美国国家公共电台 NPR--Hollywood film and TV writers prepare to strike when their contract expires

Hollywood film and TV writers prepare to strike when their contract expires

Transcript¹

Talks are ongoing² between the Writers Guild³ of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to avoid a strike. NPR's A Martinez talks to guild member Eric Haywood.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Some of Hollywood's film and TV writers are preparing to strike. Their labor⁴ union, the Writers Guild of America, is in talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for a new contract. Now, a strike could start at midnight if a deal is not reached today. To get a sense on where things stand, I'm joined by Eric Haywood. He's a writer and director in TV and film. He's also on the WGA negotiating committee.

Eric, as I mentioned, you're at the table there. What are the key issues in play, and how close are the two sides?

ERIC HAYWOOD: There are several issues at play, probably more than we have time to completely get into. But in a nutshell, I would say some of the key issues really focus around compensation in the form of not only base pay, but in residual⁵ pay and also working conditions. And a lot of these conditions have been severely⁶ impacted by the industry's shift to the streaming model over the past several years. It's really turned everything on its head in the last handful of years.

MART?NEZ: How close are the two sides, though? I know that we're kind of getting to the point where it's make it or break a deadline, but how close are the two sides?

HAYWOOD: Well, it's hard to quantify just because, you know, we've been negotiating through the weekend. I'm literally⁷ losing track of what day it is because we basically get up, and we go to the offices, and we meet, and things are shifting. You know, it's a little bit of a moving target. So where we are right now may not be - and, I'm sure, won't be where we are come midnight Monday night. And where we are at midnight on Monday is really all that matters.

MART?NEZ: When it comes to streaming, though, this shift on the part of the industry away from theaters to streaming services - how does that affect the writers?

HAYWOOD: Well, in a number of ways - primarily, you know, not too long ago, we had a model where your average broadcast network television show would air anywhere from 18 to 22 and sometimes even 24 episodes per year. That allowed writers to basically manage their finances in such a way that you could earn a living year to year. The shift to the streaming model - one of the key differences is a lot of these streaming shows will only make anywhere from six to eight to 10 episodes of a given season. And what that does is it shortens the amount of weeks that a writer works, which obviously impacts the amount of take-home pay that a writer gets because most of us work on a weekly paycheck system. Also, the shift to the streaming model has impacted writers in the form of reduced pay, because a lot of writers, including the creators and showrunners of a lot of popular TV shows, are working for a weekly rate that is equivalent to what they may have made four or five or in some cases even ten years ago when they were just coming up the ladder.

MART?NEZ: Now, if there winds up being a strike, Eric, how will viewers feel this or notice this? Will any shows go away?

HAYWOOD: It's a little hard to predict, which is one of the more uncertain elements of any kind of strike for this industry. I think it is generally assumed that the "Saturday Night Lives," the "Daily Shows" - those have a much quicker turnaround than your average drama or comedy show. So those shows are expected to shut down pretty much immediately if there's a strike.

Some of the other shows take a little bit longer to work their way through the pipeline⁹. So viewers in some cases may not see an immediate⁸ impact. Some of these shows are still working their way through the post-production process. They're still being edited, they're still having music added and titles and visual effects. So in some cases, audiences may not see an immediate impact in terms of what's on their screens, but it will probably hit eventually.

MART?NEZ: That's Eric Haywood, writer and director in TV and film. He's also a member of the WGA negotiating committee. Eric, thanks.

HAYWOOD: Thank you.

MART?NEZ: And in a statement to NPR, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers say that they have, quote, "approached these negotiations¹⁰ with the long-term health and stability of the industry" as their priority and that they are "fully¹¹ committed to reaching a mutually beneficial deal."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 residual   

adj.复播复映追加时间；存留下来的，剩余的

参考例句：

• There are still a few residual problems with the computer program.电脑程序还有一些残留问题。
• The resulting residual chromatism is known as secondary spectrum.所得到的剩余色差叫做二次光谱。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。