How would 'force majeure' come into play in the current 2007 writers' strike and why would it motivate writers to go back to work?

Answer 1

"Force Majeure" is a standard legal clause in most every contract which allows it to be canceled legally and without penalty due to extreme circumstances that prevent the terms of the contract from being fulfilled, i.e, acts of God (natural disasters), death, egregious or fraudulent incompetence by one of the contracted parties, etc. In this case, a labor strike qualifies as a reason to implement Force Majeure. The Writer's Guild doesn't want to be left behind in the area of content on the Web so the strike was called to demand a share of the profits generated from streaming TV programs, downloads, etc., among other issues. However, because of the writer's strike, Force Majeure allows the networks and studios to cancel shows, kill TV development deals, and fire whomever they want without any penalties six weeks after the the strike's Nov. 1 beginning (when the WGA's contract expired). After Dec. 10, 2007, it's predicted that the networks will implement Force Majeure and start dumping underperforming TV shows and canceling contracts with the producers they have signed to development deals. While the threat of Force Majeure is considered a way to compel the WGA to end its strike, many writers feel such an act would hurt the networks even more since they're effectively destroying their own product. However, others theorize the networks secretly wanted this strike to happen. The Fall 2007 TV season has been a big disappointment ratings-wise with no big breakout hits among the new series. A strike gives them the opportunity to Force Majeure all the weak shows off the air without having to pay any full-season buyouts (paying for 13 episodes even though only 4 or 5 were produced). After that, they can essentially start over with more cheaper reality shows, Game Shows, Idol-like talent shows, etc. How long this strike will last, nobody knows for sure. However, because of the collapse of talks on Dec. 7, 2007, it is feared that it could last until June when SAG (actors) DGA (directors) contracts run out also, which would force the studios back to the table.