So last year I mentioned that Disney allegedly refused to pay royalties to Alan Dean Foster. According to SFWA, Foster’s situation has been worked out, but other writers are still having to fight; Disney’s position is to wait until the authors demand their pay rather than being proactive. And they’re actively embracing the principle that if a writer signs a contract with company A, then sells the rights to a sibling company, that’s a get-out-of-royalties-free card: “Fox had licensed the comics rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Dark Horse. After Disney purchased Fox, they withdrew those rights from Dark Horse and granted them to Boom! Comics. When one Buffy author contacted Boom! about missing royalties they were told that “royalties don’t transfer.”
SFWA recommends against a boycott as that will hurt writers who are being paid. If you’re a writer who’s been ripped off, here’s the website to go to.
People of color, women and gays are allowed to have differing opinions on media about them, just like white people. In other words, there’s not going to be one official black view on Black Lightning, Soul or anything else.
New York Post reporter Laura Italiano says she resigned after writing a false story under pressure. As an ex-journalist, I think resigning before would have been a better choice.
When home video first became a thing, one of the things that held up movie releases was music rights. The issue hasn’t gone away with streaming, which is why some show sound different than we remember.
A photo of 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio trying to help a dying student at Kent State immortalized the moment and turned her life upside down.
Did you know Soviet TV did a live-action Lord of the Rings 30 years ago?
One media outlet won’t let viewers forget Republicans tried to overthrow the government.
Apple says when you buy media on iTunes or from the app store, it’s not really yours and they can take it back any time. So far the court decisions have run against Apple.
Ed Brubaker made more money from Marvel movies by a cameo in Captain America: Winter Soldier than he did by co-creating the character (cover by Steve Epting).
McGraw Hill employs freelancers. Then it charges them a fee to use the company’s invoicing system.
An Atomic Junk Shop post pointing out that digital piracy isn’t victimless.
An argument for Charles Dickens’ Hard Times as the first cyberpunk novel.
Why sales figures for given books are tricky to calculate.
A movie can be fun to watch and disappointing on diversity.
The boom in watching old comfort-food TV.
#SFWApro. All rights to image remain with current holder.
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