So, the strike continues. Each day, writers are hitting the pavement with their nifty shirts and signs. They chant, elicit honks, and try to slow down those who haven't stopped in solidarity. As I mentioned last week, Diablo Cody has hit the lines with her coiffed energy. She's also creating a little confusion now. See, a friend of mine, who is another striker, also has a black bob and funky fashion sense, and others are starting to confuse the two. I guess things could be worse!Like, oh, I don't know... How about this -- The New York Times is reporting that there is a new study out which might change the pay drama at the root of this strike. A new financial assessment conducted by Global Media Intelligence and Merrill Lynch has concluded that a lot of the films income isn't going to the studios, but to the big names attached to the project -- stars, directors, and producers.This is because of participation deals. Instead of just getting a nice, neat sum of money when they make a film, many are not getting into the action, sharing in the gross revenue. That's right -- the revenue, NOT the profit.
So, if a movie makes boatloads of money, there isn't a problem. However, many productions are struggling these days and the stars and filmmakers are till getting the big bucks even if the film loses money -- the study found that there was an approximate $1.9 billion loss last year amongst the big studios. You can check out all the particulars over at the article, but what do you think? "Big mess" is coming to mind.
