Sorry for lack of updates, i've been very busy, but i'm back now!!!
to summarise what's happened over the last week: the WGA and the AMPTP have been negotiating, and are getting close to an agreement which is what we're all hoping for!!!
07 December 2007
27 November 2007
Today's Talks Productive; "Reasonableness Ruled The Day"
I am thrilled to give you a report on how today's much-anticipated resumed contract talks went between the writers and the producers. And they went well, according to my sources. "It was very productive, very level-headed, and it seemed as though the producers came ready to bargain," an insider told me tonight. "Reasonableness ruled the day.
"In fact, the AMPTP reps for the studios and networks showed up to the first day's negotiating session since the WGA strike began November 5th with what was described to me as "a very comprehensive proposal which laid out to all the entire roadmap to the deal. Over the course of the session, the producers addressed every single issue, and the writers listened and kept getting up to caucus.
"According to my sources, both sides spent the day recapping where they'd left off negotiations back on that Sunday November 4th, which was the last time the WGA and AMPTP faced each other. "So they basically went through all the proposals on the table: what they'd already agreed upon, and where they needed to go from here," an insider explained to me. "Tomorrow, they really start advancing the ball forward.
"There will continue to be a news blackout on the contract talks, meaning no end-of-day statements by either the AMPTP or WGA, "because no one wants to be the one to derail any progress," and to that end my lips are sealed about the site of the meetings. Right now, both sides plan more negotiating sessions not just for Tuesday but also for at least Wednesday. "It's anyone's guess where this process goes," a source explained to me, "Today, they spent time on old business. Tomorrow, they handle new business -- and that's where the rubber can really meet the road."
LOST Star Michael Emerson to Join Picket Line in NY
Michael Emerson (LOST) is one of many stars that will be rallying for the writers on the picket lines of the strike in New York.
WHAT:As the WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA STRIKE ENTERS ITS FOURTH WEEK, Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) members will again be on the picket lines instead of at work, writing sitcoms, primetime dramas, daytime soap operas, late night television shows, entertainment/ talk shows, reality shows, movies, and more.
In a major show of support by the city’s labor community, the WGAE is holding a massive SOLIDARITY RALLY on TUESDAY, NOV. 27TH. The rally’s message is "We’re all in this together, and we demand a fair deal!
"WHERE AND WHEN:
Tuesday, November 27th – WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
12:00 NOON – 1:30 PM
WHO:
Nearly 1,000 people expected to be on hand. Joining the striking WGAE members at the rally will be: Senator John Edwards, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Tim Robbins, Michael Emerson, Joe Pantoliano, Colin Quinn, Aasif Mandvi, Tony Goldwyn, Evan Handler, Gilbert Gottfried, Randi Weingarten (UFT), Ed Ott (Central Labor Council), Gary Lebarbera and Denis M. Hughes (NYS AFL-CIO), Sam Freed (SAG NY President), Richard Masur (former national president of SAG), WGAE leaders, and more. Interview opportunities will be available.
Also on hand will be members of the WGAW, SEIU, SAG, UNITE-HERE, UFT, national and NYS AFL-CIOs, and the New York City Central Labor Council.
WHAT:As the WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA STRIKE ENTERS ITS FOURTH WEEK, Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) members will again be on the picket lines instead of at work, writing sitcoms, primetime dramas, daytime soap operas, late night television shows, entertainment/ talk shows, reality shows, movies, and more.
In a major show of support by the city’s labor community, the WGAE is holding a massive SOLIDARITY RALLY on TUESDAY, NOV. 27TH. The rally’s message is "We’re all in this together, and we demand a fair deal!
"WHERE AND WHEN:
Tuesday, November 27th – WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
12:00 NOON – 1:30 PM
WHO:
Nearly 1,000 people expected to be on hand. Joining the striking WGAE members at the rally will be: Senator John Edwards, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Tim Robbins, Michael Emerson, Joe Pantoliano, Colin Quinn, Aasif Mandvi, Tony Goldwyn, Evan Handler, Gilbert Gottfried, Randi Weingarten (UFT), Ed Ott (Central Labor Council), Gary Lebarbera and Denis M. Hughes (NYS AFL-CIO), Sam Freed (SAG NY President), Richard Masur (former national president of SAG), WGAE leaders, and more. Interview opportunities will be available.
Also on hand will be members of the WGAW, SEIU, SAG, UNITE-HERE, UFT, national and NYS AFL-CIOs, and the New York City Central Labor Council.
26 November 2007
Dare We Hope A Deal Has Been Struck...?
As the WGA strike begins its 4th week, I've been told positive news about today's resumption of contract talks between the writers and the producers. So positive, in fact, that I'm almost fearful to post it. But here goes: a very reliable source tells me that there appears to be a deal seemingly in place between both sides.
"It's already done, basically," the insider describes. That's because of the weeks worth of groundwork by the Hollywood agents working the writers guild leadership on one side, and the studio and network moguls on the other. I was told not to expect an agreement this week. But my source thought it was possible that the strike could be settled before Christmas.
Look, I don't want to raise false hope here. But this source has been very accurate in the past. The negotiations starting today will have a news blackout, so don't expect any significant leaks. But consider the real possibility there's been a breakthrough. Still, I must caution that this is Hollywood -- where defeat is snatched from the jaws of victory nearly every time.
Source: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/dare-we-hope-a-deal-has-been-struck/
"It's already done, basically," the insider describes. That's because of the weeks worth of groundwork by the Hollywood agents working the writers guild leadership on one side, and the studio and network moguls on the other. I was told not to expect an agreement this week. But my source thought it was possible that the strike could be settled before Christmas.
Look, I don't want to raise false hope here. But this source has been very accurate in the past. The negotiations starting today will have a news blackout, so don't expect any significant leaks. But consider the real possibility there's been a breakthrough. Still, I must caution that this is Hollywood -- where defeat is snatched from the jaws of victory nearly every time.
Source: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/dare-we-hope-a-deal-has-been-struck/
22 November 2007
'Battlestar's final season in doubt?
Battlestar Galactica's executive producer Ronald D. Moore has accepted that the show may never resume filming following the current writers' strike in America.
In a posting on his blog after production on the acclaimed show's final season shut down, Moore stated: “I refuse to believe that we won’t finish, that we won’t be back to film our final stories, but I know and accept there is that possibility.
”Currently, only 13 episodes have been filmed with nine yet to be completed. Moore added: “I am ready to put the rest of the story on the table and take the risk that I’ll never be able to tell it, in support of this strike. Like Adama says, you make your choices and then you live with them.”
Source: www.digitalspy.comWriters Strike Could Cost $21.3 Million a Day
A continuing dispute would have an acute effect on the region's economy, according to a film group's conservative estimates.
As thousands of TV and film writers marched along Hollywood Boulevard in the third week of their strike, film officials put a price tag on the potential economic toll of the walkout. Los Angeles' economy will lose more than $20 million a day in direct production spending if the writers strike extends into next month, according to FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles film permits and promotes the industry.
"If the strike continues it's going to have a huge impact on the local economy and middle-class jobs," FilmL.A. President Steve MacDonald said Tuesday.
Writers walked out more than two weeks ago in a dispute with major studios over pay for work that is distributed via the Internet, video iPods, cellphones and other new media. Writers and major studios are set to resume talks Monday, although the guild has vowed to continue striking until a deal is finalized.
# WGA Writers' Strike Roundup
On Hollywood Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon, striking writers were joined by members of such unions as the Screen Actors Guild, Teamsters and Service Employees International Union. The solidarity march drew 4,000 people, according to the Writers Guild of America.
The 1 1/2 -hour rally, which moved along the historic stretch of the boulevard, kicked off with an appearance by R&B singer Alicia Keys. "I'm here in support of this cause," she said amid deafening cheers. "I want you to know I am a writer, too.
"Depending on how long it lasts, the strike could end up inflicting more economic pain than the previous writers walkout in 1988, which lasted 22 weeks and cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million. That was the equivalent of a little more than $3 million a day.
Hollywood is a more dominant force in the region today, with studios and networks that are part of global media giants such as Time Warner Inc., Walt Disney Co. and News Corp. Los Angeles also is more dependent than ever on television production, which has taken the biggest hit in the strike. The walkout occurred in the middle of the fall TV season, before networks had a chance to stockpile all the scripts they needed.
Already, at least two dozen shows have stopped production, including dramas such as "24," "Cold Case" and "Desperate Housewives," late-night shows and several sitcoms including "Till Death," "The Office" and "My Name Is Earl.
"Most TV shows are filmed in L.A., so the effect is especially acute here. If the strike continues into next month, virtually all of the 44 one-hour dramas and 21 situation comedies that are shot in Los Angeles will stop production entirely as the shows run out of fresh scripts to keep crews filming, industry officials say.
That will translate into a loss of 15,000 jobs and $21.3 million a day in direct spending, according to FilmL.A. The estimate is based on the average number of employees on these shows, and their typical budgets and shooting cycles.
For example, a single episode of a drama costs about $3 million to produce, employs 300 people and takes eight days to shoot. An episode of a half-hour sitcom costs $1.5 million, employs an average of 88 employees and has a five-day shooting cycle.Sitcoms were the first to take a hit because of the shorter lead times in writing them. During the first two weeks of the strike, filming for sitcoms outside of studio soundstages dropped nearly 50% compared with the same period a year earlier, according to FilmL.A. Activity for TV dramas has been virtually flat, while on-location reality TV shoots jumped 23% recently.
FilmL.A.'s estimate is conservative because it only takes into account jobs in the industry, not the scores of jobs at restaurants, hotels and other businesses that service Hollywood. The entertainment industry accounts for almost 7% of Los Angeles County's $442-billion economy.
Nor does it factor in job losses from the feature film sector. Studios already have scripts in hand for their 2008 slates, so only a few feature films have delayed production, including Ron Howard's "Angels & Demons" and Oliver Stone's "Pinkville.
"The level of disruption was underscored by Tuesday's march. Streets connecting to Hollywood Boulevard between Ivar and Highland avenues were closed to traffic for the march.
After Keys performed two songs, the crowd -- led by a small fleet of Teamsters trucks -- marched to the sound of drumbeats, waving signs and chanting, "Contracts! Now!" and "On strike, shut 'em down -- Hollywood's a union town!
"Creative messages dotted the sea of signs. One marcher took the opportunity to seek an eligible bachelor, waving a sign that said, "Looking for Mr. Write.
"Helicopters and a small plane pulling a banner that said, "WGA -- on the same page," circled overhead. Representatives from Creative Artists Agency walked through the crowd serving scones and hot apple cider.
"The writers are fighting the fight that we have coming up next year, so we're staying with them every step of the way," said Pamm Fair, deputy national executive director of the Screen Actors Guild. The actors contract expires June 30.
The commotion drew attention from curious onlookers. Residents in apartment complexes along Hollywood Boulevard cheered from open windows, while store owners stood in their doorways, some handing out coupons to marchers.
The march came to an end in front of the Chinese theater, where "A Beautiful Mind" writer Akiva Goldsman, actress Sandra Oh of "Grey's Anatomy" and Writers Guild negotiation committee Chairman John F. Bowman took to the stage.
"Pay us and we'll shut up and go back to work," Bowman said during his speech. "Show some soul, we'll show some flexibility."
Source: http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-story-costofthestrike,0,801763.story21 November 2007
Network/Studio strike memo
"As you may know by now, leaders of the AMPTP and WGA have mutually agreed to resume formal negotiations on November 26. Both sides have also agreed that no other details or press statements about the talks will be issued. We think that restraint is important going forward and will make sensible, productive talks far more likely.
The resumption of talks is very welcome news indeed to everyone in our business. We are all, producers and writers alike, looking forward to an end to this strike and realize that there's no way it can be resolved unless both sides are talking. Sitting down for serious discussions is an important first step in the resolution of our differences.
These differences are substantial, but we continue to believe that with hard work, patience and compromise on both sides, they can be overcome. One crucial fact that has been somewhat overlooked in all the noise surrounding the strike is that we, the members of the AMPTP, as producers of television programs and motion picture entertainment, have always believed that writers should be compensated when their work is distributed through new media and that they deserve to share in whatever success new technologies create. In fact, the industry has already paid millions of dollars in residuals for permanent and pay-per-view downloads. So while the terms of those payments may be on the table, the basic principle that writers should be compensated is not the issue.
During the last bargaining session several weeks ago, the AMPTP companies believe that we had made some significant proposals on several matters of importance to Guild members, among them the key issues of Internet streaming and new media jurisdiction. But there are still many issues that need to be resolved that will take hard work and compromise by both sides.
Suffice it to say that while we are committed to hammering out a fair deal with our WGA members, Warner Bros. cannot make an agreement that places our company at a disadvantage or makes it impossible for us to meet our commitments to our many constituencies—other employees, shareholders, the producers with whom we work, and the public that, these days, is constantly redefining the way they experience our content.
The producing organizations and the writers who are so integral to our business are both facing the same challenge. We live in a new-media world, and all of us must wrestle with the 21st century realities of our business. Going forward, we must work together to craft a new contract that is fair and keeps our business strong.
Until then, we remain prepared in every way to keep Warner Bros. operating at its customary high level of performance.
We think a new, fair deal is possible. As an industry, we have done such deals before. We will do them again.
We will continue to stay in touch with you as the situation develops. Until then, we wish you and yours a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday."
The resumption of talks is very welcome news indeed to everyone in our business. We are all, producers and writers alike, looking forward to an end to this strike and realize that there's no way it can be resolved unless both sides are talking. Sitting down for serious discussions is an important first step in the resolution of our differences.
These differences are substantial, but we continue to believe that with hard work, patience and compromise on both sides, they can be overcome. One crucial fact that has been somewhat overlooked in all the noise surrounding the strike is that we, the members of the AMPTP, as producers of television programs and motion picture entertainment, have always believed that writers should be compensated when their work is distributed through new media and that they deserve to share in whatever success new technologies create. In fact, the industry has already paid millions of dollars in residuals for permanent and pay-per-view downloads. So while the terms of those payments may be on the table, the basic principle that writers should be compensated is not the issue.
During the last bargaining session several weeks ago, the AMPTP companies believe that we had made some significant proposals on several matters of importance to Guild members, among them the key issues of Internet streaming and new media jurisdiction. But there are still many issues that need to be resolved that will take hard work and compromise by both sides.
Suffice it to say that while we are committed to hammering out a fair deal with our WGA members, Warner Bros. cannot make an agreement that places our company at a disadvantage or makes it impossible for us to meet our commitments to our many constituencies—other employees, shareholders, the producers with whom we work, and the public that, these days, is constantly redefining the way they experience our content.
The producing organizations and the writers who are so integral to our business are both facing the same challenge. We live in a new-media world, and all of us must wrestle with the 21st century realities of our business. Going forward, we must work together to craft a new contract that is fair and keeps our business strong.
Until then, we remain prepared in every way to keep Warner Bros. operating at its customary high level of performance.
We think a new, fair deal is possible. As an industry, we have done such deals before. We will do them again.
We will continue to stay in touch with you as the situation develops. Until then, we wish you and yours a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday."
High-Profile Actors Star In Internet 'Speechless' PSAs For Striking Writers
On Thanksgiving Day (November 22), a group of Writers Guild Of America members will begin posting Public Service Announcements featuring A-list Screen Actors Guild talent as part of the WGA membership's "Speechless" campaign conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff. For the first time in the TV and movie industry, high-profile SAG actors will be taking their talents directly and exclusively to the Internet -- the very medium which is at the center of the current WGA labor strike against the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
The spots will begin appearing on Thursday morning which will begin posting Thanksgiving Day and run exclusively on DeadlineHollywood.com through Sunday night. Beginning Monday, they will be found on SpeechlessWithoutWriters.com with links on UnitedHollywood.com and every day thereafter during the duration of the strike.
Included are SAG talent such as Sean Penn, Holly Hunter, Laura Linney, Alan Cumming, Jay Leno, Harvey Keitel, Kate Beckinsale, Tina Fey, Tim Robbins, Gary Marshall, David Schwimmer, Patricia Clarkson, James Franco, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Martin Sheen, , Josh Brolin, Susan Sarandon, Andre 3000, Chazz Palminteri, Jason Bateman, Christine Lahti, Patricia Arquette, Jenna Elfman, Olivia Wilde, Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, Eva Longoria, Justine Bateman, Joshua Jackson, Rosanna Arquette, Diane Ladd, Rebecca Romjin, Minnie Driver, Nicollette Sheridan, Robert Patrick, Matthew Perry, Ed Asner, and America Ferrera. Arrangements have been made to also shoot Woody Allen, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Ethan Hawke, Jason Alexander, Charlize Therone, Minnie Driver, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Many, many more are also in the works.
Here's how the PSAs came about: During the first day of the strike, director/writer George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl) and writer Alan Sereboff (The Payback All Star Review) were fulfilling their WGA strike duties by picketing at Universal Studios. By midday, Hickenlooper suggested to Sereboff that, as filmmakers, they perhaps could find a more effective way to contribute to the strike effort. By the end of the evening, they met at WGA Headquarters with writers Ian Deitchman, Justin Zakham (The Bucket List) and director Josh Marston (Maria Full of Grace) who were thinking along the same lines. After conferring, they came to an agreement: What better way to bring attention to the issues regarding the Internet then to use the Internet itself?
Hickenlooper, who had recently completed Factory Girl, suggested shooting Warhol-esque screen tests of major SAG talent not saying anything on camera, thus showing their solidarity with the WGA. Sereboff came up with the name "Speechless," and consequently Hickenlooper and Sereboff joined with actress Kamala Lopez (I Heart Huckabees) and began reaching out to fellow creatives. Within a few days, Hickenlooper had recruited fellow DGA members Wayne Kramer (The Cooler), Paul Haggis (The Valley of Ellah), Rod Lurie (The Contender), WGA writers Steve Pink (Gross Pointe Blank), Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia) and Jill Kushner (Ellen) in addition to the writing staff of The Tonight Show.
The Warhol screen test idea quickly took off. After a single day of filming, Hickenlooper/Sereboff learned that the support of major A-list SAG talent was so overwhelming that many wanted to do more than just a screen test. So the PSAs were expanded to include improvisational scene work to illustrate to the public humorously (and sometimes dramatically) the importance of the writer.
The result is a unique series of PSAs bringing together talent in solidarity. The "Speechless" campaign has thus far created the first dozen of these creative and innovative spots in black & white, ranging in length from 15 seconds to 4 minutes long.
The "Speechless" campaign support team includes music composer Anthony Marinelli, who is dedicating his time to scoring the spots; Clint Bennett, sound engineer; Joel Marshall, technical advisor; Jill Kushner production manager; Kamala Lopez, editor; and Ian Deitchman who is putting together the website.
For more information regarding the "Speechless" campaign contact SpeechlessWithoutWriters@gmail.com.
Mark February on your strike calendar
The fate of the next television season rides on timingEven with the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers returning to the table next Monday, media people are not expecting negotiators to bring an end to the writers strike anytime soon, most likely not until after the first of the year.As it turns out, just when after Jan. 1 is all important.The writers strike has already hurt this season. Come January, it would begin to threaten next season. Whether it does or not is all about timing.An agreement between writers and the studios by mid-January would cause only minor disruptions. But if the strike were to go into February, it could cause the networks all sorts of woes.Everything hinges on the writing of the pilots of shows for the new season. Though networks are developing shows through the year, the pilot writing season typically begins in late fall and picks up in January.A January end to the strike would mean the pilot process would pick back up, and any lost time could be made up. Returning shows would be back in production in time for the fall season.But kick this all forward just one month and everything changes. “If it goes beyond January, it gets into development season, which is where things will be affected,” says Ed Gentner, senior vice president and group director of video investment and activation at MediaVest.That then throws off the timing not only of the writing and production of shows but the entire upfront process in which the networks present their schedules to media buyers and eventually negotiate ad buys for the coming season.There's a lot of money at stake. Last spring, advertisers spent $9.3 billion booking time for this fall.“The networks typically present their development ideas to advertisers in March," Gentner says. "If nothing’s being developed, there’s nothing to present, which could delay the upfront process.”That could push the upfront back, perhaps well into the summer.If the strike were to go longer than March, the networks would face a whole new set of problems,It would be too late to get new shows into production in time for the fall, which would force the networks to load up their fall schedules with returning shows, including shows that did so poorly that they were up for cancellation.That would mean two things. First, the networks would have fall lineups that would deliver poorer ratings. But second, media buyers, also anticipating lower ratings, would gain leverage in the upfront market. They'd be able to demand and get better pricing, That would mean a real hit for the networks.
Source: http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Television_44/Mark_February_on_your_strike_calendar.asp
Source: http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Television_44/Mark_February_on_your_strike_calendar.asp
‘Lost’ set picketed by writers : They want to be paid when the popular TV show is downloaded
‘Lost’ set picketed by writers
They want to be paid when the popular TV show is downloaded
By Katherine Nicholsknichols@starbulletin.com
Members of the Writers Guild of America picketed yesterday in front of the Hawaii Film Studio, which houses the interior set for "Lost," in a display of solidarity with striking writers on the mainland.
Some of the approximately 20 active WGA members residing on Oahu held signs reading "ABC.com = LO$T WGA residuals." Formal negotiations between writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are scheduled to resume Monday.
"'Lost' is one of the most downloaded shows on television," said screenwriter Judd Klinger, who recently moved to Hawaii from Los Angeles. "It's a prototype for using new media, and it completely gets around paying writers, and that's exactly what the strike is about.
"Though "Lost" producers and actors filming at the Diamond Head location avoided the small, well-behaved group, visibility has not been a problem on the mainland, where presidential candidate John Edwards spoke to picketers and media in Burbank, Calif., about preventing "big corporate conglomerates from taking over.
"One of the key issues revolves around residuals. Writers are supposed to be paid every time their show airs. But circumventing traditional media outlets -- downloading to an iPod, for instance -- has obliterated a major source of income.
"Now with this alternate media, writers are paid nothing," said Neal Israel, a veteran member of the WGA since 1979, with a long list of hit movies and television favorites such as "Lizzy McGuire," "Even Stevens" and "The Wonder Years" to his credit.
Though studios have minimized the potential of online profits, "we're just asking for a percentage, if there's a profit -- with some fair determination of when a movie is actually in profit," explained Klinger, who noted that studios claimed during 1988 negotiations that people would never purchase a machine to watch videos at home.
Serial shows like "Lost," which people prefer to view in chronological order, are especially popular on DVD and the Internet. Currently, writers earn about 4 cents per DVD sold, against an alleged profit of $25 for the studio. They would like that to rise to 8 cents.
But "Lost" appears to be breaking ground with its new miniepisodes currently available on ABC.com. Led by executive producer Carlton Cuse (also a writer and key negotiator for the WGA), the writers of "Lost: Missing Pieces" earned a specific amount of money for each two- to three-minute short, and will make about 2 percent on residual sales, according to the New York Times. For writers willing to compromise, it certainly looks like progress.
"We are essentially a middle-class union," said Israel. "The average writer makes $60,000 a year. It's very difficult for us to make a living. We just want a fair contract."
Source: tv guide
They want to be paid when the popular TV show is downloaded
By Katherine Nicholsknichols@starbulletin.com
Members of the Writers Guild of America picketed yesterday in front of the Hawaii Film Studio, which houses the interior set for "Lost," in a display of solidarity with striking writers on the mainland.
Some of the approximately 20 active WGA members residing on Oahu held signs reading "ABC.com = LO$T WGA residuals." Formal negotiations between writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are scheduled to resume Monday.
"'Lost' is one of the most downloaded shows on television," said screenwriter Judd Klinger, who recently moved to Hawaii from Los Angeles. "It's a prototype for using new media, and it completely gets around paying writers, and that's exactly what the strike is about.
"Though "Lost" producers and actors filming at the Diamond Head location avoided the small, well-behaved group, visibility has not been a problem on the mainland, where presidential candidate John Edwards spoke to picketers and media in Burbank, Calif., about preventing "big corporate conglomerates from taking over.
"One of the key issues revolves around residuals. Writers are supposed to be paid every time their show airs. But circumventing traditional media outlets -- downloading to an iPod, for instance -- has obliterated a major source of income.
"Now with this alternate media, writers are paid nothing," said Neal Israel, a veteran member of the WGA since 1979, with a long list of hit movies and television favorites such as "Lizzy McGuire," "Even Stevens" and "The Wonder Years" to his credit.
Though studios have minimized the potential of online profits, "we're just asking for a percentage, if there's a profit -- with some fair determination of when a movie is actually in profit," explained Klinger, who noted that studios claimed during 1988 negotiations that people would never purchase a machine to watch videos at home.
Serial shows like "Lost," which people prefer to view in chronological order, are especially popular on DVD and the Internet. Currently, writers earn about 4 cents per DVD sold, against an alleged profit of $25 for the studio. They would like that to rise to 8 cents.
But "Lost" appears to be breaking ground with its new miniepisodes currently available on ABC.com. Led by executive producer Carlton Cuse (also a writer and key negotiator for the WGA), the writers of "Lost: Missing Pieces" earned a specific amount of money for each two- to three-minute short, and will make about 2 percent on residual sales, according to the New York Times. For writers willing to compromise, it certainly looks like progress.
"We are essentially a middle-class union," said Israel. "The average writer makes $60,000 a year. It's very difficult for us to make a living. We just want a fair contract."
Source: tv guide
Striking Writers Picket 'Lost' Studio Union Members Look For Share To Programs On Internet
Striking Writers Picket 'Lost' StudioUnion Members
Look For Share To Programs On Internet
POSTED: 1:37 pm HST November 19, 2007
HONOLULU -- Striking television and motion picture writers have begun picketing the Diamond Head studio where Hawaii's most popular TV series is in production.
Striking members of the Writer's Guild of America walk back and forth in front of the state's film studio at Diamond Head. Inside, production continued on the ABC show "Lost," using scripts written before the walkout began.
The big issue for the writers is getting a share for programs, including network shows, that are shown on the Internet.
"'Lost' and other shows are seen on the Internet. They're downloaded. They're put onto iPods and the writers get exactly nothing for it," said Neal Israel, of the Writer's Guild of America.
Israel and the union said the majority of TV writers make about $60,000 a year if there is a show that will hire them.
"Most of us are out of work a lot, and so, we're really -- this is a strike for a middle-class lifestyle, not a wealthy one," Israel said.
There are 20 to 25 writer's guild members here in Hawaii, but none of them actually write for "Lost," according to Israel. He said the "Lost" writers, who are also on strike, are in Los Angeles.
Local Writers Guild members are picketing the studio. They are also shooting their own videos on the picket lines to get their story out.
"So we have used the Internet as a tool to inform the public about what the strike is all about because people go to the Internet now," he said.
ABC said "Lost" will return for a new season in February.
How long will that season last if the strike keeps going? According to sources, "Lost" may have scripts for just three more shows for the upcoming season.
Source: www.variety.com
Webisodes of ‘Lost’: Model Deal for Writers?
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19 — On the picket lines, striking television and film writers adamantly claim that studios are refusing to pay for the use of writers’ scripts on the Internet.
But ABC Studios is doing just that. Over the next three months fans of the hit show “Lost” can go to ABC.com to view weekly episodes of “Lost: Missing Pieces,” a series of new two- to three-minute shorts that reveal background information and previously undisclosed details about the stranded inhabitants of the show’s mysterious island.
The “Missing Pieces” episodes were produced under an agreement with the writers’ union that provides for much of what the writers say the studios have been refusing to offer.
Payment for the use of material on the Internet will be a central issue keeping the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers apart when they head back to the bargaining table on Monday.
But as the “Lost” example shows, the two sides have found common ground before, and both have shown interest in giving some ground on the issue.
The “Missing Pieces” episodes were written by Carlton Cuse, an executive producer of the series and one of its lead writers. They feature the show’s regular actors and characters, including Matthew Fox, who plays Dr. Jack Shephard. Mr. Fox appears in the first installment, released last week. The writers, actors and others involved in the production were paid specifically for their work on the Web episodes and will earn residual income, just as they do for the broadcast show.
In an interview Mr. Cuse said that while it took five months to reach an agreement, he believes the “Missing Pieces” deal could serve as a template for resolving at least some of the dispute over payment for online use of material.
“I think it is a pretty good model,” he said last week. “What it shows is that there is basically room for a partnership between writers and the studios in a new medium. It’s where I wish we were headed instead of being stuck in this standoff.”
People close to the studios say they also see some promise in the “Lost” deal, although they note that it was negotiated with a single producers’ alliance member, ABC Studios, rather than with all of the members of the group. The deal also included a clause specifically stating that it did not set a precedent for any future deals and could not be cited as such in future negotiations.
Nevertheless, the television and film studios offered terms similar to the “Lost” deal in the negotiations that took place before writers began their strike on Nov. 5, said Barbara Brogliatti, a spokeswoman for the alliance.
Charles B. Slocum, assistant executive director of the Writers Guild of America West, said in an interview on Friday that he believed “in general terms” that the “Lost” deal created “the pattern that we are looking for in our negotiations,” although he noted that the guild was seeking better financial terms.
“Lost: Missing Pieces” paid the writers of each short episode approximately $800. For that the studio received the right to run the episodes on Verizon cellphones for 13 weeks. After that period, repeats of the episodes or their transmissions on other media — like the Internet — would generate residuals for the writers of 1.2 percent to 2 percent of the fee the studio received to license the material.
Therefore, the episodes now running on ABC.com, each preceded by an advertisement, are generating for Mr. Cuse a 2 percent residual. In its contract negotiations, the Writers Guild is seeking 2.5 percent for similar work in the future.
The “Lost” deal represents, for the writers, a significant improvement over similar situations elsewhere. On NBC.com, for example, fans of “The Office” can find episodes of “The Accountants,” a series of shorts made for the Internet, scripted by writers of “The Office” and featuring regular actors from the show. A short commercial usually accompanies episodes.
But writers of the “The Accountants” received no specific payment for their work and receive no residuals from their continued play. Writers from “The Office,” including Greg Daniels, an executive producer, have objected to that and refused to work on further shorts without a separate agreement.
There is some dispute over exactly what writers want in such agreements, however. Representatives of the studios, who agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity, said writers were asking to be paid a percentage of the retail price of movies and television episodes downloaded over services like iTunes, and a percentage of the advertising revenues generated when movies or television shows or mini-episodes — like those from “The Office” and “Lost” — are streamed online.
To the studios that is like the manufacturer of a product’s being asked to pay its workers based on the retail price of what it makes, something the manufacturer has no control over.
Mr. Slocum disputes that, however, saying that the guild is only seeking to be paid a portion of the wholesale price of downloaded content, and a portion of the licensing fee that the studios receive for streamed content. In other words, Mr. Slocum says that the writers are seeking what the studios have said, in principal, that they are willing to pay.
The two sides don’t agree on when payments should begin. The studios want a six-week window in which they can replay full episodes of a television series without paying extra. The time is necessary, they say, to “promote” the series, allowing viewers who missed a show’s regular broadcast to catch up. The writers have said they would accept a much shorter window, of about three days.
Another sticking point remains in how licensing fees are measured. Because ABC Studios, which produces “Lost,” is owned by the same company that owns the ABC television network, which operates ABC.com, the Writers Guild questions whether the licensing fee being paid from one related party to another is being negotiated fairly.
The guild argues that the best indicator of what is a fair licensing fee is how much advertising revenue the Web site can earn selling ads for the Internet content. The studios object to advertising revenue being brought into the equation at all.
With the two parties seeming to agree in principle that there can be a way for studios to pay writers when their scripts are used for Internet content, the studios and the writers would seem to have already established some sort of foundation for a settlement.
Perhaps that recognition helped push the two sides to agree to return to the bargaining table in a week. As Mr. Cuse said of “The Missing Pieces” episodes, “It’s ironic that these are coming out and flourishing when this is the crux of the issue in our strike.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/arts/television/20digi.html?_r=4&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
But ABC Studios is doing just that. Over the next three months fans of the hit show “Lost” can go to ABC.com to view weekly episodes of “Lost: Missing Pieces,” a series of new two- to three-minute shorts that reveal background information and previously undisclosed details about the stranded inhabitants of the show’s mysterious island.
The “Missing Pieces” episodes were produced under an agreement with the writers’ union that provides for much of what the writers say the studios have been refusing to offer.
Payment for the use of material on the Internet will be a central issue keeping the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers apart when they head back to the bargaining table on Monday.
But as the “Lost” example shows, the two sides have found common ground before, and both have shown interest in giving some ground on the issue.
The “Missing Pieces” episodes were written by Carlton Cuse, an executive producer of the series and one of its lead writers. They feature the show’s regular actors and characters, including Matthew Fox, who plays Dr. Jack Shephard. Mr. Fox appears in the first installment, released last week. The writers, actors and others involved in the production were paid specifically for their work on the Web episodes and will earn residual income, just as they do for the broadcast show.
In an interview Mr. Cuse said that while it took five months to reach an agreement, he believes the “Missing Pieces” deal could serve as a template for resolving at least some of the dispute over payment for online use of material.
“I think it is a pretty good model,” he said last week. “What it shows is that there is basically room for a partnership between writers and the studios in a new medium. It’s where I wish we were headed instead of being stuck in this standoff.”
People close to the studios say they also see some promise in the “Lost” deal, although they note that it was negotiated with a single producers’ alliance member, ABC Studios, rather than with all of the members of the group. The deal also included a clause specifically stating that it did not set a precedent for any future deals and could not be cited as such in future negotiations.
Nevertheless, the television and film studios offered terms similar to the “Lost” deal in the negotiations that took place before writers began their strike on Nov. 5, said Barbara Brogliatti, a spokeswoman for the alliance.
Charles B. Slocum, assistant executive director of the Writers Guild of America West, said in an interview on Friday that he believed “in general terms” that the “Lost” deal created “the pattern that we are looking for in our negotiations,” although he noted that the guild was seeking better financial terms.
“Lost: Missing Pieces” paid the writers of each short episode approximately $800. For that the studio received the right to run the episodes on Verizon cellphones for 13 weeks. After that period, repeats of the episodes or their transmissions on other media — like the Internet — would generate residuals for the writers of 1.2 percent to 2 percent of the fee the studio received to license the material.
Therefore, the episodes now running on ABC.com, each preceded by an advertisement, are generating for Mr. Cuse a 2 percent residual. In its contract negotiations, the Writers Guild is seeking 2.5 percent for similar work in the future.
The “Lost” deal represents, for the writers, a significant improvement over similar situations elsewhere. On NBC.com, for example, fans of “The Office” can find episodes of “The Accountants,” a series of shorts made for the Internet, scripted by writers of “The Office” and featuring regular actors from the show. A short commercial usually accompanies episodes.
But writers of the “The Accountants” received no specific payment for their work and receive no residuals from their continued play. Writers from “The Office,” including Greg Daniels, an executive producer, have objected to that and refused to work on further shorts without a separate agreement.
There is some dispute over exactly what writers want in such agreements, however. Representatives of the studios, who agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity, said writers were asking to be paid a percentage of the retail price of movies and television episodes downloaded over services like iTunes, and a percentage of the advertising revenues generated when movies or television shows or mini-episodes — like those from “The Office” and “Lost” — are streamed online.
To the studios that is like the manufacturer of a product’s being asked to pay its workers based on the retail price of what it makes, something the manufacturer has no control over.
Mr. Slocum disputes that, however, saying that the guild is only seeking to be paid a portion of the wholesale price of downloaded content, and a portion of the licensing fee that the studios receive for streamed content. In other words, Mr. Slocum says that the writers are seeking what the studios have said, in principal, that they are willing to pay.
The two sides don’t agree on when payments should begin. The studios want a six-week window in which they can replay full episodes of a television series without paying extra. The time is necessary, they say, to “promote” the series, allowing viewers who missed a show’s regular broadcast to catch up. The writers have said they would accept a much shorter window, of about three days.
Another sticking point remains in how licensing fees are measured. Because ABC Studios, which produces “Lost,” is owned by the same company that owns the ABC television network, which operates ABC.com, the Writers Guild questions whether the licensing fee being paid from one related party to another is being negotiated fairly.
The guild argues that the best indicator of what is a fair licensing fee is how much advertising revenue the Web site can earn selling ads for the Internet content. The studios object to advertising revenue being brought into the equation at all.
With the two parties seeming to agree in principle that there can be a way for studios to pay writers when their scripts are used for Internet content, the studios and the writers would seem to have already established some sort of foundation for a settlement.
Perhaps that recognition helped push the two sides to agree to return to the bargaining table in a week. As Mr. Cuse said of “The Missing Pieces” episodes, “It’s ironic that these are coming out and flourishing when this is the crux of the issue in our strike.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/arts/television/20digi.html?_r=4&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
WGA Strike Claims 2 More Films
The trade reported tonight that Warner Bros called off a February production start on Shantaram, the Mira Nair-directed adaptation of the Gregory David Roberts novel that was to star Johnny Depp. Eric Roth had been doing the rewrite. The Weinstein Co, meanwhile, postponed Nine, the Rob Marshall-directed musical that was slated to start production in March with Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Sophia Loren and Marion Cotillard starring. In both cases, the scripts weren't ready. After Michael Tolkin wrote the screenplay for Nine, TWC engaged Anthony Minghella to do a polish, "but he was able to put in only three days of work before the writers guild went out," Variety reported. Catherine Zeta-Jones dropped out of the movie.
Source: http://www.variety.com/
18 November 2007
Writers, studios to resume talks
Offering hope of an end to the walkout, the two sides announce that they'll return to negotiations Nov. 26.By Richard Verrier and Meg James
Hollywood's film and TV writers and its major studios have agreed to return to the bargaining table, offering the first glimmer of hope that a deal to end a costly two-week strike could be within reach.
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said late Friday that they would resume talks Nov. 26 on a new contract for 10,500 writers to replace the one that expired Oct. 31. The two sides announced the plan in identical statements, a rare show of unity.
"It's in everybody's best interest to get this thing over," one top studio executive said Friday. "There is a significant amount of work to be done but you can't resolve anything if you're not talking."
Union officials, however, said that resuming the negotiations didn't mean writers would call off their strike, including plans for a massive march along Hollywood Boulevard on Tuesday.
To keep the pressure on studios, guild officials said they intended to keep staging pickets and rallies in L.A. and New York until an agreement was reached.
Both sides have been under pressure to return to the bargaining table after talks broke down Nov. 4 amid disputes over how much writers should be paid when their work is distributed on new media such as the Internet.
Although it was unclear which side took the initiative to revive the talks, the decision was mutual, according to people close to the matter. The breakthrough came about as a result of back-channel talks between prominent television writers and senior executives, including News Corp. President Peter Chernin, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Entertainment Chairman Barry Meyer and CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves.
Clearing the way for talks to restart was a decision this week by Nick Counter, the studios' chief negotiator, to drop his demand that talks not occur as long as writers were on strike.
The strike was starting to cause economic pain.
At least two dozen TV shows have come to a grinding halt. The late-night shows, including "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," and "Late Show With David Letterman," went into repeats because those shows are topical and dependent on guild writers. A wave of prime-time comedies also shut down, including CBS' "Two and a Half Men" and NBC's "The Office," as well as such popular dramas as ABC's "Desperate Housewives."
On Friday, the writers strike halted a high-profile movie: Columbia Pictures' "Angels & Demons," the sequel to the blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code."
The disruption of production threatened the livelihoods of hundreds of crew members as well as administrative assistants and other workers who risked the loss of their jobs when several studios suspended production deals with top writer-producers. Both sides are motivated to resolve the dispute before it disrupts next year's pilot season.
Scores of businesses that feed on the area's $30-billion entertainment industry also saw their businesses take a hit.
Many directors said they wanted to hold off on their own union's talks in support of the writers, and such celebrities as Ron Howard even wielded picket signs at Writers Guild rallies.
Studios also confronted an unusually strong show of unity from a group that in the past had been prone to internal bickering. Leading TV writer-producers, known as show runners, have played a key role in the strike. While some have been working behind the scenes to edit their shows, few have crossed picket lines to resume writing, forcing the early shutdown of several programs.
"The studios have underestimated the resolve of the guild," said Carlton Cuse, one of the show runners on ABC's "Lost" and a member of the guild's negotiating committee. He spoke early Friday morning while walking the picket line outside the gates of Walt Disney Co.
The studios were applying their own pressure to have their show runners report to work. CBS Corp. and 20th Century Fox Television quickly sent breach-of-contract letters to several dozen writer-producers who had refused to fulfill their production duties.
Among those who sought to jump-start talks were top talent agents, who met with guild leaders last week. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger weighed in, reaching out to both sides this week.
When they meet in about 10 days, the two sides may be able to build on progress that was made in the talks that ended Nov. 4, the first day of serious negotiations.
Writers had agreed to drop their demand for doubling DVD pay, while studios had for the first time offered a proposal for paying writers for the streaming of shows online, though they sharply disagreed on terms.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wga17nov17,1,7438841.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Hollywood's film and TV writers and its major studios have agreed to return to the bargaining table, offering the first glimmer of hope that a deal to end a costly two-week strike could be within reach.
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said late Friday that they would resume talks Nov. 26 on a new contract for 10,500 writers to replace the one that expired Oct. 31. The two sides announced the plan in identical statements, a rare show of unity.
"It's in everybody's best interest to get this thing over," one top studio executive said Friday. "There is a significant amount of work to be done but you can't resolve anything if you're not talking."
Union officials, however, said that resuming the negotiations didn't mean writers would call off their strike, including plans for a massive march along Hollywood Boulevard on Tuesday.
To keep the pressure on studios, guild officials said they intended to keep staging pickets and rallies in L.A. and New York until an agreement was reached.
Both sides have been under pressure to return to the bargaining table after talks broke down Nov. 4 amid disputes over how much writers should be paid when their work is distributed on new media such as the Internet.
Although it was unclear which side took the initiative to revive the talks, the decision was mutual, according to people close to the matter. The breakthrough came about as a result of back-channel talks between prominent television writers and senior executives, including News Corp. President Peter Chernin, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Entertainment Chairman Barry Meyer and CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves.
Clearing the way for talks to restart was a decision this week by Nick Counter, the studios' chief negotiator, to drop his demand that talks not occur as long as writers were on strike.
The strike was starting to cause economic pain.
At least two dozen TV shows have come to a grinding halt. The late-night shows, including "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," and "Late Show With David Letterman," went into repeats because those shows are topical and dependent on guild writers. A wave of prime-time comedies also shut down, including CBS' "Two and a Half Men" and NBC's "The Office," as well as such popular dramas as ABC's "Desperate Housewives."
On Friday, the writers strike halted a high-profile movie: Columbia Pictures' "Angels & Demons," the sequel to the blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code."
The disruption of production threatened the livelihoods of hundreds of crew members as well as administrative assistants and other workers who risked the loss of their jobs when several studios suspended production deals with top writer-producers. Both sides are motivated to resolve the dispute before it disrupts next year's pilot season.
Scores of businesses that feed on the area's $30-billion entertainment industry also saw their businesses take a hit.
Many directors said they wanted to hold off on their own union's talks in support of the writers, and such celebrities as Ron Howard even wielded picket signs at Writers Guild rallies.
Studios also confronted an unusually strong show of unity from a group that in the past had been prone to internal bickering. Leading TV writer-producers, known as show runners, have played a key role in the strike. While some have been working behind the scenes to edit their shows, few have crossed picket lines to resume writing, forcing the early shutdown of several programs.
"The studios have underestimated the resolve of the guild," said Carlton Cuse, one of the show runners on ABC's "Lost" and a member of the guild's negotiating committee. He spoke early Friday morning while walking the picket line outside the gates of Walt Disney Co.
The studios were applying their own pressure to have their show runners report to work. CBS Corp. and 20th Century Fox Television quickly sent breach-of-contract letters to several dozen writer-producers who had refused to fulfill their production duties.
Among those who sought to jump-start talks were top talent agents, who met with guild leaders last week. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger weighed in, reaching out to both sides this week.
When they meet in about 10 days, the two sides may be able to build on progress that was made in the talks that ended Nov. 4, the first day of serious negotiations.
Writers had agreed to drop their demand for doubling DVD pay, while studios had for the first time offered a proposal for paying writers for the streaming of shows online, though they sharply disagreed on terms.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wga17nov17,1,7438841.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Conflicts, conundrums and collateral damage
Conflicts, conundrums and collateral damage
By Elizabeth Guider
Jay Leno doled out doughnuts to the picketers in Burbank; Ellen DeGeneres walked past them, metaphorically anyway, to continue to do her talk show.
If ever there were an image of just how divisive the current work stoppage is, that was it.
Two of the highest-paid talents in TV land taking diametrically opposed actions vis-a-vis the standoff between the Writers Guild and the studio/network conglomerates.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, Leno instantly was hailed as a true mensch, while DeGeneres mostly has taken jabs for being a scab, or indeed for caring more about puppy dogs than hard-pressed scribes.
No doubt there's something positive to be said for either approach: the late-night comedian making the point that this is not about A-listers like himself but about the working stiffs who are the backbone of the industry; the daytime gabber saying she was sticking to her contract with the 600-odd stations that air her show -- and keeping her staff and crew employed.
In any case, it's been mostly the TV types who have gone out on a limb one way or the other, including some two dozen showrunners who have opted to close down their ongoing scripted series in a show of support for the writers.
And it is a limb: What if the networks discover that nonscripted shows bring in just two-thirds of the audience a drama does but that they cost on average $750,000 an hour rather than $1.5 million an episode for a drama? The balance of programming could shift inexorably toward the nonscripted option for years to come.
As for collateral damage, assistants to people in just about every part of the industry are the ones taking the brunt so far, as well as employees of the 20-odd shows that already have shut down.
Few would dispute that the wider-expressed sympathies of the community and the public at large tilt toward the writers. "Who wants to publicly say they're for the conglomerates?" is how one political consultant put it to me.
In fact, a Pepperdine survey suggested that a whopping two-thirds of the public felt that the scribes have a good case for demanding more money in residuals.
A day later, an internationally funded financial report surfaced suggesting that the studios' profit margins really are -- as studio bosses have been claiming for several years -- well, razor-thin, and more pertinently, that one of the chief reasons for that is the inordinate fees creamed off the top of film revenue and TV license fees by star talent. (Rising production costs and shrinking DVD sales also play a part.) Per the Screen Digest report, studios paid out about $2.5 billion in gross participation fees in 2006 and roughly $500 million in residuals. Apparently, the participation fees have been rising year-on-year at a far greater clip than residuals.
While the writers have not ceased for a minute to megaphone their message to whomever will listen, the studio chieftains have remained mostly mum, so far resisting the opportunity to seize upon parts of the Screen Digest report with an "I told you so."
What the studios have been doing is making overtures to (or receiving them from?) the DGA, a guild that historically has been easier and quicker to bargain with and whose contract expires June 30, along with that of SAG. Were those talks with helmers to jump the queue, the writers -- and the town -- might be left high and dry for months on end. We'll all need more than doughnuts.
Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ifdb433cd9235b85696d07ae615f434b5
By Elizabeth Guider
Jay Leno doled out doughnuts to the picketers in Burbank; Ellen DeGeneres walked past them, metaphorically anyway, to continue to do her talk show.
If ever there were an image of just how divisive the current work stoppage is, that was it.
Two of the highest-paid talents in TV land taking diametrically opposed actions vis-a-vis the standoff between the Writers Guild and the studio/network conglomerates.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, Leno instantly was hailed as a true mensch, while DeGeneres mostly has taken jabs for being a scab, or indeed for caring more about puppy dogs than hard-pressed scribes.
No doubt there's something positive to be said for either approach: the late-night comedian making the point that this is not about A-listers like himself but about the working stiffs who are the backbone of the industry; the daytime gabber saying she was sticking to her contract with the 600-odd stations that air her show -- and keeping her staff and crew employed.
In any case, it's been mostly the TV types who have gone out on a limb one way or the other, including some two dozen showrunners who have opted to close down their ongoing scripted series in a show of support for the writers.
And it is a limb: What if the networks discover that nonscripted shows bring in just two-thirds of the audience a drama does but that they cost on average $750,000 an hour rather than $1.5 million an episode for a drama? The balance of programming could shift inexorably toward the nonscripted option for years to come.
As for collateral damage, assistants to people in just about every part of the industry are the ones taking the brunt so far, as well as employees of the 20-odd shows that already have shut down.
Few would dispute that the wider-expressed sympathies of the community and the public at large tilt toward the writers. "Who wants to publicly say they're for the conglomerates?" is how one political consultant put it to me.
In fact, a Pepperdine survey suggested that a whopping two-thirds of the public felt that the scribes have a good case for demanding more money in residuals.
A day later, an internationally funded financial report surfaced suggesting that the studios' profit margins really are -- as studio bosses have been claiming for several years -- well, razor-thin, and more pertinently, that one of the chief reasons for that is the inordinate fees creamed off the top of film revenue and TV license fees by star talent. (Rising production costs and shrinking DVD sales also play a part.) Per the Screen Digest report, studios paid out about $2.5 billion in gross participation fees in 2006 and roughly $500 million in residuals. Apparently, the participation fees have been rising year-on-year at a far greater clip than residuals.
While the writers have not ceased for a minute to megaphone their message to whomever will listen, the studio chieftains have remained mostly mum, so far resisting the opportunity to seize upon parts of the Screen Digest report with an "I told you so."
What the studios have been doing is making overtures to (or receiving them from?) the DGA, a guild that historically has been easier and quicker to bargain with and whose contract expires June 30, along with that of SAG. Were those talks with helmers to jump the queue, the writers -- and the town -- might be left high and dry for months on end. We'll all need more than doughnuts.
Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ifdb433cd9235b85696d07ae615f434b5
17 November 2007
Los Angeles Times | Opinion
Can the strike be settled?
Cut the teatrics, say the producers.
By Nick Counter on November 17, 2007
Producers in Hollywood absolutely believe that writers should be compensated for their work in new media. They also believe writers deserve to share in whatever success new technologies bring to studios. Producers have already put their money where their mouth is by paying millions in residuals for permanent and pay-per-view downloads.
Unfortunately, the theatrics and carefully designed photo opportunities of the last two weeks have obscured the fact that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers clearly supports writers having a fair share in opportunities presented by digital distribution.
The leaders of the Writers Guild of America know that during the last bargaining session Nov. 4, the producers proposed a residual rate for streaming shows and offered WGA members exclusivity in writing derivative programming made for new media — two proposals that were of utmost importance to WGA members — in order to make a deal that was fair to all. Unfortunately, the WGA leadership went on strike while that offer was on the table, ending negotiations.
What the WGA leadership is really asking for strains the test of reasonableness, and the problem is that few people outside the bargaining room know what’s actually at issue.
In short, the guild is demanding an unjustifiable increase in the residual rate that writers receive for downloads, money they receive in addition to the salary they were paid in the first place (the WGA’s 4,434 working members make an average of $200,000 per year). They are also demanding a percentage of the advertising revenue earned by the networks from -supported streaming.
However, the WGA’s contract is not with networks, it is with producers, who receive no proceeds from these advertisements, just as they receive none of the revenue achieved by networks through commercial television.
And what they don’t want their membership and the public in general to focus on is that it’s the producers who shoulder all the risk in a business in which most motion pictures lose money, and the vast majority of television shows either never get past the pilot episode or never achieve profitability. Regardless of whether a show or a movie is a hit or a flop, the writer is paid.
In addition, members of the Writers Guild and its sister guilds are covered by the country’s finest healthcare and pension plans, and our contribution to those plans has consistently increased while other industries’ contributions have decreased.
Further, the economics of the media business are changing. Producers are faced with soaring production and marketing costs, a DVD business that is to the Internet, a softening syndication market and an increasingly fragmented advertising and viewing landscape — all of which are creating real challenges that everyone in this business is facing.
It’s unfortunate that this wholly unnecessary strike is threatening to financially devastate the hundreds of thousands of people in the Southland whose livelihoods depend on a thriving and working industry. It must end, and end soon.
What will it take to end the strike and to get the contract resolved?
The AMPTP is prepared to negotiate if the Writers Guild sincerely expects that a deal can be made. It’s time to stop the posturing and the mischaracterization of positions and get on with the hard work ahead of us.
The WGA has to start dealing with the 21st century realities of our business so that we can craft a new contract that protects the interests of all entertainment industry employees.
We’ve accomplished this in the past. We can do it again.
Source: www.amptp.org
Cut the teatrics, say the producers.
By Nick Counter on November 17, 2007
Producers in Hollywood absolutely believe that writers should be compensated for their work in new media. They also believe writers deserve to share in whatever success new technologies bring to studios. Producers have already put their money where their mouth is by paying millions in residuals for permanent and pay-per-view downloads.
Unfortunately, the theatrics and carefully designed photo opportunities of the last two weeks have obscured the fact that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers clearly supports writers having a fair share in opportunities presented by digital distribution.
The leaders of the Writers Guild of America know that during the last bargaining session Nov. 4, the producers proposed a residual rate for streaming shows and offered WGA members exclusivity in writing derivative programming made for new media — two proposals that were of utmost importance to WGA members — in order to make a deal that was fair to all. Unfortunately, the WGA leadership went on strike while that offer was on the table, ending negotiations.
What the WGA leadership is really asking for strains the test of reasonableness, and the problem is that few people outside the bargaining room know what’s actually at issue.
In short, the guild is demanding an unjustifiable increase in the residual rate that writers receive for downloads, money they receive in addition to the salary they were paid in the first place (the WGA’s 4,434 working members make an average of $200,000 per year). They are also demanding a percentage of the advertising revenue earned by the networks from -supported streaming.
However, the WGA’s contract is not with networks, it is with producers, who receive no proceeds from these advertisements, just as they receive none of the revenue achieved by networks through commercial television.
And what they don’t want their membership and the public in general to focus on is that it’s the producers who shoulder all the risk in a business in which most motion pictures lose money, and the vast majority of television shows either never get past the pilot episode or never achieve profitability. Regardless of whether a show or a movie is a hit or a flop, the writer is paid.
In addition, members of the Writers Guild and its sister guilds are covered by the country’s finest healthcare and pension plans, and our contribution to those plans has consistently increased while other industries’ contributions have decreased.
Further, the economics of the media business are changing. Producers are faced with soaring production and marketing costs, a DVD business that is to the Internet, a softening syndication market and an increasingly fragmented advertising and viewing landscape — all of which are creating real challenges that everyone in this business is facing.
It’s unfortunate that this wholly unnecessary strike is threatening to financially devastate the hundreds of thousands of people in the Southland whose livelihoods depend on a thriving and working industry. It must end, and end soon.
What will it take to end the strike and to get the contract resolved?
The AMPTP is prepared to negotiate if the Writers Guild sincerely expects that a deal can be made. It’s time to stop the posturing and the mischaracterization of positions and get on with the hard work ahead of us.
The WGA has to start dealing with the 21st century realities of our business so that we can craft a new contract that protects the interests of all entertainment industry employees.
We’ve accomplished this in the past. We can do it again.
Source: www.amptp.org
CONTRACT 2007 NEGOTIATIONS STATEMENT
LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have issued the following statement today:
Leaders from the WGA and the AMPTP have mutually agreed to resume formal negotiations on November 26. No other details or press statements will be issued.
For more information about the Writers Guild of America, West, please visit www.wga.org. For more information about the Writers Guild of America, East, please visit: www.wgaeast.org.
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) represent writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in both entertainment and news. The unions conduct numerous programs, seminars, and events throughout the world on issues of interest to, and on behalf of, writers.
Source: http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/2007/11/amptp-promises-to-come-back-to-table.html
Leaders from the WGA and the AMPTP have mutually agreed to resume formal negotiations on November 26. No other details or press statements will be issued.
For more information about the Writers Guild of America, West, please visit www.wga.org. For more information about the Writers Guild of America, East, please visit: www.wgaeast.org.
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) represent writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in both entertainment and news. The unions conduct numerous programs, seminars, and events throughout the world on issues of interest to, and on behalf of, writers.
Source: http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/2007/11/amptp-promises-to-come-back-to-table.html
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