Carl Icahn Now Wants ALL Of Lionsgate
FINAL MGM BIDS DUE FRIDAY: So Who's In And …
Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining …
BBC Drama Unfreezes Development Money; …
Lionsgate Board Rejects Icahn's $6/Share
Is Betting On Box Office Good For Films?
Marvel Still Looking For Captain America
'Sopranos' Creator To Film Rock Drama
LIVE-SNARKING THE 82ND OSCARS...
'ALICE' IS A MONSTER! $116.3M Blows Past …
Oscar Not-So-Thriller: Diller Mogul Picnic
'Precious' Sweeps 25th Indie Spirit Awards
Howard Stern Won't Be Next 'Idol' Judge
Justin Theroux Readying 'Zoolander 2' For …
I'd like to hear your theories/predictions/suggestions in the Comments section of this post about what positive (repeat, positive) steps can be taken starting January 1st to end this strike in a way that's perceived as fair to both sides since it's abundantly clear that neither the WGA nor the AMPTP is going to surrender anytime soon. (I won't be able to monitor comments until tonight so your musings won't post right away. Please don't email your comments, only post them here.)
Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, don't get your facts wrong, and don't bore me.
Loading ... Loading ...
It’s clear that something major has to happen just to get the two sides back in the same room, let alone the same bargaining table. I’m almost at a loss as to what this catalyst could or should be. It seems there is little middle ground. Some sort of mediator needs to come to the room and at least get people talking again. I know as a writer I’m terrible at math, but for the studios to be so scared of losing a small piece of pie is like a bully shaking pennies from a toddler. Get some new blood in the room, and maybe they have a chance, otherwise this is going to be a long-ass haul.
I’ve come to the realization that we must – MUST – get the general public involved. Talking to my midwest relatives and friends, it’s clear to me that among the general populace, there’s only the vaguest understanding of what’s going on. When I explain the issue to them, without fail they always exhibit shock that this is even happening to us writers. If people get involved, then the politicians surely will. Perhaps we won’t see a government-induced total overhaul of the industry’s icky bookkeeping practices, but it’ll be progress. And hopefully we’ll all be back to work before spring.
Collective bargaining agreements do not have terms in perpetuity. However, if the sentiment is that even a 3 year agreement is too risky, then why not simply negotiate one whose term is 18-24 months? They can bargain for various “floors” and “ceilings” for minimum new media compensation/residuals and agree to re-evaluate the market when this new term expires. This will allow the town to get back to work and prevent either side from feeling they’ve made a bad deal that can’t be revisited.
If the estimates that 60% of the American public really is behind our strike position, perhaps it is time to ask the public to join the picket lines with us. Perhaps an education program that shows that in many ways, we are fighting a symbolic battle against the hedging of our future by big corporations for all Americans, followed by a request for the public to join us in a symbolic number of “strikes” – in other words, pick the television shows most near and dear to the networks and, one network at a time, call for a one night boycott.
It’s time to take that 60% out and show where it will take us.
Maybe we should stop using words like “surrender.” The WGA is simply asking for increases to stay even with the overall economy and for a fair share of their own business. In lieu of any financial clarity from the AMPTP, a strike was an unhappy necessity. Currently, the WGA is waiting at the table and hoping that the AMPTP will return and, instead of marginalizing Mr. Counter, rely on his negotiating expertise.
The writers become writer/actors and start their own TV channel(s) on the internet, and monetize it with advertising. Then, the money they earn off the stuff they write would go directly to them.
Maybe they could do what Tom Green is doing using the Mania TV people out of Denver – they seem to have the technical end down solid – great picture and sound. Or, good ol’ YouTube would always work – UStream.tv, Stickam, yadda yadda – there are a lot of options. We’re looking for you – we’ll find you out there.
You used to need the big corporations for distribution. But, we have the internet now, so you don’t need them anymore.
We start some sort of independent production houses and the AMPTP can make a deal to pay us for content creation once they realize they like the way our pie tastes.
“Like warm apple pie…”
As a newspaper writer and broadcaster, I’m not in the same league, but wouldn’t it be great if WGA could simply sell its product to the individual shows/producers?
WWP signs on, Busboy signs on, Spelling/Wolf, whoever, signs on. We do this in radio; there is no one controlling (read: AMPTP) entity. “Here’s the WGA standard package, cashier is to your right. See the man over there if you want to haggle a bit.”
The best answer for now is for the WGA to make a deal with Letterman. This would set the template for all other separate deals.It could be the one thing that breaks this all open. Why the WGA is making this so difficult for Letterman is beyond me, this is the thing that could save them.
Peggy Lane O’Rourke
Suggestion: the parties should start by coming up with a declaration of basic principles and use that exercise to overcome their visceral hatred for one another.
Possible principles:
1. The members of the AMTP create value. The ability to publicize and distribute content in a way that gets a lot of attention, with minimal effort by the creators, is a precious resource that ought to be respected.
2. Members of the WGA create value. Sure, AMTP members might be able to make more, in the short run, from selling reality TV shows, but, in their heart of hearts, coming out with the next Star Trek or Citizen Kane or Charlie Wilson that rewires people’s brains will be more more important, more profitable and more fun.
3. Payscales shouldn’t get in the way of AMTP members being able to create new content and take advantage of new, low-revenue distribution opportunities.
4. Writers of successful content should get extra compensation, whether the payments are called “residuals,” “bonuses” or something else.
5. If AMTP members really can’t ever get enough revenue from distributing popular content through a medium to justify paying the writers reasonable residuals (or other re-use fees), then that medium is not economically viable. If, say, it’s only possible, economically speaking, to pay writers $250 per show for a year’s use of a Web show, then it’s not possible for the producers to stream professionally written Web shows. In that case, the producers should acknowledge that they’re just paying honorariums to amateurs, not paying enough to make Web writing a paid profession.
Really, the ball is in the court of the AMPTP, but the truth of the matter is they’re not in much of hurry. The only step the WGA can take at this time is to surrender and that would be disastrous for them and the other unions. This may not be “positive,” but I think it’s the truth. It all comes down to how much the writers can hurt the bottom line and the thing about conglomerates is they are diversified enough that one failing division can be propped up by the rest of the company. The only weak one here is CBS, which is now a separate company from the rest of Viacom and the most vulnerable to a continued strike. The sad fact is, the moguls can wait, the writers cannot wait much longer. Maybe a month or two more before finances truly become a burden on them, but they won’t last until June when the actors union could support them, as well, with added pressure from their own contract negotiations.
i think the wga should approach amptp and express willingness to trade off, rather than cave in, on the “six points” in return for a better offer in new media, in order to jump start talks again. nothing can be accomplished by trying to resolve this in the press. everyone needs to stop looking for revenge and start looking for a way to make a deal; this is just getting way too expensive for too many people.
The moguls should be made aware that the financing and distribution of movies is not an art particular to the US.
The Europeans and Japanese and Chinese all know how to do this. What makes the US the Mecca for world entertainment is the Hollywood Creative Community — the writers, actors and directors who are the masters of global entertainment.
If not for them the Sony lot, the Fox lot, in fact every production lot in the city, would all be nothing more than parking lots. And the moguls would be hustling real estate or managing widget factories in Podunk.
This attack on the Creative Community by the moguls is about as intelligent as a tribe of cannibals deciding to eat themselves to save on groceries.
Maybe both sides should agree to let new representatives sit down at the table – as it appears that some serious egos could use a dousing.
I think we all know the strike will end when: A — the studios want it to end, and B– as soon as a DGA deal is made. We need to stop thinking about what is “right” and “fair,” and realize that those are artificial constructs, and what is “achievable” is all that is relevant.
I think the writers need to face reality and take something close to whatever Gil Cates can get out of the companies in terms of new media payments. Plus they should knock off the revolutionary rhetoric. They’re not storming the Winter Palace, they’re negotiating for wages and benefits.
Deal with half of the WGA’s demands, then talk about the rest when the new contract’s deadline is coming. That’s the only compromise I could come up with. Other than that, it’s a staring contest, and I hope the ARMPIT blinks first. Go WGA!!!
WGA – drop animation reality and no strike you will not get. also ask for producers gross rather than distibutors
AMPTP – get back to the table, offer a proper web streaming package based on number of streams and stop trying to pretend the internet is “promotional”
Send in the Governator!
I reject the question as presently phrased, because the WGA proposals already are fair to both sides. As such, no further concessions should be made by the writers, and for that matter, DVD residuals should be returned to the list.
As for what steps can be taken to bring the AMPTP back to the contract negotiations, I believe the NLRB action is the best approach.
“Surrender” is a pretty telling word. This is not supposed to be a war, it’s supposed to be a business negotiation.
My suggestion is that the WGA announce (via the Negotiating Committee or, perhaps, via some ad hoc group of writers — to preserve ‘plausible deniability’) that, while it will NEVER submit to an ultimatum, it’s prepared to do some healthy horse trading, specifically including the dread six items in the AMPTP’s ultimatum, as soon as the AMPTP sits down at the bargaining table with it. And it should more specifically drop a direct hint that perhaps it can live with organizing reality and animation writers the traditional way rather than demanding it at the contract negotiating table — PROVIDED the AMPTP commits to giving up some of its more pernicious demands.
If the conflict between the WGA’s demands and the AMPTP’s offers continues to be framed in terms of war, enemies and total capitulation, it will never end. The one thing the pilot writers got right in their open letter, and the thing that’s hammered home with every installment of the “Why We Write” series, is that WGA members are dependent on their creative partnership with the AMPTP companies to turn their words into actual entertainment. The AMPTP can create non-scripted programming and can repurpose existing programming to fill TV air time, and so can get by for a while without words from WGA writers, but eventually it, too, will feel its dependence on those writers.
So both sides can either persist in thinking of this process as a pure test of power and dominance, or they can decide that, since a deal has to be reached eventually, it makes more sense to offer movement now than be forced to do it later. However, I don NOT recommend that the WGA offer anything to the AMPTP without demanding a reciprocal and simultaneous concession from the AMPTP, in a form that is verifiable and binding.
1. AMPTP puts forth a complete proposal that isn’t everything the writers asked for but is real, in good faith, respectful of the writers’ contribution to film and television “content” and actually designed with the idea that the WGA COULD accept it, not set up from the word go to force a ‘no’ and then try to use their stooges at Variety to make the WGA the bad guy.
2. The WGA gives it serious consideration (and there’s been no reason so far to believe they wouldn’t give a proposal made in seriousness serious consideration).
3. They come back with a small face-saving counter.
4. AMPTP only agrees to a small portion of the counter in order to save face themselves.
5. Everybody goes back to work.
In other words, the AMPTP takes this seriously as a negotiation and temporarily gives up its idea of bullying and starving the unions into oblivion for now.
I realize we have more chance of Santa and his elves mediating this thing, Nikki, but you asked…
Thanks for the “positive” emphasis. That’s where I believe things should begin: it’s time to stop demonizing, cursing and ridiculing. If any forward motion is going to be made, then the anger, contempt and condemnation that are the current stock and trade of both sides needs to stop. How can we be expected to be rational and calm in a negotiation after having “soaked” in rhetoric and bashing? It’s ridiculous to think that those thoughts can be “turned off” when sitting down to work out a deal. You are what you think, meaning – the poison works its way into every act. You will not respect the other person’s point of view, consider it carefully and respond, if you have been “hating” on them consistently. This is more than just a “press blackout”. It’s a call to the character of both sides. The WGA and the AMPTP will both be judged by their ability to put aside their own emotions and get down to business. Restraint and clear eyes are needed now. Not more propaganda and preaching to the choir.
Make your own shows. Sell them on iTunes.
I think a respected industry leader with a foot in both camps — James Schamus? Toby Emmerich? — or an outside presence acceptable to both sides — David Picker? Kathleen Kennedy? — should moderate a roundtable discussion at some large venue, with simulcasting on the Web. Participants should include a few moguls and a few member of WGA’s strike committee; but NOT Counter, Verrone, or anyone whose statements won’t be taken seriously by the other side. I would also include a not-currently-employed-by-a-studio business whiz like Dolgen or Biondi, who could come up with a few hypothetical scenarios for the participants to discuss.
I also think pigs should fly.
I believe that what needs to happen is that both sides need to give a little to get a little. In negotiations nobody will be happy with the deal. I was with the WGA from the start but they are as much to blame as the AMPTP. They deserve a share of residuals from new media and thats what should be focused on. I think forcing every writer to be a WGA member is something they can take off the table. The AMPTP can then use that to improve their model for residual payouts. That’s my 2 cents
There are 3 constituencies to be heard from (besides ordinary viewers and fans)
1) Advertisers and ad agencies
2) Shareholders
3) Representatives from the legislative, executive and quite possibly the judicial branches of our federal government
Some of us ordinary viewers and fans are getting organized to play to win this one. Prepare to watch the AMPTP freak out bigtime.
1) The DGA should make its much-vaunted new media study public (assuming they’re not legally prevented from doing so from the consultants they hired, who tend to make money by repurposing their proprietary information from client to client.) This kind of transparency runs counter to conventional negotiating practice, but I think it would be really helpful.
2) The WGA should agree to make new media residuals creditable against broadcast residuals. For instance, if your episode of Grey’s Anatomy reruns on broadcast, you get your 20K check. But then if a million people watch it streaming online, you don’t get another check (which per the current WGA proposal would also be about 20K for a million streams) if you’ve already gotten a broadcast residual. This framework saves the Companies a lot of money by preventing ‘double-dipping’ (which pattern-bargained out, in this example, is a savings of 190K), but it also gets the WGA what it says it wants– not a raise, but insurance that the residual system will outlast the fading broadcast rerun model.
(Of course, there will still be wide distance between the numbers on both sides, but this framework would allow for more vigorous negotiations than we’ve had.)
3) If advertisers WANT the pilot season / upfront system to continue, they should say so to put pressure on the AMPTP to drop this ultimatum stuff and come back to the table. (Do they? Or would they rather buy time in a chaotic scatter market? I don’t know.)
4) WGA should drop their insistence on deriving new media residuals from distributor’s gross. I understand the impetus for doing this, and I know there are reasons why they didn’t opt for producer’s gross. But it’s just not going to happen. I think something akin to the broadcast model (% of script fee, but for period of use instead of per rebroadcast) is the workable option. Also, WGA is going to have to agree to a free window of streaming re-use, and AMPTP has to agree that the fair free window is NOT six weeks. Maybe one week.
5) In terms of the Six Ultimatums, WGA should drop the reality / sympathy strike stuff, but push on the fair-market-value issue (unless it does indeed opt for a script-fee-based new media residual system, per 4) above.)
Then, all parties can start thinking about the issues that might REALLY destroy the industry:
6) Networks and writers need to figure out how to make mass-audience scripted shows much cheaper. Even once the new media streaming market matures, networks won’t be able to maintain the virtual monopoly on premium adspace they have now thanks to the primacy of broadcast. Even once everyone is watching Grey’s Anatomy on ABC.com, Facebook and Google will still be extremely appealing alternatives to advertisers. Which means that I think it’s going to be very hard to ever make big-budget shows decent economic gambles for networks in the new media world, given what will still be a high failure rate.
Not to mention, ultimately, shows need to cost less because massive success will be less profitab;e than it is now. All the streaming / EST will eat into syndication value by saturating audience demand. (To what extent, who knows as of yet– it’ll be interesting to see how much Lost and Desperate Housewives syndicate for, and to what extent the extra profits those shows have made from DVDs/EST/streaming are mitigated by less syndication money than they would have earned in the pre-internet/DVD days.)
So, networks should be trying to figure out how to make shows with budgets like ‘Monk’ or ‘Mad Men’ and so forth appeal to larger audiences. Otherwise, the scripted TV business is kind of screwed no matter the outcome of these negotiations,.
6) And, oh yeah, what to do about the huge costs of digital piracy once everything is online? We may have to invade China. And Russia. And all those Baltic states.
Is federal arbitration a possibility?
After reading your article entitled “EXCLUSIVE: Attempt Fails To Restart WGA-AMPTP Talks; Outlook Very Grim” I would like to see our federal government look into potential anti-trust violations of the AMPTP and its members. Possibly going so far as to force some of the media giants to breakup. One thing this WGA strike has really brought to light is the monopoly like stranglehold folks like Sumner Redstone have on the industry. If 8 ceos can collude to break a union by willingly trashing the remainder of this season and all of next then there is no “good-faith” barganing going on.
This is yet another sign that all is not well for the rank-and-file workers of this great country and our elected officials (as well as the Presidential hopefuls) need to step up and get involved in this struggle.
Both sides are both so riddled with hatred and suspicion of the other side that, honestly, the only thing I would suggest is for a moderator/mediator (with power) to come in, force both sides to come to the table and walk them through this very important negotiation.
If a bickering, on-the-verge-of-divorce couple can hammer out an agreement about their home and kids then the WGA and AMPTP ought to be able to keep their dicks in their pants and hammer out a deal for the good of their respective groups.
It’s not like either side can just say “fuck you” and never make an agreement with the other side.
Not without all of Hollywood collapsing permanently which would put BOTH sides out of work.
Easy. The AMPTP can meet its legal obligation to return to the negotiating table with the promised-but-never-delivered second half of their “New Economic Partnership” in hand. Then everyone can put on their big boy pants and hash this out as if lives depend on it.
How about this? The negotiating board for the WGA has at least two representatives at “the table” 24/7, until negotiations begin again for real… (they can rotate around in shifts, just like the WGA membership does on the picket lines.) And we broadcast it on the WGA website… “Two negotiators, no waiting!”Show the Alliance AND the world that we’re ready to meet and negotiate any time… We’re standing by. David G.
Number One: Disallow future correspondance with the AMPTP by Guild members except at the bargainning table.
Two: Hire top level lobbying organization. Get Congress involved in strike. (State and National)
Three: Contact best anti trust attornies in country and investigate possible violations by big six. Get facts, ducks in row and then…
Four: Start PR and legal campaign to expose violations. Get AMPTP on defensive by filing lawsuits if warranted. (I’m not an anti trust ligatator but if there are infractions, seems to me individual lawsuits should be mounted ASAP)
Five: Buy national ad time for well known writers and sympathetic actors to communicate the WGA stance to the American public.
Six: If the public’s attention is piqued, begin grassroots campaign to boycott products from companies that provide ad dollars to big six.
Seven: State clearly that other unions are either WITH us or AGAINST us and if they are against us, then the onus is on them to explain their supposed pro labor stance. We are fighting a war against elitism in a corporate world that pits the have’s against the have nots. Period.
Eight: Continue YouTube videos, etc but focus most of our efforts on Washington and the American people. Though new media is the immediate battle, the war has much broader implications that are not about our individual and immediate interests. Running to new media is an avenue, but it should not be what this strike is about. Our Congress and its constituents should engage in this strike. Our job is to make sure they do.
Nine: Drop picket days to twice a week and increase turnout. Make sure our numbers stay steady through February and March if a settlement isn’t reached.
Ten: Through solidarity, communicate to Wall Street that the WGA will not accept a crap deal and that the AMPTP was cocky to sell their shareholders on the idea the WGA would break. Once stock holders realize the savings the AMPTP promised in future earnings is not going to be realized, pressure from investors will force the AMPTP back to the table.
It’s unlikely the strike will or can end in a way that would be perceived as fair to BOTH sides. The situation must be addressed realistically.
Like it or not the WGA must realize their position is not unlike most employer/employee relationships. The employer may be greedy, unreasonable and unfair, yet they still hold most of the power and therefore most of the cards.
Trying to behave otherwise by issuing demands in lieu of requests or dressing down the studios in public is shortsighted. It may feel good and improve solidarity within the ranks however more than likely it will place you further from your goals. For each of these actions there is a reaction. Humility is the necessary ingredient to getting the best deal possible.
The studios appear dead-set on making the WGA stew in their own juices for having the gall to take them on. The WGA has exposed and embarrassed them publicly. The Moguls have been slapped by the duelist’s glove and are digging in for the fight.
The best option right now might be to pursue a close working relationship with the DGA. They are the only ones who maintain goodwill on both sides. They are more sympathetic to the working class of which they are a part. Yet at the same time they realize their limitations and know they must navigate through a power structure in which they are at a distinct disadvantage.
The studios would be wise to make a truly decent offer to the DGA. Hopefully as good as the bottom line offer they’ve already determined to be the best they’d eventually offer the WGA.
This would benefit them in countless ways. It would negate much of the bad press they’ve suffered regarding how unreasonable they are. They’d cut their losses by shortening the strike (as this could be used as the template for future negotiations with the WGA.) The shareholders would be happy. Advertisers would be thrilled. Innocent BLT’ers and collateral damage folks could be spared further suffering. The public would stay engaged instead of finding other forms of entertainment to occupy their time. All this without having to give an inch (directly) to the WGA whom they regard having gone about things the wrong way. They may even choose to force majeure their money losers before commencing talks with the DGA as a cautionary note to those who contemplate taking this course of action in the future. But even this would be preferable to a long drawn out strike.
Hopefully the WGA would then accept any decent offer on New Media, and not try to measure success by the need to also include animation and reality which from my perspective looks like a non-starter.
OR
Each side takes a hard-line position. The strike drags on.
Everyone gets in the mud. Everyone suffers. No one looks good. The eventual outcome ends up not being worth the costs incurred for either side.
Lay down your pride folks. Let’s go into 2008 with Goodwill toward Man.
I think the most positive thing to do would be to go back to work under the terms of the previous contract, stop trying to negotiate with the AMPTP, then return to strike with the actors once their contracts are up. The producers are all about money, and they will put on reality television at a third of the price of a scripted show while still reaping 80 percent of the profits. And they’ll be happy, they are after all a business where money, not art, is what they are into making. They will continue to do this without giving away anything. Instead they’ll feed us more survivor type reality shows, pushing more and more people away from television who watch it for true entertainment, not to see people eating rats for their 15 minutes of fame. And if they do this, many of the people who leave will not come back to the television, they will find other things to occupy their time. Instead, the writers should go back and for the next six months, write to the greatest of their abilities and create such a great product that people will remember why they watch television. To laugh, cry, think, and watch a slice of life. It has both long and short term benefits for the writers. The short term is writers can continue to do what they love, write, and they can make money and keep all their staffs on shows employed until the real strike with both unions begins. Once that strike begins in six months, they will gain the powerful bargaining chip of having the actors striking with them, shutting down the industry completely, which would lead to real negotiations. If an entire year is wasted with no new programming, other than reality and game shows, what difference will it make if you come back with a new contract and have no audience?
Honestly, right now I’m not sure what can be done that could settle this. I trully believe that the only way this gets settled is if the SAG walks out in unity right now. Since, it would shut everything down, it would practically force the AMPTP to settle.
Two things may happen. Both are plausible.
One, the Directors will come to the table with concerns more similar to the Writers’ than many anticipated. The Directors grind out a deal, then discreetly bring the Writers in through “the back door” so no “face” will be lost. The Writers wrap it up before the Oscars go live.
Two, the AMPTP stonewalls the Writers despite the best efforts of the DGA to make nice behind the scenes. Selected signator producers, especially UA, make separate deals with the Writers, much like Canadian producers did a year ago. The AMPTP sees the “writing” on the wall, and makes a few deft concessions and Hollywood moves on.
My suggestions –
1) Put pressure on the advertisers… I would be sending them pencile ….. to make it their cause…
2) Don’t let up on late night….. Put pressure on the hosts and their guests and their advertisers…. In the vain of they are helping continue the labor dispute… Keep the scap and other rhetoric out of it…. push the financial truth….. their 100 or so BLT’s might be back at work but its a small % of those negativly effected by the strike….
3) Drop the personal attack on the people involved, make it about Sony, Disney, Viacom not about Nick, etc…. They aren’t going to consider backing down if its their ego on the block they aren’t going to play, but if you put the argument in terms of whats best for the company/stockhoplders/etc… then they can cut a deal without loosing personal face/perestigue…
4) stockholders — get pressure on the co’s from the people they are susposed to be looking out for and that is the stockholders…..Again give them an out — we are doing this deal/going back to the table becuse its best for the industry….
5) Scream monopoly all the time and try to get — the governemnt involved …
6) Its election time… get the candidates to weigh-in — you might actually get some press…. You got writers in the audience on the late night show — send some to Iowa and get some questions about the strike to the candidates… You might get people talking outside LA/NY.
7) Through them a bone…. Look at the 5 items that they walked out on and make a proposal — make any proposal in the press….Say our initial position was we wanted $.04 more on DVD’s and we want the right to honor other strikes, but we will pull off the right to honor other strikes, but we want $0.06 more for DVD’s and we want you (AMPTP) back at the table. Its called negotiation….
Its harder to negotiate without give and take but not impossible …. give them something in order to jump start the negotiations… If need be give them an untimatium…. We will permanently pull this demand in order to show good faith to re-open negotiations but you have to agree to resume negotiations within 2 days and bargin in good faith or we reserve the right to readdress the demand…
The PR value I think would outweigh the perception of weakness on the part of the union. If they don’t bargin in good faith or resume the negotiations — you haven’t lost anything (you still have the right to negotiate the issue) and you make them look bad for not accepting a peace offering….You could even put in the issue of wanting something more for the removed item, if you wanted to go that route.
8.) Host your own award event on the same night as the oscars of globes… Have a streaming video event on the web .. Have the stars show up on the red carpet… talk to the reporters stating that they aren’t going in they will be at an event with the writers vbroadcast on the web and then have them leave in their limos and go to another event/party in supoport of the writers and BTL personel. Posdsibly something where they disucss the greatest/favorite movie lines of all time…. i.e. lines written by writers…..
9.) Look to start your own Internet Late Night Talk show — you have the best writers in the world on the picket lines — put this up against those without writers — I am sure you can find a host – look in the comedy clubes for someone — it might be their big break…..
10) Stay Strong — “it’s going to be bumpy ride”
Good Luck and God Speed!
Suggestions for positive steps to end the strike: 1) No name-calling; 2) no blaming; 3) no finger pointing; 4) no case-building; 5) keep the focus on the essential issues of streaming, webcasting, reuse; 6) remember that war is not the answer; 7) act as if we all want the same thing, namely a speedy resolution;
KEEP IT SIMPLE; 9) act honorably, i.e. treat others with the same respect that you want and deserve no matter what; 10) focus everything, intellect, spirituality, emotion, self, on an equitable deal… THINK THE BEST AND ACT ACCORDINGLY (i.e. do your best); 11) Don’t take anybody else’s inventory except your own … and only do so if you want to improve your own communication.
Seems like the best way to go now is for the WGA to let the DGA come in and play good cop and get a deal done. The current strategy really only seems to be good at pissing the moguls off more and getting their egos involved to the point where it’s now about proving a point. Let the DGA make their deal, and give up reality/animation in exchange for a slightly higher rate or some kind of bonus that lets the WGA leadership sell it and keep their union together. Or maybe give up reality to get animation (they’re not giving the WGA reality…that practically guarantees another strike in 3 years when the WGA can hurt them way more than they are now.) Maybe even figure out a way to get the SAG to sign off that they’re good with everything to guarantee everything gets back to normal.
That said, most everything I read from business-type people talking about the strike talks about the moguls using this as a reason to blow up the current business model, which has their ratings and stock prices falling. This isn’t about percentages of a deal, this is about changing how the business is done…so it’ll end when they feel like making it end. And if they can starve out the WGA and get them to cave, well that’s an added bonus.
And Nikki, please save us from 100 “Just get the AMPTP to offer us a fair deal!!” posts.
try calling in the governor to mediate and bring it to an end…
Let the DGA negotiate with the AMPTP and have the writeres agree to the terms of the new DGA contract.
The WGA should offer a strike “cease-fire” to bring the AMPTP back to the table and ensure themselves of first position in the bargaining talks.
At first glance, this may seem like it’s just another “get back to work” idea, but it really isn’t. The point is to give the Writers some leverage, allow the Guild to change things up a bit and start dictating terms to the AMPTP, as opposed to the other way around.
A full write-up of this honest and serious proposal is available at http://www.dividedhollywood.com.
I don’t know if they have a third-party mediator or not, but it seems that that may be the nexy most logical course of action since the two sides obviously cannot negotiate themselves. Also, since it is apparent that the DGA is more prepared to discuss the New Media issue than the WGA, then perhaps the WGA should have discussions with them and see where their best bargaining points are. It’s time for some new perspective on the issue. Perhaps, even to save time in future negotiations, the SAG, DGA, and WGA should offer to hold joint discussions with the AMPTP. With more weight on the WGA side of the table, i.e. SAG and the DGA, perhaps the AMPTP wouldn’t be so quick to walk away from the table, and would be more open to discussions. But whatever it is, someone has to be the one to take the first step, and since the AMPTP is the one with the most egg on their faces right now, it would be in their best interest if it were them.
The most positive step would be for the AMPTP to stop its divide-and-conquer strategy and stop walking out of the talks. The writers are trying to get an extremely small slice of the new media pie. The AMPTP doesn’t want to give them ANY. So why should there be an end to the strike that’s perceived as “fair to both sides” when the AMPTP’s view of “fairness” borders on science fiction? The writers, not the AMPTP, are the ones in need of a fair deal. If the AMPTP would just not leave the room . . .
As a 27-year veteran of the WGA, I’d like to offer the following resolution for an immediate vote before the membership:
We, the members of the Writers Guild of America, refuse to consider any offer from the AMPTP which fails to provide the following:
1. WGA jurisdiction over all signatory-produced content created for, or appearing on, the internet or any other new medium.
2. A fair residual formula for all WGA-written product appearing on the internet, or any other new medium, now or in the future.
Clearly, the AMPTP strategy is to reach a deal with the DGA, then foist the same terms on the WGA and SAG. They want to place unbearable pressure on the WGA to crack and accept whatever terms the DGA has agreed to. We cannot allow them to make an end run around us.
We must stand firm on these principals, or the guild as we know it will cease to be exist in any meaningful way.
I write pulp fiction for a living, usually involving covert ops going up against treacherous forces whose sense of grandiosity and self-entitlement leaves them vulnerable in ways they hadn’t anticipated, and these vulnerabilities are what prove to be their undoing. The covert ops don’t waste time on name-calling or bemoaning injustice. They see what needs to be done and do it, with grim and decisive resolve.
This should be the WGA’s playbook from this point on: Fewer battle cries, more battle.
The conglomerate moguls need to be taken down, regardless of the strike’s outcome. This has become a battle that exemplifies the crushing of the middle class by unchecked corporatization, and the only way to bring down this Goliath is with well-placed stones from a well-aimed slingshot.
Persistent and determined pressure for televised hearings on Hollywood accounting practices (there’s reality programming for you); class action lawsuits (not all writers have baseless gripes about being short-changed; many have legitimate claims with paper trails that can be followed); bottom-line appeals to shareholders; fact-based exposes: this is where the battle needs to be focused.
Beyond picketers, what WGA needs (and DGA and SAG, for that matter) are private investigators, investigative reporters, and crackshot lawyers up to the task of unearthing and pursuing not only public disclosure but also legal recourse for what we all know are not only questionable but illegal acts that have been carried out by AMPTP heavyweights. These people, like nearly anyone who’s achieved a position of power, have things to hide, and only the realization that those hidden things will come to light will get them back to the table, hopefully too late for their own good.
And, again, the rhetoric has to go. I know we all like to be clever and get our digs in, but baiting the other side (as well as each other within the ranks) solves nothing and only fuels intransigence and widens the collateral damage this strike is wreaking.
This has become a war. Fight it like one: to win, the sooner the better…
Using a very small number of representatives from both sides; meet and agree on an agenda for talks. That is; what will be talked about first, second, ect. Will first on the list be DVD sales, or will it be Internet Revenues; or Video Games or…?.
Then, both sides can publicly claim that they have agreed on something. Both sides can announce “when we get together it will be 1) DVDs… 2) Internet… (or whatever).
This agenda will be a REAL THING! When talks are resumed the agenda will be adhered to. This is very important in that when things do get going, it will be one issue at a time – UNTIL COMPLETE. This will streamline negotiations overall, and eliminate the prospect of changing the subject if things aren’t going right. As in “hey, yesterday didn’t go too well, today let’s bring up ringtones…” This will move forward any and all topics because those topics CAN’T BE ABANDONED once they are brought up. And if a formula can’t be agreed on, say, 1.2% vs. 1.3% then negotiations remain AT THAT POINT until the numbers are finalized. Again, no changing the subject, no “moving on” while details are left in flux. It’s that kind of stuff that initially gives the impression of progress only to fall flat when the specifics are considered.
Overall, this agenda would be BOTH A SURRENDER MOMENT AND A VICTORY FOR BOTH SIDES. It would force both sides to admit that they are in this together. Hey, maybe they could make a JOINT public announcement, that they’ve agreed to agree on an agenda!
Then both sides will begin to discuss a start date. FIRST agenda; THEN start date. I’m pretty sure this hasn’t been tried yet.
Is this too basic? You may say; “Isn’t this what the two sides CAN’T agree on as it is?’ I don’t know, I’m not on the inside; but since the present state seems to be one of childishness, a starting point for a starting point could be, well, a place to start.
Before I go, let me change topics and point out the huge game of chicken both sides (especially AMPTP) seem to be playing.
Remember hula hoops? How about back packs and hiking boots? Disco? My point? Americans, through the decades, have entertained themselves with multiple and myriad distractions. Network television is only one component. Nothin’ on the box? Hey honey let’s go dancing.
Will those defectors come rushing back to a night in front of the tube once things are settled? DON’T COUNT ON IT! There’s a whole lot of “alternate entertainment” already available. If say “Desparate Housewives” is off the air for a year; it could very well lose it’s audience altogether. The studios would be forced to $tart over with a whole bunch of new (unproven) shows; talk about costly. And no, “event television” (super bowl, etc.) won’t get you through; either the bottom line OR overall viewership.
So, to the table to talk about what will be talked about and in what order. Then a joint press conference where both sides use phrases like “not disagreeable”.
Thanks for the forum, Nikki. Hope you enjoyed the ‘time off’.
I have questioned my peers why we haven’t taken a page out of the AMPTP play book and formed the AATL (The Alliance of Above The Liners) with all three guilds. As the AMPTP proves — Alliances are critical — (or is it ‘Survivor’ I learned it from?)
We’ve got to get it right for the sake of everybody. So let the AMPTP negotiate with the DGA — I don’t have a problem with that. But let the DGA go into the negotiation having caucused with the WGA and SAG (I love that word) as to what all three will accept. Hell if the AMPTP can do it with their diverse interests, certainly the three of us can do it. We seem to be two-thirds of the way there as it is.
Even if it has to be an ad hoc quasi AATL for now, so what? But let the AMPTP realize when they negotiate with the DGA that if they make a deal with the DGA that is onerous to the WGA, the WGA won’t accept it. And then they’ve got SAG two months down the road. So let them tacitly realize if the DGA will accept it — the AATL will accept it. (We’ve conferred before hand. And know what the mutual bottom line is — just like the AMPTP knows what their bottom line is.)
As Eddie Izzard put it at ‘Write Aid’ — it’s “All for one. And one for all!”
…Just a thought…
Bill Taub
The U.S. government should threaten to start senate hearings into the studios accounting system. That would put an end to this very quickly. The producers think they can just stand there with their finger in the damn forever. Their approach is childish
I’ll get flak for this, but here’s one. Take the residual increase, and DVD increase. Take the sympathy clause off, and the animator clause. Drop internet residuals till the next contract renewal in 3 years. Reasoning? People are still buying DVD’s. Until the internet downloads take over, which should be in about 3 years, take the physical cash as oppose to the virtual ones. When a person goes to a Best Buy, or Wal-Mart, they lay down real physical dollars. When people download off the internet, they don’t always pay. Just some thoughts.
Well, first, the WGA, the striking entity in the equation, needs to be constantly re-examining its reasoning and its approach. My belief is the strike is justified and the producers are clearly testing the waters as to re-setting the table regarding the compensation of the creative guilds. The recent Bear Stearns report on whether or not the WGA’s demands would negatively impact the bottom line for the AMPTP (they wouldn’t) is valuable empirical data, in a war too often simply of words and emotion. Facts and figures need to rule the day, not hyperbole. Positively? My hope is a larger player with deep ties to the creative unions (Spielberg?) can sit down with the AMPTP reps and give them a strong and clear message that, saving face is do-able for the AMPTP, but not without a back-channel understanding that they need to move on the issues. There are ways to make a settlement “appear” to be a win-win for both the WGA and the AMPTP, but the onus is on the AMPTP to communicate via, say, a Spielberg, that they want to make a deal that fairly compensates the WGA, plus the SAG and DGA per their deals that will soon follow any agreement. There needs to be movement on the part of the AMPTP. Any fair-minded examination of the facts tells you that. Perhaps that is small consolation for the pro-producer side of the equation, but it is clearly necessary for positive progress.
I like Jack Myers’ idea of a surcharge on advertisers. They pony up 2% more in CPM dollars, that would go to the writers. Then proceed with an objective accounting of new media streams for the next 5 years.
Consider that the best course of action is no action. I think the writers have the upper hand and the AMPTP knows that, will never admit it, and will do everything in their power to convince the world the opposite is true. They have admitted that despite the great cost of the strike to the industry it won’t really affect their bottom lines much. This attests to the fact that giving the writers what they want also wouldn’t affect their bottom line. So the real question becomes, ‘why does the AMPTP hold out?’ The answer is that they are power hungry and this is more about power than money. They are the boss and no one tells the boss what to do. they want to break the unions and they will blame this great industry loss on the unions. They will fan the infighting to try to divide unions. So solidarity is an important cry to heed.
I liked when I heard writers were convening to create their own companies in the United Artists tradition. This is nothing new. Coppola and Lucas are two who have done the same and have become very successful.
I think writers should ban together in such enterprise. Give the AMPTP so real competition. See if their TruTV (the 2008 version of reality) can hold up against work produced by talented people. Call their bluff. Keep up the public pressure to expose their greed and perversion for power.
The AMPTP complains that the business is very risky with only less than ten percent of business ventures showing a profit. Whose fault it that? The writers, actors, and directors or the business moguls who make the deals? What kind of success do Coppola or Lucas have on their business ventures? I think for them the percentages are reciprocal. They may lose ten percent. This brings us back to the age old industry debate over whether filmmaking is an art or a business.
But the artists hold all the cards. The business doesn’t exist without any art to sell.
The heart of the problem is that this is no longer about money. If that was the case, none of this would be happening because the money being lost over the strike is far more than what the WGA is demanding in fair compensation for online streaming. Unfortunately, this is now–and always has been–about power, and the AMPTP showing everybody who’s boss. As a result, the moguls have now placed themselves in a position where even returning to the bargaining table will appear to be a sign of weakness, which is the last thing in the world that they want to do.
So what’s the answer? A solution that allows them to outwardly save face, while getting the writers back to work and generating those ad revenues once again. So here’s what I propose, for what it’s worth: the WGA accepts some of the heretofore unacceptable demands the AMPTP is making as a condition to restarting negotiations, thus making the moguls appear as if they have retained their all-powerful status. However, at the same time, the WGA inserts a proviso that allows them to negotiate these very same demands with the individual studios rather than the AMPTP as a whole.
Granted, this would all have to be done on the sly, at least at first, but it would get everyone working again, even if temporarily. It would also cure some of the worst ills of consolidation, returning the studios to a state of actual competition instead of collusion when it comes to labor matters.
Of course, this is probably wishful thinking on my part–but short of some kind of understanding, the only other way to budge this process would be to file some kind of antitrust suit against the studios, and I don’t think anybody wants to see that happen.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve wanted to blame the negotiating committee. I guess it’s human nature to want to put blame somewhere, and the moguls were only behaving in the way I expected them to.
Now my aim has shifted and locked. If one side won’t even talk, it’s impossible to come to an agreement. It’s negotiating with a red-faced 2-year old who has no concept of give and take. It’s fucking maddening. It makes you grind your jaw, clench your fists and burst capillaries.
But it’s also what we’re dealing with. I can only see two scenarios for immediate change, but I am dying to see what others come up with:
1. The writers (me included, as a long term working writer and WGA member) capitulate on some of the blue sky demands (reality, animation), and bottom line the ones we hold truly dear. WE PUT IT IN WRITING, AND PUBLISH IT. The town digests our reasonable/pathetic/desperate request, and pressure drives the wolves back to the table, sniffing blood. This is not negotiating. This is first time buyers at the used car lot, putting every last penny on the table and hoping Al doesn’t force them to get the undercoating. Don’t like it? Me neither. Good thing there’s a #2:
2. The other side caves suddenly, showers us with the accolades and fair deal we deserve, we all hug, dance around a whithering Christmas tree, and swear it was the booze that made us say all those nasty things.
Huh.
That kinda brings us back to #1. It sucks. One of the crappiest things about toeing a hard line is eventually, in a compromise, you have to give. We’ve got alpha males on both sides. No one wants to give. Not even a little. And now, we’re not even faced with giving a little. We’re faced with giving a lot. Losing in very real terms, perception becoming reality, and a lot of people asking, if we go #1, why we struck in the first place.
Writers are proud. We hate #1. Writers are also bright. We know #2 won’t happen. And so we either need to dig in and wait for several more months, or we need to have a come to Jesus (’tis the season), hash out a bottom line, plan some very serious PR (”Put Hollywood Back to Work!” or some BS like it) and try to spin it as what we were shooting for in the first place.
Knowing, of course, they’ll offer much less than that.
Argh.
That federal mediator should be brought back in but he has to be stronger and there should probably be two federal mediators or even three. Plus a representative from the labor relations board. Politicians this is your moment to exploit here. The mayor and the Guvenator should get involved they should hold a news conference in front of the WGA with the mediators next to them on Jan. 7th ordering both sides to the table where they will officiate for the first day of talks. Counter won’t be able to refuse an invitation back to talk from Antonio and Ahnuld. Those two then leave after the first six hours and hold another news conference telling everyone they expect a deal to be reached “by the end of this week” and it probably will be done. If that doesn’t work you can look forward to this ending some time in April or possibly June.
WGA needs to get back to the main things and that is new media and take off the table all the other things that will get the two sides back to talking.
Enough of this im bigger then you or from both sides get back to talking and lets get this industry back to work!
first thing, have both sides appoint new mediators..these guys just hate each other too much. then, have the senators of california ask for a cooling off period, where people GO BACK TO WORK, while constructive talks take place with ALL THREE guilds. The bottom line is residuals for all of us, so let’s focus.
I think Bob Daly should be called in. He’s admired and respected by both sides and most importantly…he’s not invested in the outcome.
if u want strike to end this is what u do: start picketing theaters and get Wga board members on tv talking about this. Define this issue, shape the narrative thru which this issue is viewed, get in front of this or its going to get in front of u (wga).
Looking for positive steps is nice but naive and misplaced. Negotiating with amtp is like every other hllywd deal – they don’t want to give up money and will do whatever it takes to win – nothing personal just business. Thats what Wga doesn’t get. They need to play hardball – its not negative its just business.
Young males are films biggest demo – they are also demo most likely to sympathize with strike. Thru smart youtube ‘psa’s’ show people where the real picketline is: around every theater in the country. Will you cross the line? Should be asked of all consumers – get Wga guys on hardball – how will strike be dealt with by prez canidates during primary. Studios aren’t negotiating because tv biz model is dying. You want striketo end sooner than later get aggressive and get smart.
1. Find a good mediator who has no ties to the WGA or the prods – someone who knows the new media and business and let him or her head up a clearing of the air.
2. Reimbursement – Writers didn’t keep up with the new media and now they’re paying, but the prods may not be profiting as much as everyone thinks because I don’t think they get it either. Writers should take an up front flat fee for every licensed right, kind of like what book authors do, but this should only be initiated with an understanding that the writers could renegotiate for residuals down the line when everyone got a better fix on how the new media shakes out.
3. Health care coverage – As someone who is the only member of the family NOT managing a business, these costs are killing employers and driving them out of the country. Sorry writers – I would take this off the table. I just don’t think employers are supposed to pay for an employees health insurance.
4. Reality – “Reality writers” seems like an oxymoron and it seems like the WGA only wants them in now to pump up the dues payer ranks – sorry – if I were a “reality writer” I would not want the WGA negotiating for me.
5. Animation – If they come to an understanding with the WGA they should negotiate together – an animated TV show or movie has a written script after all.
6. The above are specifics but before specifics come to the table with common goals – we both want an 08 TV season, etc – and set the table with a list of common goals before getting down to differences.
7. If it goes another month then either it is in the interest of one party or the other to drag it out and none of the above will help – OR it is time for one or the other party (or both) to seriously think about a change in leadership.
The truth is that both breakdowns in negotiating came from the AMPTP walking away from the table. So pressuring that one side, in an imbalanced way, to stay at the table is, in my mind, a positive step.
1. Since the WGA is at the table and the AMPTP is not, the reality is economic pressure needs to be amped up against the companies to motivate them. It’s time to prepare a consumer boycott campaign targetting the parent companies. The thousands negatively affected by the AMPTP’s refusal to even come to the table should be recruited to immediately stop patronizing these companies in an organized boycott.
2. The Guild should continue to aggressively pursue deals with film production and internet companies who are willing and able to reach a deal that compensates writers fairly and give these companies a competitive edge against stonewallers.
3. The Guild should sue the AMPTP for anti-trust violations to force separate negotiations.
4. WGA members who are hyphenates should be loyal and immediately cease working in other capacities to help the strike effort. Animation writers should stop working.
5. The award shows and returning talk shows should be picketed to stigmatize people who would cross picket lines and deter bookings.
6. The Guild should continue to publicize the profits being wasted by the companies’ refusal to bargain and end the strike. Divestment should be encouraged.
7. Despite whatever doomsday prophesies the AMPTP formally puts out or leaks to this website, writers should remain tough and resolute in their effort to pressure the companies to bargain fairly. There’s a reason these companies want to make and sell stories. Give the strike as much time as is needed to work.
8. When the AMPTP is ready to return, new mediators who have had success in past labor conflicts can be brought in.
The way it’s fair to the companies is they’re still keeping the lion’s and the lioness’s share of the profits. Just not the share of the person whose ideas created the profits in the first place.
Dear Nikki,
First off, thank you. Your words have helped the wga immeasurably.
With regard to the strike, I think it’s time we (the wga) show the moguls our power. I think that the top 5 screenwriters, coupled with their A list actors friends should get together and come up with a slate of five big movies. I mean big tent-pole type high-concept Bruckheimer shit. The kind of film slate that would make Orin Aviv shit golden egg rolls.
Then, they sell the slate to…Lionsgate or Lionsgate. Or you could just take the slate of films out like a giant pitch. The first studio to bite on the slate of awesome movies, does so under the new (wga to create) contract. You hear me Paramount? This could save your ass! And talent might like you again, Brad!
I realize this tactic may not work, but i think it’s worth a shot. Come on Akiva, Haggis, Zallian — watcha got for us?!
-Matt
WGA member since 2001
I don’t think there is anything the WGA can do to end this strike, and I don’t think the AMPTP is interested in doing anything, except trying to get the DGA to the table as quickly as possible.
The AMPTP has been acting from the start as if there was no point in even trying to negotiate with the writers, so they haven’t. They started with an obscenely bad offer and it never got any better, despite their press releases to the contrary.
And it really doesn’t matter anymore whether this attitude arose from watching the WGA elections which brought Patric Verrone and his entire slate in with a large majority (based almost entirely on their promise of a more militant approach than previous WGA administrations had pursued), or from being rebuffed in the request for early negotiations, or from Nick Counter’s negative interpersonal experiences once the face-to-face meetings did start.
Whatever the origins of the bad blood, at this point I think the AMPTP wouldn’t negotiate with the WGA even if it were the last guild on earth (see, e.g., the WSJ article saying the congloms really are hurting themselves to “punish” the writers!).
The AMPTP threw junk at the WGA to see if it would stick, but when it didn’t, they checked out. Everything else, EVERYTHING, is just noise. Noise that should be ignored.
The AMPTP has no incentive to work with the WGA now or ever, since they know they will have the same issues with all the guilds and the WGA is the most militant. The posturing and the psy-ops and the Art of War and everything else are simply stalling tactics with benefits for the AMPTP.
Best case for the AMPTP, they stall long enough and put out enough depressing press and maybe the WGA will cave either through internal division or outside pressure. At a minimum it gives the networks and studios a chance to clean house and scare the pants off the other unions in the process. Besides, what studio/network wouldn’t want to save all that money paying people over the holidays?
The bad news for the AMPTP comes in a few different forms. First, the writers are exploiting the press better than they are, which limits the AMPTP’s ability to bring outside pressure to bear on the WGA. Secondly, the initial trial balloon offers were SO insulting that they had the reverse effect of galvanizing both the WGA and other guild members, rather than scaring everyone into caving early. Thirdly, the DGA seems to be more receptive to the WGA’s arguments than the AMPTP expected, which means the softening-up effect of the fear tactics may not be as great as they hoped.
For now, the WGA can only stick to its guns, and do everything it can to make SAG look even crazier than the WGA (”boy you don’t want to have to negotiate with my big brother”), all the while bucking up the DGA’s resolve behind the scenes.
Having said that, I believe the AMPTP really is hurting more than they expected, primarily because of Patric Verrone’s many-front war (immediate walk-outs, great internet coverage, swaying the hearts and minds of the public and Wall Street, DC hearings, NLRB complaints, continual rallying of WGA members at both ends of the economic scale, etc.).
Therefore, I predict that come mid-January, when the networks really are looking at 2 years of TV down the drain and audiences eroding forever, there will be a big AMPTP show of getting in a room with the DGA and hashing out a fairly quick agreement, which will be better than the DGA would have done without the WGA’s groundwork, and which the AMPTP will spin as proof that they are reasonable and the WGA is crazy. That agreement will form the basis of something the WGA can live with for the next three years.
So really, I’m feeling pretty optimistic. In the meantime, everyone should take deep healing breaths, and try to ignore all the noise.
Let’s have a general meeting to hear what both sides have to say. Let’s make this whole process as transparent as possible so everyone, although not on the same page, can at least read the same page.
The meeting will be like a presidential candidate’s debate, but with the hopes that everyone will be somewhat honest.
We can try to convince The Governator to attend. His state is losing lots of money and it’s not only a great photo op, but a great time for him to smooze with writers so he can hear what’s out there– decide what he’d like to be in once his term is up.
Each side gets two people to represent them.
Each side gets an opening statement (no longer than say 1/2 an hour), to lay out their proposals and why they think their proposals are best.
After the statements, a impartial moderator will ask questions. Someone both sides feels comfortable with. Or at least won’t despise.
The moderator will ask questions to each side. That person has a certain amount of time to answer. Then the other side has a certain amount of time to nick that answer. I mean counter it (Sorry. Had to).
We end the evening with the floor being opened questions, or simply to swallow up all the sinners like the Red Sea.
There is a lot of confusing information out there. If we have a meeting like this all will be out in the open. No one can claim they didn’t say this or they did say that. Too many witnesses. Maybe we can hire Bill
Belichick to tape it for us.
There’s my suggestion.
If that doesn’t work, there’s always that famous line from that famous writer who can see that famous movie on the Internet, and under the present situation never have to worry about how he’s going to spend all that new found cash.
“Guns or knives, Butch, guns or knives?”
JD Shapiro
Why not enlist the help of some of the industry’s respected lawyers. Jake Bloom, Barry Hirsch, Patti Felker, Bob Myman, Craig Jacobson, Skip Brittenham, Michael Gendler, Jim Jackaway, etc. A coalition of well respected lawyers who everyday negotiate the fine points of agreements between artists and studios, who have over the years gained the mutual respect of both sides and can seemly be detached emotionally may be able to get these caustic negotiations back on track. These lawyers know the studio heads, and the writers, so if there is a reasonable deal to be made where both sides give and take, the collective smarts of these folks are the ones who can get a deal done.
1. What happened with the lawsuit against the AMTPA for not bargaining in good faith?
2. If the AMTPA is ready to go all thru 2008 with what they have in the cans on the shelves then the WGA is screwed.
3. Don’t the writers guild control the advertising writing for commercials that go on the channels?
4. I’m reduced to ordering dvds from Amazon from India and watching movies with subtitles.
5. The WGA gets a website, advertises it, produces shows on it and charges thru Apple or Amazon to watch it on a download basis, on a forward going basis.
6. Disney has the most to lose because its stories/movies/shows bring in the people to see Disneyland and go on cruises. Try and pick Disney/ABC off from the rest of the group. They are the weak link in AMTPA because they need content to drive people to their other properties. GE has nothing but turbines to send their NBC/Heroes fans to. Now I’m a big fan of Sci-Fi channel and they are owned by NBC so that’s not too happy for me.
7. I have been waiting forever and watching the website tvshowsondvd.com to see what is coming out and I can tell you that I’m waiting for Just Shoot Me seasons 3 and 4, The Nanny seasons 3 and on, etc. and Sony is not doing anything with its backlog. Maybe the WGA can make a deal with Sony, taking on the burden of paying for the cost of burning the DVDs and then marketing them for a share of the selling price. That way product gets into the waiting and wanting public, the company doesn’t have to pay for what they might view as paltry sales, the wga goes into business of pressing dvds for release and then reaps the rewards.
8. WGA members get together and start writing basics again like comedies and scifi and anything else but another version of CSI or JAG and form up with SAG members to start their own studios. Then sell the product to the stations at a profit for all envolved.
9. Buy a radio station and start writing radio operas again like the lone ranger so that people will turn off the tv all together.
10. WGA members need to stop writing for the xbox, Wii, and Playstation games because that’s another issue where the WGA is getting reamed.
11. I went to see National Treasure with Nicholas Cage this weekend and I thought to myself: how soon before there won’t be movies? theaters like AMC or Lowes? Can they be brought in to the table on behalf of the WGA?
12. The SAG members do not cross the picket line. This is the nuclear option. It shuts everything down.
13. Late night shows like Kimmel and Letterman and Comedy Centrals 2 guys – are they really writers or just talking heads?
14. Comedians – are they part of the WGA?
Everyone get another job and be prepared for a long dry spring and summer. If the big guys break you, the story tellers, then guys like Tom Cruise keep getting millions and you get $250 tops.
Short term: make a separate deal with WWP. Seek similar deals with other production companies. When the public sees that the WGA is being reasonable with reasonable companies, there’ll be even more public support for the strike.
Long term: writers need to form their own production companies/studios. They might need help from agents and other business/money types to find financing, but the money will come if the talent is already resident. Highly successful writers have the money, connections, and clout in Hollywood to make a success of this venture, if they’d only start thinking outside the box. If writers control their own destiny, they won’t have to beg moguls for pennies any longer.
Wow. It’s so apparent that most of these posts are from people who write fiction. Dave C seems to be a realist with brevity. He must not be a writer. Lloyd Moss has offered up the only other suggestion with sense — bring in Bob Daly. However, Mr. Daly is a company guy through and through. He’ll do it straight and fair but he’ll ensure that Mr. Meyer gets what he’s entitled to in order to keep the gates open at Warner Bros.
Negotiation is about leverage. The WGA’s leverage has been marginalized by striking and AMPTP has made future plans without them. The only thing that stands in the way now is ego. Verrone and Young have made promises to their membership that they can’t possibly deliver with their ‘all or nothing’ style of negotiating. They have to find a way to ’save face’, and make the best deal possible in this climate– which will only last 3 years–and present it to the membership in a way that they will understand. While the egos battle, the collateral damage is costing job and houses, apartments, and credit ratings, car payments and relationships. Unfortunately the Writers voted in, and hired, these leaders to do exactly what they have done. The WGA now has to live with the consequences, but they should not take everyone else down with them. They need to get to the table to discuss streaming and internet use first and let go of the rest. But the WGA has to understand that they missed their window of opportunity and they may have to stand in line to get to the table. The public and their viewpoint has no business in this business.
The studios appear to be going for the throat here. This is a day where they can make a reality show on a dime and get big ratings…just look at “Clash of the Choirs”. NBC is getting huge ratings. Drew Carry’s night time game show is doing well…Deal Or No Deal is doing great for NBC…CBS’s Survivor does great and American Idol has proven that one hit reality show can fill most of the programming schedule for one network and deliver huge ratings, and that is killing the bargaining power of the writers…and all entertainment unions as a whole.
What is my point??? The studios, networks and producers are now attempting to break the unions here, and if they don’t manage to break them, they will at least move to weaken them. It is time for the unions to create a new business model, one of full…or shared writer/actor/director ownership of films and television series. Netflix is accepting films and tv product from independants, leaving the door wide open for dramatic arts troupes encompassing writers, actors and directors to fund, produce and distribute their own product…completely cutting studios and the big networks out of the picture.
Why hasn’t the Screen Actors’ Guild started its own tv network on cable or via broadcast television??? Or how about the Writer’s Guild??? They certainly have enough money to do it…or at least, can attract a large number of super wealthy investors to fund such ventures. Why aren’t writers, actors and directors, save for a small few, producing their own movies considering all the alternative routes of distribution these days??? The studios, networks and producers are the middle men. Well, it is time to cut the middle men out of the financial pie.
In just months from now…to a few years…we will see internet direct to television…digital distribution of movies and tv programs provided by services such as Netflix, Blockbuster Online and Apple…etc., networks and even DVD by mail services (the two main DVD by mail services, that being the previously mentioned Netflix and Blockbuster Online, are certain to liquidate their own DVD stocks)…thus, that share of the business will be obsolete or losing ground to these new business models as they begin to rise to dominance by 5 to 10 years from now…and the unions must press to gain their fair share of such promising new distribution streams…or face being pushed to the side.
The sheer threat of the unions positioning themselves to create ownership rights opportunities for their future works (as content providers) is enough to force studios, networks and producers to cut them in as partners, through greater royalty sharing…rather than face them as competitors in the marketplace–this, the short and long term future of the new world paradigm…known as the burgeoning 21st century (entertainment industry) business model.
I should be running the Writers’ Guild.–Metal Water
First, I think people need to realize that there has been no negotiation yet. The AMPTP has never given a reasonable counter offer to the WGA’s proposals. None. So it isn’t a question of making the talks resume, it’s a question of WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR THE AMPTP TO BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS?
Clearly, they have had no desire to work with the WGA. Maybe it is ego, maybe they thought they could get a better deal with the DGA, maybe they thought they could get by with mid-season replacements and reality shows and not worry about it until March. (And a lot of this is the fault of the WGA, but I won’t go into that here…)
A large part of the problem is that the studios lose very little money in the short term, and only down the road (when the dvd’s are released with only 8-13 episodes and can’t command $50, when the slate of movies for 2008 begins having problems), so the WGA is losing money now, against the future money the studios might lose. (Again a lot of this goes to the WGA in their pre-strike activity…)
So now the question is should the WGA just wait until the DGA setlles or keep striking until the the AMPTP starts wanting to have serious negotiations.
Assuming the idea is to get them to the table faster here’s what I would do:
First, I think the DGA and SAG need to show more solidarity behind the WGA. What the WGA is fighting for are things that will benefit the other guilds as well. Let SAG start organizing sick-outs. Let the top actors and directors say they won’t do anymore projects until the strikes (since a strike of one guild is a strike for all the guilds) are over. When Mike Myers walks away from SHREK and Spielberg from INDY 4 — that sends a message to the studios. The creative community needs to show solidarity.
Second, picket reality shows. American Idol, the dancing shows, the award shows, even the Today Show. Disrupt as much as possible. And actors should let it be known that they will not cross the picket lines — not for the Today show, or the awards, or late nights.
Third, go after the money. We all know the studios accounting is crooked all to hell — so why not have every person ask for an audit of the books of every movie and tv show produced for the last fifty years. And ask for accountant from the IRS to sit in as arbitors. Everyone knows the studios are loath to open their books — make them.
Fourth, send messages to the shareholders of the companies explaining how much the studios are losing. Not just in ad revenue — that immediate amount of money — but from dvd sales, syndication, etc. If HEROES Season 2 is only 12 episodes, then are people going to pay $50 for it or only $25 — so only half the revenuye is coming in. Not to mention the damage to shows that were trying to build an audience. Reality shows don’t repeat and don’t sell on dvd — they are the fast cash, but the real shows have longevity that brings in far more money over time. Even cancelled shows can keep turning a profit. How many sets of Firefly dvd’s sold last year? Hmmm?
The truth is until the AMPTP wants to begin to negotiate there isn’t anything the WGA can do other can continually point out to shareholders and CEOs how much the studios are losing by having this strike, if not in immediate losses then down the road.
–Paul
HERE’S THE PROGRESSION.
Here is the sad but simple truth of the action in which we find ourselves.
This strike has always been a six month strike, no less. Even the studios have said so privately to many of their top producers, especially film producers. I’ve heard it directly from a number of high-level execs. The strike will end in March/April. No sooner, but also no later. Here’s why.
December obviously is gone. January they’re going to let the WGA stew to see if the guild breaks. There will be some kind of broad outreach in February, where the AMPTP will come back again “to put the town back to work” but put forth essentially their original offer to see if they can pressure the WGA into taking it. That has always been their game plan. The studios were having high level meetings for over a year determining what they would offer, and what they would force the guild to accept. This is all part of the process of wearing down the WGA.
It is, however, in March/April that the strike will really begin in terms of effectiveness. That is the ONLY window where the WGA will have a chance to up the deal, because of what’s around the corner.
Understand: The AMPTP does NOT want to see the strike extend into May-June because not only would that put all three Guilds into negotiating at the same time THIS year, but it would also put them into that position three years from now when the contracts expire, something no one else has seemed to mention, but which the studios are very much aware of and wish to avoid as part of their long-term planning. They’re going to want at least a couple of months between the next WGA contract expiration and SAG/DGA.
So: March/April. This timeframe allows the AMPTP time to solicit multiple script orders from their favorite and trusted show runners and go right into production without a pilot, allowing them to salvage the fall 08 season. They’ll be short orders at first, just to hedge their bets, but enough to save the fall.
Anyone who got into this strike foreseeing anything less than a six month strike was living in a dream world.
Until then, the only thing everyone can do is batten down the hatches and hold tight until April. A hard truth but it’s honest.
My outsider opinion is the creative community in Hollywood have been so marginalized as to become powerless. This is because the writers (and other talent) have shown they will do anything to work in a terribly exploitive business.
When I read about all this strife and how bitter people feel about their being exploited, I ask, “Why are these people allowing themselves to be miserable?”
“Why have they sold their self respect to a business that does not appreciate them?”
Creative people cannot regain respect until they make a liberating decision to take charge of their own destiny and use their talent in a way that IS appreciated.
Fortunately, the Internet is liberating the talent from the thugs who exploit them, IF ONLY THE TALENT IS WILLING TO WALK AWAY FROM THE PLANTATION – COMPLETELY.
They can only have you by the soul if you allow it.
The corporate overseers are frightened of the future as well they should be. They have no idea how the revenue will continue in the new age of direct entertainment.
Corporations don’t want to give up anything in present negotiations because they cannot anticipate the source or amounts of future revenue streams. They are in a fearful environment – deer caught in the headlights.
Writing talent has become a commodity like corn or soybeans. Corporations are simply trying to haggle over the price.
If writing talent is something truly special and unique and if the best at it are gifted and rare, those with the gifts must leave the plantation and stop allowing themselves to be treated like a boxcar of soybeans.
This goes far beyond the mechanics of a strike. This is at the heart of the profound bitterness and loathing so pervasive in Hollywood.
Each day this strike stretches on, it puts more and more of us in an increasingly untenable position. Each day brings us further along the realization that both sides will not come to an agreement anytime soon. And each day increases the collateral damage to the industry and those who depend on it.
This strike differs from those past, ironically, due to a construct that resides at its core; the internet.
The internet gives us a venue to display our creations with almost complete autonomy. In the coming months, this industry will be confronted with more and more unemployed talent, facilities, and resources. Some enterprising showrunners, both here and on the east coast, can start something new and put those assets back to work.
We can, and should, make content and distribute it directly to our audiences via the internet. Amateurs do it every day, mostly with deplorable results, but sometimes with laudable efforts. What they lack in know-how and experience, we have. The main question will be, will anyone pay for content made exclusively for the internet? (And isn’t that one of the central questions behind this strike?)
I , for one, would surely pay $1.99 (the going rate on iTunes for an episode) or more, for one more episode of a favorite program.
Present existing agreements may prevent talent from undertaking such new ventures, but if the studio declare force majeure as we all fear, then it’s a whole new ball game. And some people out there are already doing it.
Why settle for a just few cents on the dollar for new media?
Just a thought…
We writers must simply form our own studios and production companies. It really is that simple.
Like United Artists and American Zoetrope proved in their day, creative people are perfectly capable of learning how to finance, produce, and distribute their own material… but executives and old school producers will never be able to write good stories.
The first step is this: the WGA should immediately redirect all their resources into forming the WGA TV network. This collective writers network would be able to immediately start putting shows into production. Watch the AMPTP shit their pants…
They need us more than we need them.
Nikki,
This site has been a source of comfort and distress over the past several weeks. Please keep up the good work.
I am a civilian casualty of this war.
I work on “SNL”–technical support staff for over a decade–and this whole strike is terribly depressing and maddening. It is having a very real impact on finances for me and about 200 other colleagues. We have already missed 5 shows — 25% of the season.
Here are a few of my random thoughts and observations.
Both sides are being unreasonable about resolving the strike. Yes, the WGA has very strong points. I support them 100%. But it also appears that their negotiators are trying to re-make “Norma Rae” and settle their own beefs about social injustices.
The AMPTP are pricks with deep pockets, and will be just as happy to put on “My Dad Farts Louder Than Your Dad” or some other sad commentary on our times.
==
Public perception of the issues is NOT as wide-spread as the WGA thinks. I would venture to say that 98% of the people [non-industry types] I talk to have NO idea the strike is still on.
“Oh– I thought you guys settled”
(And then I remind them that I am not a stagehand, and that was Broadway…)
More often than not, the response is– “Well I haven’t heard much about it, so I thought it was settled. Well, they still pay you–right?”
Then I usually respond with my own joke– maybe the one about how “two nuns walk into a Yeshiva, and the first one says—”
==
Furthermore, in my (admittedly limited) understanding of some of these issues, (new-media residuals being the big one) we are talking about a 3-year contract. Which means that whatever is eventually agreed upon will be tossed aside and this crap will start up all over again. The WGA and the AMPTP both have their concepts of what kind of “gold mine” this represents. The AMPTP say it will take several years to determine how to dole out slivers of that pie. The WGA says it will take 18 months (+/-)?
So, why not do the following–
Get a REAL mediator in there who will first and foremost get both sides back to work. Then the mediator should demand that EACH side hire an accounting firm to make a study of actual internet traffic to various sites. These firms should have absolutely no ties at all to any “Hollywood” entities. The mediator will then mandate that both sides re-convene in 2 years and 6 months with the collected data and start to negotiate the next contract.
Again — I’m just an outsider watching the carnage pile up.
We must educate the general public. I can’t stress that strong enough. Those of us who have been in your corner from Nov 5 know the facts. But most of the general public does not.
Fans have been calling, emailing and sending eforms to the AMPTP and the networks since the strike began. But it’s clear to us that they don’t care about the audience.
Suggestions:
1. Full or half page ads in the major newspapers can be bought and paid for by fan groups. Ads state the facts of the situation. Each fandom can donate a small amount and have their URL published as a concerned group of the audience. (Local TV stations give the strike little mention since they are owned by the networks.) If this is too expensive, then Letters To The Editor can be utilized.
2.On the day the ads run, a “Harrass The Brass” Day is called for by the fans. On this day, fans call the AMPTP and request respectfully that they come back to the table.
I’ll step up and pay for an ad in my local market and call the AMPTP.
3. WGA pickets loudly at each late nite talk show that goes back on the air and harrass the picket crashing guests as they enter the studio. It will make all the others think twice about going on that show.
4. Fans can call local radio stations and state the facts of this strike and urge the general public to not download their favorite TV shows from the net, not buy DVDs and boycott the feature films in their area.
I don’t think everyone will go as far as I did and turn the TV off, boycott the films and not buy DVDs. But by educating the general public, it could help. And every little bit helps. Right?
Bring the focus back to new media.
Stay close to the DGA.
Make sure all Guild members fully understand how the current model
(in regards to TV especially) is quickly becoming the old model.
And how that will effect writers, whether or not a new media deal is in
place. We all know manners of TV viewing are changing. How the ad world fits into that is changing as well. That effects us, the tv writers, and, I’m sure, the newtork/studio stand on the issue. How do writers best navigate this unsure future?
The writers need to realize that the AMPTP doesnt, and will never care about giving them a fair deal out of the righteousness of their cause. The world doesnt work that way.
Winning in business is not about being fair, its about outsmarting the opposition.
Business is war. The WGA needs to think more strategically and treat it as such.
They fired the strike bullet, and the companies turned it to their advantage. So what leverage do they hold now? Not much, as evidenced by the AMPTPs attitude towards negotiations.
Im not privy to the inter guild relationships, but forging a secret joint strategy with the DGA and SAG seems like the key here.
In addition, they should go on the offense and actively pursue the weak links in the companies armor.
Theyd also do well to make good on the pledge to migrate to the internet or towards other companies outside the AMPTP.
Being cut completely out of a revenue stream is the best way to get the stockholders pissed. The advertisers wont care in the long run as long as they reach their audience.
Being the only game in town, means the AMPTP has the luxury of jerking the WGA around. Picketing and “Why we write” campaigns are all well and good, but until the WGA increases their leverage in a REAL way, there is no incentive for the AMPTP to come down off their high horse.
I won’t say the outcome of the strike doesn’t matter, but let’s face it: it’s 1973 and we’re in Detroit. The winners are going to be the ones who find out where Japan is.
Google? Microsoft? Mark Cuban? Produce your own shows for the internet? I don’t know the answer, but it lies elsewhere. The congloms have done everything they can to scale back the idea of partnering with the creative community to where “net profits” is a bad joke and John Wells or Dick Wolf-type success is an impossibility. Now they are negotiating to ensure that the vast majority of creative people will never be able to make a sustainable living at their craft. No surprise here, but they consistently demonstrate zero understanding that their success depends on a thriving creative community. They really and truly don’t get it. I don’t think we can expect that to ever change.
So short term, make whatever deal you can (and many of the suggestions for that made above are great). Long term, find somebody who gets it to play with. The “majors” no longer have a strangle hold on finance, marketing or distribution. It’s time to move on.
Ideally, both sides would stop name-calling and start talking again, whether it’s in public or in a storage room at Denny’s. Given the current vibe, that’s not gonna happen, so I think the writers need to take whatever steps are available to make their case more visible to the public. Now is the time because the real impact of the strike is about to hit viewers. In my opinion, raising that visibility means making a deal with Worldwide Pants – Letterman would be the best vehicle if he’s on air 5 nights a week WITH HIS WRITING STAFF – and seeing how many actors are willing to skip NBC in favor of the CBS shows (I’m including Craig Ferguson) that have a legit deal with the WGA. Sure, some of them won’t, but I bet a lot would.
There has to be public support for the strike that will really hurt the AMPTP’s direct customers. These are the stores that sell DVD’s and movie theatre chains. If the public put the brakes on purchasing DVDs or going to the movies, AMPTP would start getting complaints from the retailers who buy DVDs and movie theatre chain owners. These people are very important to them and they would have to respond. Retail is already down, if the public supported the writers by not buying DVDs, it would have an impact. Movie attendance was up 34% year over year for this holiday season. If it was down, and it was because of public support for the writers strike, that would hurt. Even a one day moratorium on going to the movies would have a multi-million dollar impact.
The ancillary people that are being hurt by the strike should take action on behalf of the WGA. The WGA needs to reach out to the thousands of other people out of work, and make sure that they understand it is the AMPTP to blame. Without knowledge of the situation it’s easy to blame the writers for “walking off the job” as opposed to the AMPTP for walking away from the netotiating table. The WGA needs to galvanize all the below-the-line workers to loudly support the strike, and make sure the public knows that the AMPTP is deliberately benefiting from all the lay-offs.
Almost everybody I’ve spoken to about the strike who are not writers have no real idea what this is about. The WGA needs to do a MUCH better job communicating to the public.
OK Niki, positive.
I’m positive the AMPTP’s MasterPlan was scripted (no pun intended) long ago and is running like clockwork.
They knew the WGA would strike. Their plan, from the beginning, was to walk away from the table and not return. Starve the writers, cut an early deal w/ the DGA forcing the hand of the WGA to sign on or be portrayed as out of touch with reality (again, no pun) and thusly, vaporizing the WGA’s public support. SAG’s off in the distance. With a DGA deal inked, it would be unlikely they’d have the stomach to restart the shitshow they’ve witnessed heretofore.
The WGA had, and may still have, an opportunity with WWP (Letterman, Kilborn / Ferguson, Everybody Loves Raymond, Ed, etc.) to throw something / anything on the tracks in front of the AMPTP’s steaming freight train. To claim a win; it’s first signatory to hold up as illustration the WGA’s demands are, in fact, reasonable and justified. But if rebuffed as too insignificant a player, forced to return without writers after having attempted to do right by the WGA, no one could then expect Letterman to be the outspoken WGA champion he might otherwise have been.
Would not be the best WGA move to date.
Those looking to Washington for a favorable resolution, in a dispute pitting huge corporations against labor, haven’t been paying attention to the current administration and their courts.
To offer concessions now to get the AMPTP back to the table is surrender.
Reality: Both sides have suffered losses
Perception: AMPTP’s won
To answer your question Nikki, What should happen now?
Keep picketing
Sign whatever the DGA agrees to
Claim victory
Start today building a strong alliance w/ the DGA, Teamsters, SAG, AFM, etc.
Go after ‘em again in 3 years, stronger.
Mike posting at 12:02 pm makes more sense than anyone else I’ve heard here.
And Mike, just to clarify, you say “The DGA should make its much-vaunted new media study public (assuming they’re not legally prevented from doing so from the consultants they hired, who tend to make money by repurposing their proprietary information from client to client.)”
The DGA would not be prevented from distributing the information if they commission the study. Proprietary research is proprietary to the client who purchased it, not the consultants who did the study. If the DGA is not releasing it publicly, it could be because they don’t want everyone to have access to all the nuances of the data. They could be selectivly using the data to support their position.
But I agree. The DGA should make the data public. I also think the WGA would be well-served to pay for some research themselves….though I think they should’ve done it before they decided to strike.
Here’s a question: Where are the movie stars? My friend and I were talking about the difference between T.V. actors and mvie actors. T.V. actors, when they’re working on a show, have a sense of family. They spend months and months and years and years with the same crew. Movie stars, on the other hand, are, well, pricks. They work with different crews and sometimes don’t even talk to the crew. They have been pretty much silent during this thing. Where the hell is Tom Hanks? Will Smith? Reese Witherspoon? Meryl Streep? Harrison Ford? Are they on the side of the AMPTP? Are they vacationing in Maui? Shooting movies? What the hell? Don’t you think if some of these people publicly stepped in, that would help us? Come on!
“All for freedom and for pleasure. Nothing ever lasts forever. Everybody wants to rule the world”
Well if I did. I tell you what I would do. All I need is healthy bankroll and an in, in the industry. That is.
First thing, I would get the most senior personnel from the management companies (Mosaic, Benderspink, Anonymous, et al) who produce and represent writing talent alongside two other groups: the television multi-hypenates and major power brokering writer/director/producers. Everyone in this coalition has to understand and be empathetic toward both sides. Find those people who want to work, and who, more importantly will work. Build this strong coalition who can bridge the gap and reach across the severed aisles of entertainment. These warring parties are not two divergent groups like GM and the UAW. These are similar folks, with similar egos who just happen to use opposite sides of their brains.
After I figure out who my go-betweens and back channel operators were going to be, I would hire a seasoned mediator/litigator. A legal mind who has overseen some of the greatest M&A’s of all time. An M&A attorney has the most experience in somehow stitching together opposing islands brimming with pride, armed with overflowing war chests of gold. My pick would be Joesph Flom. The go-to name of the high flying M&A days. He is exactly the outsider, this fissure needs. And unlike some government assigned mediator or politico looking to elevate their image in the community, Flom will bring experience, wisdom and knowhow. He’ll be there as a hired gun, on a mission to fix this. A person like Flom would bring an air of respect to these talks. He’s not an industry insider and I firmly believe this is type of person we all need, to get our Hollywood back to work. Flom will not be intimidated by grandstanding, puppeteering or amateur theatrics.
So with the back channel group of vested parties commanding respect on all sides of this food fight and an established outsider with a bulletproof, unshakable confidence…I would rent three bungalows at the Beverly Hills HIlton. Make sure the writers contingency, the mediating group and the moguls have all the room they need. All the food they need. The booze. The entertainment. The comfort. Whatever they need. Get it for them. Then I would send Flom and Co to battle. Ideally the moguls never see the writers and vice versa, until the iron clad agreements have been worked out piece by piece. Create a faceless foe and have the mediating group beat, coerce, appease, assuage, lull and entertain both groups into submission. Figure out which side will budge on each issue and strategize every hour in the war room bungalow. The sides will capitulate and start offering up concessions. We’ll take animation. You lord over reality. And on and on and on. Alternate good cop, bad cop with my dream team squad. Go line by line, issue by issue, [pacino] inch by inch [/pacino] until there is some semblance of hope. Use the hope to fuel the fire of optimism. Hopefully a flicker catches and a blaze breaks out. Take breaks. Take breathers. Do whatever. Just don’t let anyone leave. I keep em till the bitter end. Ultimately the last two issues on the table will be the new media and dvd fornula I think. I would have the mediation team build three proposals, created in-house (Skadden Arps) with varying formulas. Have them present each side simultaneously and hopefully have one, that both sides can agree to. Some wrangling surely will take place as each side haggles for their own cheering factions…but that is to be expected. Let them nitpick but set an ultimatum and have a shared agreement on the two sticking points by the time the hourglass empties. Each side must be negotiating in good faith. I would call for no picketing while the talks take place.
Honestly with my handpicked mediation team led by a revered leader like Flom, to calm the knee-jerk reactions and petty hair pulling…I really feel this could be finished in less than a weekend. I think the ultimate solution is going to have to give the moguls a perceived “win.” The writers have lost a lot of momentum and really any leverage if the 08/09 television season has, in fact, been Shazamed into the “omnipotent” reality wonderland. I think the masses still are sympathetic toward the writer’s cause but grow restless each night, due to the uncertainty of an indefinite losses on network tv. As bad as they want to support the writers, they too are missing large chunks of their lives. This fight still is about the people and the eyeballs. Their escapes and their entertainment. The writers need to get the big shots back to the tables before, they lose the support of the people. If the people swing against the writers, the scribes will be pummeled into obscurity.
But you know, that’s just me and my half-brained idea. I do believe if history is any indicator, it is how you get things done. Moreso than a labor dispute, this is trench warfare teetering on gargantuan egos. You need a business leader and a mediator who has been in larger disputes to come in and whip the two parties into shape…with care and tact. This is no place for spitting and yelling. You need someone who is unimpressed by the sizzle of fame or the monstrosity of Multi-National executives.
That’s my analysis. Course I’m representing the everyday outsider. The coach-potato. The monday morning quarterback. The back seat driving, birds eye viewing, peanut gallery prophet. A longshot aspiring writer with no real idea how it would play out in Hollywood. But if business history is any indication, this is how the rubber will meet the road. If the writers are to get a deal, any deal. Anywhere close to what they deserve, something of this level will most certainly need to take place.
Although I cannot consider my livelihood hanging in the balance here….my aspirations for the future do. I would love to know that hope does spring. That dreams do come true. That any sort of muted light does exist at the end of this darkness. It’s already been a cloudy, cold winter in Texas. Springtime…and a solution to the strike can’t get here fast enough.
ON DHD: Thanks for all your reporting. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this blog the past year. Obviously more enjoyable before the strike began. You always provide a fresh breath and nice perspective in the mish mash of hollywood publications. Hopefully you’ll be giving us some new nuggets optimism in the coming weeks.
i want this to happen. i need this to happen. bring my hollywood back.
“The waiting is the hardest part. Every day you see one more card. You take it on faith, you take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part”
To all of the people who say, “we just need to suck it up and take whatever deal we can because we lost.”
——Are you totally crazy? The strike has just began. Whoever starts striking or negotiating and is not in it for the long haul should not be striking or negotiating in the first place.
To all of the people who say, “bring in the governor or the Senate.”
——-You are living in fantasy land. It’s an election year and nobody who is interested in being elected is going wade in these waters. And Arnold has nothing to win and everything to lose by getting involved.
To all of you who just think that it’s about personalities and egos and alpha males…
——–Wake up! This is about the AMPTP waiting for the right moment to begin negotiating.
The only thing that has happened in the eight weeks of the strike is table setting. Billions of dollars over the next twenty years are on the table and the AMPTP is simply trying to check the resolve of the WGA (and the stance of SAG and the DGA) before STARTING to negotiate.
Everyone must know that the only thing the WGA can and should do right now is stay strong, maintain the pickets and coordinate with the DGA during their negotiations.
That is where the deal will happen.
Meanwhile, enjoy the winter and raise some money so that you can produce your own movies.
Cheers and Happy New Year!
Both sides need to realize that television does not consist of only 3 networks anymore. Kids aren’t watching television like they used to and neither are their parents. My kids would rather watch repeats of Hannah Montana and Drake and Josh then anything that CBS, NBC, ABC or FOX have to offer.
I am not sure who to blame for this mess, but I know that the longer this goes on the worse it will be for both sides.
Posted yesterday by “Fly on WGA Wall”:
“I reject the question as presently phrased, because the WGA proposals already are fair to both sides. As such, no further concessions should be made by the writers, and for that matter, DVD residuals should be returned to the list.”
Let’s say that the WGA takes “Fly’s” advice, and makes no further concessions. Then, it becomes ‘no-gotiation’ and the AMPTP has no reason to return to the table with them. End of story, end of WGA, end of problem.
By the way, “Fly” might want to check his/her dictionary for the correct usage of the word ‘presently’ before sending the next membership dues check to the WGA.
Given the present level of acrimony between the WGA and the AMPTP, and the prospect of negotiations commencing between the producers and the DGA, it seems plain that no meaningful bargaining is going to resume with the writers until the producers get some clear indication of whether there’s a deal to be made with the directors, with whom they’ve had a historically more amicable relationship and would far rather talk to at this point. A deal which the AMPTP will then consider a template for a deal with the WGA. And that this is likely to take at least several weeks. Meaning that the WGA will be on the sidelines, utterly marginalized, twiddling their thumbs for another month or more with no one to talk to, while both this TV season and pilot season just ebbs away.
With the near certainty of this scenario, wouldn’t it make most sense for the WGA leadership to now declare a willingness to go back to work, under the old contract, until such time as there’s a resolution of the AMPTP-DGA negotiations, at which point there’s either a deal writers can accept; or there isn’t, in which case the strike could be reinstated. This would both inject a badly needed bit of goodwill into the situation, and present the chance of saving this TV season and pilot season, rather than simply watch both passively fade away during a virtually guaranteed period of utter inaction.
At the Santa Monica Civic meeting someone on the dais said they couldn’t believe the producers were willing to write off both this and next year’s TV seasons. To which I can only observe: I can’t believe WE’RE willing to. Pointlessly at this juncture.
WGA should drop all the expansionistic stuff (animation, reality) and fight for them later, out of this strike. Focus on the residuals.
AMPTP should stop whining, realize that without scripted tv they ain’t going anywhere, and put forward a reasonable proposal on internet and dvd residuals.
Both sides should tone way down the moronic media campaign.
But it won’t happen, there’s to much greed, on both sides.
Joint Member’s timeline does not include the DGA negotiations, which will be starting roughly a week from Monday. I have heard multiple ideas of when this whole thing will end, from someone at the DGA saying they thought it would end mid-January to some SAG members telling me that once they go out in July, the matter will continue on well past a year. One friend who works CGI on “Smallville” told me everything would be settled in April. I asked why, and he said that was when his show would be starting up, so they would want to settle by then. Or you could listen to Mark Evanier, who thinks the AMPTP will want to make a deal around February 1. Or you could believe the Hollywood Reporter, which has predicted April Fool’s Day. Take your pick, I guess.
I stand by my earlier comments that the DGA will need about 2 months to work out a new contract. By mid-March, there will be a DGA contract with provisions for internet and new media that can be patterned for SAG and the WGA. But since this TV season will be unrecoverable by that point, and since a WGA contract will take at least another month after that point to hammer out, which effectively means mid-May or early June before crews could actually start working, it will likely make more sense to the AMPTP to turn to SAG before the WGA. Otherwise, as Evanier has already pointed out, you wind up with the town going back to work for maybe a month before SAG walks out. So even though it hurts more in the immediate time, getting SAG onboard before the WGA heads off that problem. It’s just that it will take another 2 months to work out the new SAG contract, which takes us into late May or early June before the WGA is back at the table. And again, it will be about a month at that point to work out a new WGA contract. Add it up, and you have the possibility that all three guilds will have new contracts in place by some time in late June, and you have the town going back to work in late July or early August. I personally hope that the timeline moves faster than this, but I don’t think anyone wants to see a bad contract come out as a result of it being rushed through the process.
As far as what can be done at this point to change the math here, I really don’t see any negotiation steps the WGA can take. The AMPTP does not wish to talk with them until they take the 6 points off the table, and the WGA is not going to do that. (And I believe that condition will be restated after the DGA contract is finished in March, which will be part of the justification the AMPTP will use to turn to SAG.) Once the DGA talks start, the cone of silence comes down until the new contract comes out. While that’s happening with the DGA and SAG, the only option open to WGA that I can see is to continue the strike as strongly and firmly as they can. Since they’re already prepared to do that, this has been a part of the strike strategy in any case.
I don’t believe we’ll see any governmental intervention here, other than the predictable hand-wringing we’ve already seen. And the idea of class-action lawsuits is interesting, but will take years to have any effect. Similarly, the idea of all talent migrating to new companies on the internet is a good long-term idea, but not one that is likely to suddenly put everyone back to work within the next six months. And finally, there isn’t a trusted person that either side really trusts. It seems there’s a competition over who will be the “new Lew Wasserman” and pull the sword out of the stone. (The most recent attempt by Jeffrey Katzenberg was quite strange – particularly since it was his attitude and behavior during the 1988 Strike that angered the writers enough to cause pickets at theaters showing “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”.)
I think someone earlier already said this. I’ve got one word: Congress. It brought the AMPTP to the table before, and I bet pressure from our government would bring them back again.
Thank You so Much Nikki for Creating this Invaluable Forum.
To solve the strike, the WGA needs to continue to support their leadership: Patric Verrone, David Young and the WGA Negotiating Committee.
In addition, in reading the comment section Deadline Hollywood, the WGA and its supporters need to realize that their our three (3) diverse groups submitting posts:
1. The WGA and WGA Supporters: Representing the Positive comments;
2. The AMPTP represented by the Fabriani and Lehane Hack Posts:
There is a certain pattern and language to the Fabriani and Lehane Posts: There is “commendable” and “reasonable” guy/girl, always pointing out that the “evil” David Young/Patric Verrone are taking money out of the mouths of “commendable” and modestly paid young writers (or SCABS) such as Conan, Stewart and Colbert. Their colleagues portray ANGRY BTL GUY, the one who posts nonsense such as “I can’t wait to see the showrunners without deals” or “I’ve heard writers say horrible things about BTL people (the intent, of course, is create a divide where non-exists) . And then there is ANGRY 7th GRADER Guy/GAL. . His/Her posts follow the angry 13 Year Old Topics such as: “You people talk about freedom of speech, except when we dare to critcize (=destroy) your union” or “if the posts on this board are indicative of the WGA members talent, it’s no wonder the AMPTP is happy to be rid of you” or “any 11th Grader can now go to YOUTUBE and do better work than the WGA does. (Note To the AMPTP: If you know an 11th Grader who can create written content which is better than “The Sopranos” “Mad Men” “Heroes” or “Grey’s Anatomy” (to name a few), could you please let me know?).
In addition, the Fabriani and Lehane Hacks have 3-6 dominate themes. It’s always the same junk: (1) Verrone/Young are unreasonable or over-matched (usually posted by “moderatewriter”); (2) Any Scab — Conan, Colbert, and Stewart– is “reasonable” and/or “commendable” and for “the little people” (usually the work of the F&L employee “tv staffer”); (3) Everyone thinks that the writers are overpaid, lazy, worthless, commies, militants, weak, idiots, unnecessary hacks, rich egotists and especially useless –or no one cares at all about the WGA Strike (completely not true, as my recent family gathering in middle America showed me).; (4) The AMPTP is stronger, smarter, already won, no longer interested in writers, no longer interested in television, making deals with writers in Bulgaria, Brazil, Iran etc.; (5) The WGA is ALWAYS Refusing to Return to the Bargaining Table (Never the AMPTP)and ; (6) The WGA is splitting, the WGA is weak, the WGA is destroyed . . . . All of this is nothing more than expensive LIES.
We should remember that the AMPTP is paying Fabriani and Lehane a great deal of money to post these ridiculous comments with the hope of scaring the WGA. Needless to say, the minute that you point out that a ridiculous post is a shill, the first thing they post is “I swear to you that I’m not.”
And then there is the third group:
3. Gavin Palone
No comment.
A WGA SUPPORTER
From what I hear from Network and Studio execs, there is no way this strike will end before March, probably a little later. Some of the reasons don’t even have to do directly with the WGA. However the Network Chiefs are seriously pissed at the writers. They do feel that they still don’t know how profitable New Media will be in its current form, although they are well aware that it will likely be a big profit maker in the future. Three years from now, things will be much clearer and the guild would have been in a much better position to negotiate. But since the writers did strike, the Producers are going to use the strike to their advantage – and to your disadvantage. You want a little more money, they want some big changes. You have played into their game. They do not want to negotiate right now. If you accepted their terms they would have been forced to aquiesce and come back to the table. That would be livable for them, but the current situation is more to their liking. People keep discounting the Force Majeure. That was a huge boon. But there is a lot more.
Current production costs have skyrocketed. Not only above the line, but on the hour-longs below the line costs are huge as well. Many shows do not ever get into the black for years, if ever. Pilots are just a giant drain. The Networks and Studios pay up front for all these costs and it’s a giant gamble. A gamble that too often doesn’t pay off. Even on a show that is a marginal hit, the first set of residuals paid to writers are paid at a deficit to the Producers when those shows don’t make it to a second season. Writers (and everyone else) get paid whether a show flops or not. The Producers eat all the costs. When a show does become a hit, it pays for all the shows and pilots that didn’t make it.
Some Networks do not want a traditional pilot season this year. They want to change to a presentation system. They hate the up-fronts and want those to go away if at all possible. Switching to presentations allows them to see if the pilot actually will work before they pay a ton of money for something that will never see the light of day. A half-hour comedy would either be performed and not shot or just a portion of the script would be shot. An hour-long would just shoot about 10 or 15 pages. No more delivering a ready-to-air pilot. I don’t know how this would affect the Network’s addiction to testing, but I think everyone would agree that getting rid of that behemoth would be a blessing to the creative process. Too many bad pilots get on the air and too many good ones get thrown away because of 100 idiots that didn’t have anything better to do because they ran out of chips in Vegas. The networks that would shoot full pilots know that they can turn them around fast. They already have scripts flagged and budgets roughed out. So if the fall season ends up happening, it happens late. Not a big deal to them.
Contacting shareholders or informing the public won’t do any good. As soon as the AMPTP was aware there was even the possibility of a strike they did all the accounting for any possible duration. During that time, they also looked at the opportunities for change that the strike could provide. Reality is popular, like it or not. It bridges a lot of the damage. The Producers are well aware of what advertising revenues will be lost, but they will lose more if they back down now. Both in money and in ego. The writers, unfortunately, have already lost far more than they will regain within the term of this contract. I don’t think most of what the WGA is asking for is unfair, but in the Producers’ world it IS unfair. In their minds streaming is both promotion and a potential opportunity to possible recoup some losses. Being paid for streaming would have to change the on-air residual formula to make any sense to the producers.
The current fantasy of going to Google or venture capitalists is just that. A fantasy. At least if you work in the primetime world. They would be taking the same gamble that the Producers take, but in a less secure platform. Writers, Directors and Actors would have to slash their fees dramatically. And, they would also be taking that same gamble. Even a Nickelodeon writer would have trouble making the same money if they tried to finance their own project and it became a marginal success. And if you did find investors, they would still end up wanting input if they were fronting a substantial amount. It would end up being the same monster. People that use American Zoetrope and George Lucas as examples are being naïve. They are mega-millionaires with giant reputations who can afford to fund their losses. And they have distribution outlets. The internet isn’t going to be even a potential cash cow for writers until it streams directly into televisions (which shouldn’t be far off), and there are still a lot of things to figure out to make it financially viable. Not impossible, but now is not the time. Now is merely the time to start to try to figure out how to make it work.
The directors will make a deal. They have done the research, they have Ken Ziffren and Gil Cates (a businessman as well as a director), they have taken the high road in their vernacular without sounding like pushovers.. Hopefully the WGA will be able to live with it, perhaps with some small changes. SAG will talk big right now, but come June it is unlikely they will stand as strong as WGA hopes if they decide not to take the DGA deal. And the Producers cannot strike a deal with SAG that would undermine the DGA. Even with a favored nations clause it would look bad if they made any substantial increases to either of the other guilds.
Fairness is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe what the writers are asking for is fair. The Producers don’t think so and don’t care anyway. But it really doesn’t matter in the business world. This isn’t about fairness or respect, it’s about leverage. The writers won’t have leverage for some time during this strike. The Networks have the pockets to weather a much longer storm. To wait for their well to run dry, will just be self-destructive.
Sure, writers are the geese that lay the golden eggs. For the most part. But the goose needs to be fed to gold to lay it. Right now, the Producers have the gold. Until you have your own gold, all you can lay are some beautiful Easter eggs.
This comment thread is obviously dominated by pro-WGA views. As an outsider, but interested observer, let me give another perspective which will likely be quite unpopular.
There is an element of an echo chamber here which has led to a demonization of the AMPTP (evil, greedy jerks). This may be good for morale and unity in the short-term, but these caricatures are frankly just stupid. Company executives do not sit around like cheap villains in a B-movie plotting to screw workers (full disclosure – I am a senior executive in a large company outside the media space)- they do what they think is right for the shareholders, the company, and, yes, themselves. Sure there will be some jerks among them, but I hazard a guess that there are also jerks in the WGA. The two sides are not going to come close to an agreement until they are prepared to recognize the other side has a legitimate view.
The New York Times, which is hardly a management shill, has an interesting and fair take on the strike (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/business/media/10strike.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1198868496-ODVPKjUI7+Kss/44c4bGPA)
The article claims that only a death wish could prompt the AMPTP to agree to certain of the WGA demands. WGA members should not be shocked that the AMPTP will not return to the table when clearly ridiculous demands are made and not withdrawn. One has to ask why the WGA would be so, well, childish to do this. As someone who negotiates contracts on an almost daily basis, I would never pull a stunt like that and I would walk away from the table if the counterparty tried to do so. (Don’t think for a second that this works as a negotiating chit that you can concede on later in exchange for another demand – real negotiations don’t work that way.) As an outside observer it is hard not to reach the conclusion that the WGA leadership is spoiling for a fight.
The WGA, at least in my view, has the moral high ground on the new media issue. But its overall negotiation tactics are naive and counterproductive. They are now in a position whereby they will appear weak by conceding on demands that should never have been raised in the first place, an own-goal of the worst type.
Punt.