Hollywood writers now have nothing to procrastinate on: WGA Strike Imminent

For the first time in nearly 20 years, we may see a serious labor stoppage in Hollywood. This is no laughing matter. It affects nearly every layer of the entertainment industry. The strike by the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) in 1988 cost Hollywood half of $1 billion. And that was in 1988. It will certainly be well into the billions this time around. We'll also see people's favorite television shows, such as Heroes and The Office, possibly stop premiering mid-season. We'll also see a hell of a lot of more reality shows, and a drop in movie premieres in the upcoming few years.

For a quick recap, the WGA's most recent contract expired midnight last night. The members are meeting tonight to discuss plans, and a strike could begin as early as tomorrow. The main source of conflict is that, at the moment, writers get a paltry cut of DVD sales. Since DVD's increasingly play a large part in the industry, writers feel they're getting shafted, and the studios are as of now refusing to budge on renegotiating their cut. For a quick summary on the debate, here are some excellent links:
The New York Times on the fallout following the deadline passing.
LA Times on the failed negotiations.
THR on the DVD issue.
THR on the digital download issue.

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