So there’s this guy I know — not very well actually, he’s really more of an acquaintence — but I’ve run into him at a few events here and there, and managed somehow to wind up on his mailing list. Now if I had my life to live over, I’d probably do everything in my power to avoid ending up on ANYONE’s list, and while my life would surely be less cluttered, I would miss out on interesting theories like the one presented today in his weekly message to masses.
What follows is an idea as to what is truly at stake as the WGA continues to strike, and while the real truth may be forever obscured by points-of-view and political flag-waving, it’s (at the very least) a good enough reason to start thinking for YOURSELF about how and why things get done in this ole world. Again, this was delivered via email so I can’t simply provide a link. Therefore I’ve reproduced the (relatively short) article in its entirety, and give full credit to Mark Edward Lewis as its author.
Enjoy…?
What they don’t want to tell you.
About WHY they don’t want to pay the writers.
I was recently shooting for the hit show “Pinks” on Speed Channel last month. One of the great things about cable shows is that the Executive Producers like to come hang out and give their two-bits. Fortunately, this EP is a wonderful human being and was a great contribution to the production days.
Not surprisingly, over lunch we got into the WGA strike and what it means and why it’s happening. He said some things that made the hair stand up on my head (and I’m bald). It was hard to believe, but the more people I asked about it, the more it made sense. After speaking with some industry insiders and corporate Internet folks, what I’m about to tell you may just seem like a conspiracy theory, but it has some compelling truth ringiness to it. Try it on and see what you think. As always I’m open to your feedback and input, because believe me, I want to believe something else.
Silly Songs With Michael
Before I launch into talking about why the studios et al are not paying the writer’s their fair share, I want to let you in on a little conversation that a good friend of mine who is an executive at a major television studio (we’ll call him Tom) had with Michael Eisner over lunch in November. Just a little dialogue for those of you who haven’t seen dialogue on a computer screen in a few months due to the strike.
Imagine, Mr. Eisner and Tom casually talking at Studio Cafe…
Tom: “So, Michael, what’s all this with the writers?”
ME: “Oh! Those writer’s are insane. The only people who are making money on the Internet are Apple and Google.”
Tom: “Well, if that’s so, why not just give the stupid writers 10% of nothing, Michael?”
—end of conversation.
Take this as a precursor to what I’m about to tell you.
What You Don’t See Feeds You
Indeed not a lot of people are making money on the internet, but a lot of corporations are. Most of those corporations have names you’ve never heard of. These corporations own the studios and just about everything else in the nation, but most notably they own the backbone of the internet. This backbone is the “superhighway” that shuttles all of the massive amounts of data around the nation and the world. Google published reports last month that it processes over 20 terabytes of data a day. So, there’s a lot of bits going around. Someone has to pay for that service, and that service needs no online purchases to make that happen.
The WGA and others consider “source of income” to originate from purchases, advertising and the like. Unfortunately, the BIG dollars come from somewhere else: bandwidth delivery, hardware upkeep, and many other parts of the physical workings of the superhighway that no one thinks about. All of those workings can be leveraged, manipulated and hidden.
Now, we all know that it’s the purpose of business to make money whether ethically or not. In a marketplace where there is no regulation (and it’s protected under the 1st amendment), soft money, illegal laundering and - well - anything can go on and there’s no one to stop it. Welcome to the world of big business on the internet.
Billions of dollars are soft laundered up the chain to the few “unknown” companies through the millions of outlets on the internet. Now, if your company is making billions of free cash, you’re not about to give that up. So, without these big companies providing the backbone of the internet, there would be no internet. They started it. They put in the capital for it. They set up the secret money flow for it. They own it. They’re not about to give it up.
You like having DSL and cable at your home? Thank one of these mega-corps. You want the writers to get paid? Spit on them after the thanks.
Union Shmunion
I was recently informed that once the WGA representatives went to the bargaining table to deal with the opposition lawyers, they quickly realized that they were dealing with mafia attorneys. Hard bargaining and veiled threats abounded. It’s no wonder, since these mega-corps have so much to lose if their soft money dries up.
But why would their soft money dry up if the WGA gets its due? Let’s take a look at that.
What if only 50% of earnings were accurately reported (by accurately I mean including the soft money that the mega-corps get)? That means that when one of the most powerful unions in Hollywood starts accounting quarterlies they’re going to start asking questions and poking around. Once they pull up the right information, they’ll realize that a huge cover up is going on and that money is being absconded. Investigation leads to allegations and the whole thing blows up. Writers back on strike with a whole new level of demands: “Show us ALL the money.” Even though the “soft money” has nothing to do with purchases (and thus, the WGA has no right to it), the cat is out of the bag and the secret is out.
Thus the mega-corps know that they can’t allow the WGA to get what it wants, NOT because of the money, but because of the accounting required. Thus they are more than happy to put their subsidiary studios on the “sink-into-debt” mode with no productions happening while their precious profits are protected. Although these mega-corps would be hurt financially if the studios went under, but they’d get 2nd prize by controlling all media…because it would quickly migrate to the internet (thereby automatically giving them power over all media). If you think the studios are weathering this strike well, take a look at the Hollywood Reporter…
It’s clear what the big companies must do; what big companies have done since the beginning of unions: break them. If the big companies can break the WGA, then it’s easy to get rid of SAG, DGA, AFM, AFTRA and the rest. From there, no one messes with them, the studios are back to dictating terms to talent…and all the work goes out of state, because no one will be able to afford to work here except the “A” list.
If the unions are broken, then there would be a massive shake up (as you can imagine) in entertainment. It might last two years. In that time, the big companies will position themselves to make the final transition into internet based media delivery. This isn’t bad by itself, but without unions or regional control of media, the quality of entertainment would become akin to youtube. Why? If you think studio heads are clueless about what makes good media, at least they’re wiling to spend millions on it. Imagine if the head of a mega-corp making a budget for a production. Not.
Our Saviour: The Feds
If, in fact, the WGA does get what it wants, then the mega-corps MUST hide their records. The trouble is, they can’t hide them forever. As I mentioned before, allegations will occur and there will be federal indictments. It will become clear that the court system will be unable to gather the necessary information…and that all of these corporations are funneling soft money into their coffers.
From there, the Feds will do what they do best: step in and control. They’ll regulate the North American hosted internet and put up rules and regulations for money transactions and accounting. Of course, since these mega-corps run the government they’ll still be getting their soft money, just a little less. Most importantly, the Feds will (while they’re at it) take control of “parental controls” on the internet and place censorship on our last bastion of freedom. So, the Feds in the end will come in and “save the day” in the name of capitalism, and in the process take away the last hope for the American citizen.
The trouble is, nobody knows about this. The writers are caught in the middle. Fortunately, the writers are doing something about it, but it’s a no-win scenario. Do I think the writers deserve the money? Of course. As surely as I do as a director. For my money, I see it as having little to do with them, however. They’re the match that started the forest fire. We may be burning a while…
Think this is too far fetched? I trust you’re right. It does seem like a forgone conclusion on top of hearsay. The problem is, if you put yourself in the shoes of the mega-corps, and if it’s true that they’re siphoning billions every day whether there is a transaction or not, wouldn’t you do the same thing were you them?
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