Paramount & Dreamworks Animation Open Cannes: Sacha … 
Cannes: Hot Film Titles For U.S. Buyers 
Bill Block’s QED Gets Cash Infusion From Media … 
Aaron Sorkin To Script ‘Steve Jobs,’ Based On … 
Warner Bros Tops $1B At Global Box Office 
Waterstone Enlists Chris Pine And Pals For Indie Comedy … 
Jimmy Kimmel Skewers ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox & The … 
Steve Jobs Biopic Starring Ashton Kutcher To Cannes: … 
Alexander Payne Wants Bruce Dern And Will Forte To … 
Amy Adams In Talks To Venture Into ‘Dark 
ABC’s ‘Mistresses’ Summer-Bound, … 
Alec Baldwin And James Toback Team On Cannes Docu … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: No Howard Stern Surge For ‘America’s … 
CBS Films Acquires ‘Ends Of The Earth’ At 
Student Academy Award Winners Announced 
Can Cannes Make A Major Mark On The Oscar Race Two Years In … 
Single-Camera Comedy Mayhem: ABC, NBC & Fox To Clash … 
2012-13 ABC Schedule: Comedy Block On Friday, … 
2012-13 New Series Leads: Strong Year For Black Actors, … 
Rebekah Brooks First Person To Be Charged In News Corp … 
David Yates Confirms His Exit From ‘Your Voice In My … 
Below is the new ad seen at AMPTP.org and soon in print that the Big Media moguls are running. ”How ironic that a couple weeks ago the WGA was trying to conquer the moguls by portraying them as divided. Now, as evidenced by the ad, the moguls have never been more united at a time the organizers are hoping to divide and conquer,” an AMPTP source tells me. Just one problem: legal sources tell me the ad also exposes potential issues relating to collusion, price-fixing, and anti-trust among the Big Media companies who are supposed to be business competitors. It also once and all establishes that the AMPTP, rather than a supposed umbrella group for 350 production entities as it claims, is really just what I’ve been saying all along: a handful of moguls who control Hollywood because of infotainment consolidation brought on by the lifting of financial syndications rules — Peter Chernin of News Corp/Fox, Jeff Zucker of NBC Universal, Les Moonves of CBS Inc, Brad Grey of Paramount Pictures, Barry Meyer of Warner Bros, Harry Sloan of MGM, Michael Lynton of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Bob Iger of Walt Disney Co. So think about it: these 8 guys have most everyone’s livelihoods in their hands and all they’re doing is boasting about how great their 4th quarters are going to look because of those pesky salaries and productions costs they didn’t have to pay. Why, they’ll probably get bigger bonuses for perpetuating the strike by walking out of the talks. And maybe — if they’re really really lucky, and their collective plan to overhaul the movie and TV business succeeds — they’ll figure out a way to provide entertainment without those expensive “assets who all go home at night” entirely.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
Loading ...
I can’t believe it! Why didn’t anyone tell me? The AMPTP just wants a just and fair deal? Well I AM glad I was finally informed. Sorry Mr. Strike Captain, I won’t be walking tomorrow. I’ve learned that the AMPTP offer of $250 for a year of streaming is fair AND just. All this time, I’ve been misled. And I’ve learned that free streaming of theatrical movies with ads is fair AND just (AND promotion!) All this time I’ve been lied to. And I’ve learned that the guild’s elected leaders aren’t really leaders, they’re ORGANIZERS! Oh, tha horrah! I feel like a light has been turned on, all by one little ad. Ain’t media great?
Thank You AMPTP for enlightening us. Can you finally frigging sign the deal on the table? Just to remind you all how little it will cost…
*For Sony, this entire deal would cost $1.68 million per year.
*For Disney it would cost $6.25 million per year.
*Paramount and CBS would each pay only $4.66 million per year.
*Warners would pay about about $11.2 million per year.
*Fox would pay about $6.04 million per year.
*NBC/Universal would pay $7.44 million per year.
*MGM would pay only $320,000 per year.
*All the other companies would assume the remaining cost of about $8.3 million per year.
http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2628
Oh! Your goal is to reach a fair and just agreement and get back to work? Fucking A! That’s great. It’s really good to hear that because, you know, we kinda got the impression it wasn’t. You know, since all you’ve been doing is issuing ultimatums and storming away.
Well, obviously that was all just some silly little misunderstanding. So we’ll be seeing you at the negotiating table on Monday morning, right?
Right?
Err, guys?
The “Super 8″ have all along been saying “they are united” why do they have to say it again. Sounds to me as if AMPTP are rattled a bit why else would they put out an ad saying as a group of eight they are “more in love” with each other than ever before. Personally I think they need a new ad campaign, this one seems to be a bust.
See you in court douchebags….Nice work, Fabiani and Lehane. You must be dying for an easy gig like a tobacco company, huh? May you all get cancer…
Uh, how much exactly are you kids paying those PR guys? It’s a bit too much.
“Just because Sumner Redstone controls both doesn’t mean that they both don’t owe a fiduciary duty to their shareholders first and foremost.”
Since National Amusements is the majority shareholder, their fiduciary duty IS TO Sumner Redstone.
When the laws allow media consolidation that outrageous, that is the result.
Oh, how very ironic indeed, AMPTP source. Now, as evidenced by an ad whose sole reason for existence was to enable you to say the moguls have never been more united, you confide in Nikki that the ad is proof that the moguls have never been more united. Of course! And new and improved Tide is new and improved! Checkmate! You win!
Lehane, you slay me. Oh, and how come you’re not in Iowa or New Hampshire these days?
Lehane and Fabiani did at least two drafts of the ad. I know because I saw the first ad and it said this:
Different Assets….
Differest Businesses…
Different Companies…
One Common Goal.
To Not Return To The Bargaining Table And Negotiate Fairly With The Writers In Hopes Of Crushing The Union.
Divide and conquer.
Offer the first company which agrees to EVERY ONE of our position points a six month or one year window during which we UTTERLY refuse to close a deal with any company that doesn’t agree to each of our positions, plus 5% per month for the hold outs.
A smart mogul would realize he could have new product during a period when his competitors are precluded from doing the same.
That will crack them open. They’re greedy bastards. One will sellout at the right price.
“Just one problem: legal sources tell me the ad also exposes potential issues relating to collusion, price-fixing, and anti-trust among the Big Media companies who are supposed to be business competitors.”
D’OH!!!!!!
One more strategy the WGA can pursue (if it has time):
organize a protest/movement/campaign to represent the disguntled fans of many TV shows who cannot watch their favorite shows but still paying the same cable bill every month.
Maybe a boycott of cable TV/internet is needed. This would throw a serious monkey wrench into the mix, causing the execs to straighten up their act. Especially when the advertising revenues start drying up.
Maybe a movie boycott is needed altogether. I for one decline to support the studios right now and have cut back on my moviegoing by 90% (with the exception of the clear ‘Best Picture’ Oscar contenders.) MY life is better for it as well because I am reading the Classics and sort of dropping away from reaches of Big Business.
Ouch. I’ve been called a shill like 30 times on this board and haven’t been embarrassed or offended by it.
But I am embarrassed and offended by this ad. I can’t even begin to fathom what it is trying to accomplish or what troglodyte would buy into it or whom it is trying to reach. The demo for this ad will reach exactly 8 people.
Are they just trying to bait writers?
You have to admit, as much as all of this is devastating and sad it is all truly an amazing and educational process. Living in the middle of this helps me understand so much more about how big business, Capitol Hill and America operates. Media blackouts, out-and-out lies, PR, he-said-she said, spin. Even just looking at this list of comments you can see the the shills get Sunday off.
What’s sad is that the dollar amounts and shares are not even about money to the “Big 8,” they’re just points in a game and whoever gets the highest score gets their name on a list in a fancy magazine — Hooray!
Look at the ENRON documentary again, the employees were high-five-ing everyone as they were wiping out families. This is who we’re dealing with — This is why we need to stay strong.
What is this supposed to be? A public relations campaign or a guilty plea to collusion charges?
Unfortunately, although it shows clear signs of anti-competitive collusion, that doesn’t mean anything in court as long as the Justice Department is controlled by an administration that’s at least as aggressively anti-union as the AMPTP moguls. But watch out when the next administration moves in — then we might start seeing “perp walks” for the signatories to this pointless ad.
Can anyone in the Godforsaken U.S. Justice Department go look up United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., 334 U.S. 131 (1948) and DO something with it??
*NBC/Universal would pay $7.44 million per year.
So it would cost NBC/Universal pretty much the earnings of one airing of a new Heroes episode at their current ad rate?
I don’t get it. Corporate greed can’t explain wasting money over peanuts. If I was a shareholder I would be getting the pitchforks out.
For those interested in a little history – according to this WSJ article – during the 1988 strike, the WGA negotiated separate deals with 100 companies – including the then mega hit Cosby. So, yeah – when the AMPTP says our leadership is desperate – I know it’s just because they can’t spell smart.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119785198066332667.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
You guys are so cute when you’re being all naive. Antitrust investigations and Senate hearings? Sounds like a cute movie, but it doesn’t have anything to do with real life, kids.
“Mo-gul -noun – a bump or mound of hard snow on a ski slope.
Comment by John D. — December 16, 2007 @ 6:54 pm ”
John D., quit it, you are giving the Lettermen writers ideas. Not that I wouldn’t like to see Johnny Mosley ski down Moonves hill.
Okay, so, again… why are 8 “moguls” who are supposedly competitors allowed to collective bargain with thousands of writers?
And why don’t we just make interim deals with everyone BUT the big 8?
Frankly, if it weren’t signed by these 8 big gremlins, this would be a great ad for the WGA.
Someone really didn’t think this through. When they come back to the table, the WGA’s negotiators should bring this enlarged and post it on any wall so they can see it while they storm out again for a third time.
whoever though this was a good ad is either delusional or working for the opposite side.
“if the DVD issue was indeed our “ace in the hole” and the WGA’s strongest playing card… then why did we so irresponsibly throw it out?”
We offered to take DVD off the table because the AMPTP said they’d negotiate — and then they didn’t. There’s no rule that says we can’t put it back on. Personally, I feel like DVDs are history already and we might as well ask for a cut of future wax cylinder sales too.
Please. Those guys weren’t even in their offices this week to approve that ad. They’re all on jets to spend their holidays in Aspen. Rest up, fellas! You’ll need plenty of energy in January to remind below the line folks how much writers are costing them while you won’t go back to the table. The companies have demonstrated they’re willing to spend more prolonging the strike than it would cost them to pay what writers are asking for over the next 3 years.
I don’t live in the US, so I probably couldn’t care less about the strike, except that I do, and so I find myself reading Deadline Hollywood, United Hollywood and AMPTP.org everyday. And I only got to one conclusion, if this wasn’t such a serious matter affecting so many families, what both sides are doing would be hilarious. But since while the WGA and the AMPTP keep throwing the ball to one another, there are people being hurt by the minute, I can only describe their speeches as pathetic and shameful.
I particularly find the AMPTP the most difficult to believe. The WGA could make certain things a little different, but still I give them a little credit considering the other side.
This ad… if they want to reach a fair and just agreement then why aren’t they negotiating? It’s a bit hard to even get closer to an agreement if sides are not talking. So talk. Please. The WGA says they want to go back to work. The AMPTP says they want to go back to work. There you have, one thing in common to start with.
So then I read AMPTP.org and found out some interesting things. But also, I can’t help but wonder. A working writer makes more than a surgeon, more than a family doctor, more than a fire-fighter, a teacher, a policeman AND emergency medical technician altogether. How much does the average CEO make out of the work of other people?
It’s the seventh week of the strike and it is costing writers and IATSE over 320 million dollars. Isn’t that a way larger amount than what it would cost the networks altogether per YEAR to agree to the WGA terms? So if they don’t want people to get hurt, because they care about families so much, why not accept the proposal instead of saying how bad the WGA is for not accepting the ultimatum? It’s faster, easier, cheaper AND makes the AMPTP look better than hiring a high cost PR whatever that seriously, it’s not making the AMPTP any nicer to my eyes than it was a couple of weeks ago.
In AMPTP’s open letter they state: “The working writers themselves have now lost more than $115 million, and these writers are no closer today to getting their fair share of new media revenues than they were when the strike began.” Hey, even the AMPTP says it’s a “fair” share. So why not give it to them?? Maybe I’m not that good at English, for which I apologize but it’s not my first language, but from what I understand in that single sentence, it just makes me wonder why the WGA isn’t any closer… what is the AMPTP doing to get to an agreement?
“We wonder whether the people in charge at the WGA now regret openly bragging in the media that “we are winning this strike,” or appearing before the cameras like “a rock star”. Is anyone from the AMPTP regretting walking out of negotiations?
I’m getting sick of both sides, but I’ll give this to the AMPTP, I’ve never felt so insulted and frustrated when reading or listening to a speech. They must really think people are stupid to believe an ad like that.