this would happen, but today the L.A. Times broke the news. If you haven?t been following the ups and downs of this rollercoaster ride, let me fill you in. The writer?s guild, the guild of television and film screenwriters, were threatening to strike against production companies for many reasons, but the big sticking point was DVD sale residuals and the way writers get paid when their shows are sold online. Talks had been strained since the summer, but it was everyone?s hope that a last minute fix could be found. Unfortunately, that wasn?t the case.
Now that the writers are on strike that means that every writer, for film and television, will simply put down their pens and stop typing. It will take a bit of time for the film industry to really feel the effects, but television is going to take a hard hit if this strike lasts long. Film companies stockpile scripts to shoot, but television writing is a constant process, with revisions and rewrites happening daily. Many television shows are still writing scripts when the season starts, so not only will the strike affect the end of this season, but could hit next season?s pilot schedule as well.
Now how does this affect you? How will horror films fit into this strike? It?s hard to say whether this will be a completely negative experience. While any large horror film that was in talks but wasn?t written yet will be on lock-out, don?t be surprised if an elongated strike means that you?ll start to see a lot of B or smaller horror movies, ones destined for straight to DVD, pop up on the big screen, especially if they?re cheap and already written. One franchise that this could complicate is the SAW series. Lionsgate says that they?re taking a year off from the franchise, but this strike could be the real reason why. Don?t be surprised if those big name sequels, prequels and remakes to your favorite horror movies take a back seat for a long ride. This strike may, temporarily, change the face of horror in theaters.
