The Sofa (General Chat Thread)

CastorTroy

Yeah, not like I watched the whole thing. I just skipped to the... ummm... exposition scenes. Y'know, plot exposition.

The Black Oil

Watching Keeping Ireland Alive. Think it's a repeat. Some heartbreaking stuff. Top work from RTE.

silverharp

caught the end of a clip on sky probably for sky Atlantic with Einstein in Germany and a little kid in a hitler youth uniform comes up to him looking for his autograph. anyone know what the show is, I didnt catch the title?

Edit - saw it again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SICLBlHizUY

The Black Oil

Possible strike on the cards. http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-writers-guild-negotiations-20170331-story.html

However, they're not in as a strong a position as they were 10 years ago.

CastorTroy

Because it worked out so well last time. It contributed to shows being cancelled and those writers being unemployed.
Though it was responsible for giving us Dr. Horrible.

looie

The Trip to Spain starts tomorrow night on Sky Atlantic.

CastorTroy

Was just wondering, what other lighthearted shows are there like Librarians, Leverage, Eureka and Warehouse 13?

Tom Mann Centuria

CastorTroy wrote: »

Was just wondering, what other lighthearted shows are there like Librarians, Leverage, Eureka and Warehouse 13?

Killjoys is quite easy to watch, what I've seen so far anyway. White Collar another one that was easy viewing.

Agent Coulson

CastorTroy wrote: »

Was just wondering, what other lighthearted shows are there like Librarians, Leverage, Eureka and Warehouse 13?

If you haven't seen it you should check out Haven.

CastorTroy

yep, saw Haven, Burn Notice, Psych and watched about half of White Collar. Reminds me I need to go back to Monk and Sweet/Vicious

Tom Mann Centuria

Few more suggestions, Battle Creek was ok, think it only had half a series though, thought it deserved at least a complete season. The Good Guys was another short-lived decent series. The Glades started ok but last season was total garbage. Bones isn't a taxing watch either.

Mr E

For a leverage-ish show, try The Catch or Imposters.

FunLover18

The first series of Vexed is very enjoyable, detective series written by Howard Overman. Should be on Netflix.

Agent Coulson

John Cleese is returning to sitcoms for the first time since Faulty Towers finished.

Edith written by Charles McKeown who wrote Terry Gilliam's Brazil will be a 6 parter on BBC 1.

Occono

Why do Irish-made shows expire on RTÉ and TG4 Player? It effectively renders them unavailable in Ireland when they do. Is the DVD market really still that big for them? It's not like they go to Irish Netflix or iTunes afterwards either.

Agent Coulson

Sky, HBO Announce $250 million Co-Production Deal for High-End Drama

Sky and HBO are set to extend their partnership with a new multi-year, $250-million co-financing deal to develop and produce high-end drama. The agreement will see the two pay-TV giants co-commission high-end dramas that can be exploited globally in both HBO and Sky’s home markets and via international distribution elsewhere.

“This is the next step in the development of our relationship with HBO,” said Jeremy Darroch, group chief executive at Sky, announcing the deal Thursday morning as Sky released its nine-month results to the end of March.

Darroch said the aim of the new deal was to “create a new global drama series powerhouse.” He expects the partnership to produce two major drama series per year, with the first commissions in 2018. Initial projects are already in development, with the level of investment by each company to be decided on a project-to-project basis, depending on such factors as which of the partners will handle distribution rights.

Sky Atlantic is the home of HBO across Sky’s European market, which includes the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. The company signed its first pan-European content deal, covering all Sky territories, in November 2015 to take exclusive first-run broadcast rights to HBO programming, including hit shows like “Westworld” (pictured) and “Game of Thrones,” through 2020.

“Sky has been a great partner for us and this deal allows even deeper collaboration between our two great companies, which have a long tradition in creating superior content for our customers,” said Richard Plepler, chairman and CEO of HBO. “Together we represent the best in television, and, combined, we will raise the bar even higher in pay-TV programming.”

Darroch said the linkup with HBO continued Sky’s history of co-production deals with “the very best producers around the world.” The company already has deals with a number of major broadcasters, including Canal+ and NBC.

Executives from both Sky and HBO will be responsible for greenlighting projects, inviting pitches from both the U.S. and Europe, which Darroch said would provide opportunities for independent production companies.

http://variety.com/2017/tv/global/sky-hbo-announce-250-million-co-production-deal-for-high-end-drama-1202391006/

Agent Coulson

Random thought how much would the 6 million dollar man cost in today's money?

brian_t

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Random thought how much would the 6 million dollar man cost in today's money?

Six Billion according to the up-coming Mark Wahlberg movie.

Thirty-three million according to 'Planet Money' Does The Math On 'The Six Billion Dollar Man'

The Black Oil

Ah, Travellers. Nothing like a bit of DIY scalpel surgery. :eek:

Agent Coulson

The Black Oil wrote: »

Possible strike on the cards. http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-writers-guild-negotiations-20170331-story.html

However, they're not in as a strong a position as they were 10 years ago.

The vote is taking place tonight in the States.


There is talk that Netflix will have a side deal with WGA if they do vote to strike.

The Black Oil

What would that mean, Netflix funding some writing/writers?

Agent Coulson

The Black Oil wrote: »

What would that mean, Netflix funding some writing/writers?

That's what I took from it Netflix would sort out its own royalties and residuals payments for writers with the WGA.

Agent Coulson

They voted to strike with 96% support.

More than 96% of the voting members of the Writers Guild of America have authorized a strike against production companies.

The WGA released the results Monday, a day ahead of the resumption of contract negotiations on a master contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. A work stoppage could start as early as May 2, after the current three-year master contract has expired.

The AMPTP issued a statement in response to the strike authorization announcement: “The companies are committed to reaching a deal at the bargaining table that keeps the industry working. The 2007 Writers Strike hurt everyone. Writers lost more than $287 million in compensation that was never recovered, deals were cancelled, and many writers took out strike loans to make ends meet. We remain focused on our objective of reaching a deal with the WGA at the bargaining table when the guild returns on April 25th.”
A total of 6,310 ballots were cast and 67.5% of eligible WGA members voted. The support was similar to the 2007 strike authorization, which received backing from 90% of the 5,507 guild members voting. The strike authorization voting period began April 19 and ended at noon PT Monday.

The vote was not open to all WGA West and WGA East members, but only to those who have worked under AMPTP contract during the past six years and those with 15 or more years in pension plan.

The two sides have held about three weeks of negotiations, starting on March 13. The WGA announced on April 5 to media buyers that a strike could have a significant impact on primetime programming for the 2017-2018 television season.

The two sides jointly announced April 17 that they had suspended negotiations for a week while the WGA conducted the strike authorization vote. Leaders of the WGA then urged the guild’s 12,000 members to support the strike authorization, asserting that doing so will give negotiators the maximum leverage at the bargaining table. Should negotiators be making progress after talks resume, both sides could agree to extend the current contract.

WGA held three meetings last week for members to rally them. Several attendees at the meetings — closed to everyone except members and staff — said that there was consistent support for the negotiators.

The guild is asking for raises in minimums and script fees in an effort to offset changes in the nature of TV series production that have hit writers’ earnings. It’s pushing for parity for the payment structures for those working on shows for cable and SVOD outlets, where fees remain lower than those for traditional broadcast network TV, along with an increase in employer contributions to the guild’s health plan, which has been operating at a deficit.

A strike would be the first in a decade for the union. The WGA last struck for 100 days between Nov. 5, 2007, and Feb. 12, 2008.

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/writers-guild-vote-strike-authorization-1202393874/

CastorTroy

So they want some of that internet money?

Also Starring LeVar Burton

CastorTroy wrote: »

So they want some of that internet money?

No, they just want to get decent pay and better conditions for the work they're doing - writers get f**ked over big time compared to actors, directors and big shot producers. In the last few years, the US has started doing much shorter seasons (the 13 episodes or less model, that we're better used to here in Ireland and the UK) rather than what was the norm of 22+ episodes. The main issue the WGA seem to be facing is that most shows will write an exclusivity clause into writer's contracts so that they can only work on that show, so if you're part of a show that's only doing 13 episodes a year, and you can't work on another project for the other half of the year because of your contract, a lot of the writers are essentially unemployed for half the year. Decent shows and films can't be made without good writers so essentially they should be one of the most important people in the production process, but the writers are usually the last people to get any recognition, from an industry point of view are easily replaceable compared to the actors, and they get one of the smallest slices of the profit pie and are generally taken for granted.

pickarooney

How strict is that 'one show at a time' clause? I see the same writers showing up on a lot of different shows. Can they get around it by getting credited as consultants or something?

Anyone know what kind of money staff writers are on? It's the job I'd pick if money was no object but I'm sure that's based on some fantasised version of what the job actually entails.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

pickarooney wrote: »

How strict is that 'one show at a time' clause? I see the same writers showing up on a lot of different shows. Can they get around it by getting credited as consultants or something?

Anyone know what kind of money staff writers are on? It's the job I'd pick if money was no object but I'm sure that's based on some fantasised version of what the job actually entails.

It would differ from show to show - obviously the sounder the production team, the more likely you could work for other shows, but there are definitely writers that would be tied to a particular show and it's not as if there's unlimited work for writers elsewhere that they could afford to turn down Show A that will only want you working for Show A.

As for staff writers on US shows, it would likely differ from show to show as well and on the writer presumably. They definitely get paid more than any Irish productions anyway, but that wouldn't be hard (and I'm speaking from experience; good work when you can get it, although it won't necessarily keep the wolves from the door, but I ain't gonna go in to detail on that front)...

Mr E

Trumps first 100 days, courtesy of the Simpsons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo3fT0xPeHs

Agent Coulson

Hacker Threatens to Release New Season of ‘Orange Is the New Black’


Netflix Hacker Also Claims Theft From ABC, Fox, IFC, National Geographic

The hacking group that goes by the name The Dark Overlord doubled down on its piracy of the new season of Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” by claiming to have absconded with content from four other networks as well.

ABC, Fox, National Geographic and IFC were specifically cited in a tweet issued late Friday from the Twitter account of the hacker, with a chilling warning: “Who is next on the list? FOX, IFC, NAT GEO, and ABC. Oh, what fun we’re all going to have. We’re not playing any games anymore.”

The Dark Overlord, also self-described as TDO on a long screed the group posted online, according to piracy blog Torrentfreak, which broke the story. The Twitter account where the four networks were divulged, @tdohackr, is identified as the account affiliated with the hacking group in that message.

While that message doesn’t cite the four networks, it does make clear that Netflix was not the only target of the hack. “We also helped ourselves to copies of titles from other companies,” TDO writes.

Reps for ABC, Fox, IFC and National Geographic have not yet responded to a request for comment regarding the matter. It’s unknown which specific programs TDO might have gotten a hold of from those networks or whether there is programming from other networks that were obtained from the hack.

The hack that may have brought all of the purloined content in question occurred last year at Hollywood-based ADR studio Larson Studios, according to Torrentfreak. TDO attempted to get money in exchange for the return of “Orange is the New Black” episodes; when the hacker failed to get the desired funds, pirates were suddenly able to feast Friday on the season premiere, which Netflix scheduled for release in June.

What initially seemed like a Netflix-targeted attack may be quickly broadening to a longer list of victims. In another part of the message, TDO warns, “Other companies in the American entertainment industry shouldn’t be surprised if they were too (sic) wake up to a verbose, condescending, and abusive letter in their inbox extending a hand of friendship and (most likely) demanding a modest sum of internet money.”

But a source said an upcoming second season of a Nat Geo series produced by Ron Howard called “Breakthrough” may be one of the programs in TDO’s possession. Nat Geo and Fox are networks owned by 21st Century Fox, while ABC is a Disney-owned property. IFC is owned by AMC Networks.

http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/netflix-hacker-also-claims-theft-from-abc-fox-ifc-national-geographic-1202403699/

Harry Palmr

Imagine doing something simple like storing valuable material in a vault or something?