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I’m told that News Corp No. 2 Peter Chernin and Walt Disney President Bob Iger spent today talking about Internet issues with reps for the Directors Guild, including negotiations committee chair Gil Cates and executive director Jay Roth. The DGA contract doesn’t expire until June (same as SAG’s), but the helmers are bargaining early.
Here’s what progress I’ve learned has been made already in the DGA talks with the moguls: “The directors proposed a framework against which everybody would sit down and negotiate,” an insider tells me. “And then there were a couple of things, not major, that didn’t seem to be insurmountable as far as economics left to be talked about. So they’ve started putting those on the table, and the meeting is going on today.”
Even hardliners among the moguls like Warner Bros boss Barry Meyer are widely known to be “very eager” to get a DGA deal quickly in order to lord it over the striking WGA. But I’ve been hearing rumors that the official start of negotiations between the AMPTP and DGA — originally thought to kickoff tomorrow – is delayed because these pre-sessions have been a “grind” and not making as much progress as the DGA would have liked. “I wouldn’t characterize it as delayed,” an insider admits. “Both sides are being careful to say nothing has been officially scheduled. Semantics are alive and well in both camps.”
Asked to explain what is causing the delay, the source tells me that the ”DGA is being smart about this. This has to be a deal for the community and they know it now. They’re not going to rush in until all the ducks are in order.”
(Interestingly Chernin and Iger were also the two moguls who had that secret meeting back on November 17th with Writers Guild president Patric Verrone and chief WGA negotiator Dave Young and others at the home of Creative Artists Agency partner Bryan Lourd which was aimed at restarting writer-producer talks.)
- DGA & WGA Meet To Discuss New Media
- DGA-AMPTP Negotiations Announcement
- DGA Negotiators Talk About Their Plans
- Talks Restarted At Agent Bryan Lourd’s Home After Weeks Of Quiet Backchannel
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Please. The WGA is not solely made up of the non-working writers who dominate sites like Writer Action and would gladly strike forever because they have nothing to lose but their newfound sense of identity. If the DGA makes anything close to a decent deal, plenty of writers will want to take it. In fact, I worry it may split the guild.
OK, it’s early still… but why does it seem/sound like the producers aren’t having trouble negotiating with DGA? If DGA signs a contract without too much hassle it is sure going to make it look (rightly or wrongly) that the WGA negotiaters were the major reason for this strike and not the producers.
slk writer:
If WWP agreed to such a great deal why is it AN INTERIM CONTRACT AGREEMENT? (Without a Guild vote?)
Why didn’t WWP sign a 3 year contract with the WGA that was binding without a favored nations clause?
Maybe its because WWP knows there is no way the AMPTP and the WGA are going to sign a binding legal contract with a Guild vote that is close to the INTERIM CONTRACT AGREEMENT. And quite simply WWP doesn’t want to be stuck in a bad contract for 3 years. Just like the AMPTP.
Patric can call the WWP(and UA and others to follow….)deal(s) whatever he wants but all he “negotiated” was a free pass so Dave(and soon to be others) could go to work now – with the details to be worked out later.
Had Patric (or a quick typing WGA-E president) not called the strike in the first place this is exactly where everyone would be – WORKING – while the contract details were ironed out.
Is your family one of those being feed by a free pass, er, an INTERIM CONTRACT AGREEMENT?
To IATSE JE -
If you really are in IATSE, explain me this —
when sitcoms switched from film to digital video, IA workers were hit with a 33% decrease in pay. (Even though DV is cheaper than film!)
Many of my IA buddies responded by fleeing sitcoms altogether for one hour shows. Others just had to suck it up. Combine that with the fact that there are fewer sitcoms out there. IA guys used to work on 2 sitcoms a week, now the lucky ones are on just one. So now, IA sitcom workers are making only 1/3 what they used to!
This is what ‘not striking’ has gotten you. No owonder why the AMPTP loves your leadership!
Kevin, please pay some more attention to the DETAILS:
The specific items included in that infamous “6 ITEM ULTIMATUM” you refer to actually INCLUDED NEW MEDIA PROFIT PARTICIPATION, as well as the various other items you guys keep harping on endlessly (reality, animation, sympathy strikes — those only add up to 3, you know).
The companies know as well as we do that this strike is about ONE THING and ONE THINGS ONLY — and that is PROFIT PARTICIPATION FOR SCRIPTED ENTERTAINMENT DELIVERED VIA THE INTERNET.
The rest is all smoke and mirrors, propaganda and spin.
We’ll see in the end whether the WGA’s approach to gaining a foothold for writers in that area succeeds or not. But like it or not, no matter your personal opinion, the truth is it all boils down to only ONE DETERMINING FACTOR:
How long the WGA membership can stick together and continue to hold the line.
For myself, I’m out picketing every day, a stone’s throw from my showrunner office on the WB lot, even if it takes until July, when I expect we will be joined by 100,000+ members of SAG.
If the DGA manages to wrest real internet profit participation out of the AMPTP long before then, the WGA will sign on and I imagine so will SAG when it’s their turn, and I will buy some directors I know a drink, or lunch for the former alcoholics among them.
If not, then I will just keep HOLDING THE LINE — along with the lion’s share of my fellow WGA members.
Having read some of the testosterone laden comments here I am quite disgusted. Yes the producers should ante up and I hope that they do, but the WGA members need a reality check too. The 12, 000 or so of you have put over 60,000 people out of work. We don’t have a support network and while you still have healthcare, we are losing ours. Not to mention starting a 3rd month of no pay with NO residuals to help us along. So while you cavil on there is another world you will have to face eventually, the people who produce what you write.
As I see it, there have been major mis-steps by the WGA. Have reality shows and animation become your priority now? If yes, then the writer above is right, this could go on forever. If not, then stop making them an issue and get down to the nitty gritty details. I can tell you that, having talked with all the other people who have no horse in this race and yet are still paying as big, if not bigger price than you, both sides need to get back to the table and start acting like adults.
These will have major bearing on WGA negotiations, the only chance of settling this strike is if the DGA can bring in the WGA through the back door and everyone can save face
Remember there is no point in the DGA getting a good deal if we come to June 30 and the writers are still on strike and are joined by the actors, after all what would they direct
Those of you saying WWP/UA signed a new deal whose terms are final are embarassing yourselves. This is a direct quote from the WWP deal published on the WGA website.
“Favored Nations: If the successor to the 2004 AMPTP MBA contains different terms and
conditions, those terms and conditions shall be applicable to this Agreement.”
That means whatever terms are negotiated with the AMPTP will be the terms of the WWP (and it’s probably safe to assume, UA) agreement. They make an interim deal to give you these terms until the overall deal is done, and when that happens, those terms are applied to the deal with interim deal.
How are you supposed to bag on a deal the dga hasn’t made yet when you don’t even understand the deal that’s been made with Letterman?
Mike Binder:
You’re quite right — this message board is well read, and I can assure you that a lot of people in this town will not forgive you for undercutting the position of the WGA.
Oh, and by the way, I thought your HBO show sucked, mostly because you were in it. Consider letting cooler heads prevail next time and hire a better actor.
Again, my points are simple…
1) If DGA makes a deal which is unacceptable to WGA it will be rejected by the WGA Membership. It’s that simple. We have different needs and won’t be following pattern bargaining with DGA. It may be more likely that might happen with SAG IMO, but not with DGA.
Of course if they work out a fair deal, it WILL make a difference but many Writers are assuming, based on AMPTP behavior and tactics, that it isn’t likely.
So, yes, maybe I should have been clearer on that. Writers are well versed on the Economics of New Media residuals and how they affect our pocketbooks. We also see how NEW Media is growing rapidly before our eyes on almost a week by week basis. Now something like 35% polled say they download or stream scripted content. And the new CES deals are eyepopping to say the least.
2) These side deals set precedent for what some Companies have agreed to pay us for New Media. If more and more Companies sign on to the Full MBA and are happy and Productive, the more likely it is that a Full MBA or far closer to it will become the acceptable norm than if side deals weren’t being made.
Some are betting the final AMPTP NM deal might be far less than the full MBA. Some say 1.25%. Well, if 20 companies are paying 2.5% by the time we get to that, it is far less likely, isn’t it? And that’s my point guys. We’ll just have to wait and see…
Btw, Bear Stearns Analysts have stated that WGA Full MBA proposals are “largely neglible” to the Companies so some of us are looking at this from a different perpective than those who support the Companies.
“Yeah, nice try, “Transpo Bill”. Maybe you’d understand the reasoning if you bothered to check history. In ‘85, a good deal was negotiated for home video. (2.5% of 100%) in ‘88, the DGA undercut that deal with a worse deal to get something IT needed. (2.5% of 20% of 100%) the AMPTP used this as “the standard” in the WGA negotiations – and we’ve been stuck with that lowly number ever since.
Never again.”
slk writer, please actually read up on the history before you make statements like this. You will find that this is absolutely not what happened in 1985 or in 1988. Sorry. In 1985, the WGA led a disastrous strike and wound up accepting the low formula you have mentioned. The DGA agreement of 1987 actually was a dispute over one hour episodic syndication residuals, NOT home video. In 1988, the WGA went out for 5 months regarding the episodic syndication residuals, not the home video battle which had been lost 3 years earlier. There’s plenty of material on this you can look up. I personally recommend the excellent articles written by Anne Thompson in her “Risky Business” column at the LA WEEKLY at that time.
Ethan, if you read my post, you’ll see that I am paying quite close attention to this matter, since it is affecting the livelihood of my entire crew – in that they’re all unemployed right now, as am I. I don’t blame the WGA for that – it’s just a fact of the strike, and one that both sides should be keeping in mind. But let’s take those 6 items in order, so you may understand my position a little more clearly. One item has to do with “Industry Standards” so that the AMPTP will not be able to subcontract with non-union providers. That’s great, but AMPTP has made clear that they will not be bound by any guild in terms of who they do business with. The DGA is not likely to include this in their contract pattern. Second, Distributor’s Gross – I agree with this point by the WGA in that the AMPTP hides a lot of money by saying it never came to the producer. We’ll have to see if the DGA contract redefines this in a different way. It might, but not in the same manner that the WGA wishes to do it. Third, Fair Market: I again agree with this point, as do most people. Best example we have of this is the Duchovny suit against Fox for selling “X Files” for a pittance to itself. But will anyone be able to force the AMPTP to submit to third party oversight? It’s more likely that the DGA will take a different tack with this, but again, we’ll see once that contract is unveiled. Given that the DGA position on these matters will result in less strident contract terms, and that the other 3 items (Reality jurisdiction, Animation jurisdiction, and removal of the no-strike clause) will not be in the pattern, I repeat my statement that when the WGA goes with this pattern, that action will de facto be compliance with the ultimatum it was given on December 7.
I admire your resolve and tenacity. You may not believe that, but it takes great strength to do what you are doing day in and day out. But holding the line is not what will bring this strike to a close. Effective negotiating is the only way to do it, regardless of what one side thinks of the other. It is my hope that the DGA can come up with a pattern that is acceptable to the moderates in SAG and the WGA. And the DGA is well aware that failure to do this will mean a much longer strike.
As for SAG joining the strike, I agree this could happen. But if the strike stretches all the way through next summer, you should be aware of the possible ramifications. Or do you not remember SEG? Or the Hormel strike of the 1980s? The P-9 workers were absolutely right to strike too, but it didn’t help them in the end.
Dear pissed off pa,
I was once a pa and thanfully became a writer. And I’m forever greatfull to the writers who came before me who fought and struk to get what we have now. My advice, either appreciate what we are doing for YOUR future now, or go to law school.
Skeptic, you first.
“it turns out that a strike waiver is a writer-solidarity-busting side deal that binds the signatory to nothing more than taking the deal everybody else gets in the end.”
Come to a picket line and see how our solidarity is busted. You haven’t been on the lines so your position seems either blatently ignorant or willfully deceptive to try to prove your empty point.
Looking For An End, Let’s get you fed, Trolly!
“Maybe its because WWP knows there is no way the AMPTP and the WGA are going to sign a binding legal contract with a Guild vote that is close to the INTERIM CONTRACT AGREEMENT. And quite simply WWP doesn’t want to be stuck in a bad contract for 3 years. Just like the AMPTP.”
Do you know the terms of the contract? Unless you do you’re spewing ill-informed conjecture, but that would be par for the course. It’s the Guild’s position that we will get an equal or better deal with the AMPTP–but if not, why shouldn’t the companies that decide to do a favorable deal with us in the middle of the strike be punished with a worse deal than we end up with at the end?
If you’re caught up with just the numbers of the deal, you’re missing one third of the story. Part of the win here is PERCEPTION–we are taking the offensive, and companies are siphoning themselves off to do business with us, proving to most (except to the shills, trolls, and Bonehead Gavin) that contrary to the AMPTP talking points, the guild isn’t being unreasonable and the deal we’re looking for is do-able.
And no, pal, I’m out on the lines every day. I’m out of savings and temping and bartending to keep food on the table and it SUCKS, but I’m sacrificing because I have conviction in this cause. I have a real dog in this fight. Do you?
Game on.
Gavin! Here an awful lot lately, aren’t you? Allow me to retort.
“If I agree to pay you $1million for your Toyota, at some time in the future, but I can reduce the payment to equal the market price of similar Toyotas, you would be deluding yourself to think you were $1million richer.”
Yes, Paloney, but if I get $900k for that Toyota based on the fact I had an offer in hand for a million, that real offer is anything but delusional.
See, we haven’t reached the end yet, but you have us already losing. Perhaps this is some projection on your part.
The end game (the AMPTP deal) isn’t written but here you are, like clockwork, at the moment of any news, good or bad, in your Debbie Downer outfit to “educate”/bully people here with your big fat credits and your big fat mouth.
Most of us would prefer you’d limit your bile to those that have no real choice in hearing it–your family who didn’t choose you, the unlucky people that have to work for you, and the Santa Monica Blvd trannies with the unfortunate hourly task of making you feel like you’re not alone in this world (ok, that last part I’m making up, but I feel I’m not far off.) But hey, speak up, free country. As I said, I’ve just heard you’re here a lot. Gotta say…it smacks of try-hard.
I’m just a small tv writer-producer, and maybe people like ourselves don’t all have the benefit of your experience or perspective with how studios work, but we know a hired gun who is only posting here with a pathetic attempt to weaken our resolve when we see one.
Or maybe you’re just looking for more attention. It has been raining on Santa Monica Blvd, too.
It’s too bad, because I’ve walked on the line with some people you’ve worked with. You said in an earlier post that you want to know the people that don’t want to work with you in the future. You want to know your enemies. That’s good, because after all this is done, I’m not sure you’re going to be able to trust your friends. Not that you care what I say.
Mike Binder, I respect your opinion. But this is a fight, plain and simple. People are hurting, out of work, out of money, worried about their kids. This is not frivolous, the stakes are high, and heads can only be so cool when mis-information is passed out so often it’s taking the air of fact.
Jorge A. Reyes