As most people know, film and television production in the United States is slowly grinding to a halt because The Writers Guild of America went on strike this week. The main reason for the walkout (and kudos to the WGA for having the guts to stand on their principles and stage a real strike, unlike one of their Canadian counterparts) is that the studios have been shafting Hollywood writers for years on royalties for videos, DVDs and digital downloads and the writers are demanding a much better deal. If the strike isn't settled quickly they could be joined on the picket lines in the new year by actors who are planning to walkout over similar issues.
It will be interesting to see how the strike plays out and what (if any) opportunities it will create for small, independent creators who distribute their work online. I'm not aware of any puppet series currently in production that will be affected by the strike, but if the strike continues for very long it might jeopardize a new Muppet project that is the works.
For anyone who is interested in learning more, the WGA has posted a video on YouTube explaining why they've decided to go on strike (thanks to Kevin Carlson for the link!).
