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SATURDAY UPDATE: I've just been told that the Hollywood/Big Media CEOs who belong to the AMPTP are furious at MGM chairman Harry Sloan for "allowing" this WGA-United Artists deal to go through.
FRIDAY NIGHT: This is big. This is BIG! Because WGA sources just told me that the guild has clinched an "Independent Agreement" with Tom Cruise's and Paula Wagner's re-started United Artists. This now means that small and struggling UA has a leg up on every other Hollywood studio because it will be able to hire the striking writers. 
This is to date the first so-called side deal cut by the WGA with a movie studio since the strike began on November 3rd as part of the guild's newly articulated "divide and conquer" strategy. The WGA's first side deal with a production company was an "interim agreement" with David Letterman's Worldwide Pants which owns both The Late Show and the Late Late Show airing on CBS. Granted, given how tiny UA is -- only six executives -- and how limited their movie development can be, this is more of a symbolic than a significant development in the ongoing WGA strike.
I'm told that, like Letterman's company, UA has accepted the very same proposals that the WGA presented to the media conglomerates when the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers walked out of contract negotiations back on December 7th. "It's the same kind of agreement that the guild made with [David Letterman's] Worldwide Pants. But 'interim agreement' is not the right word," a WGA insider explained to me. "At the end of the day, once an overall agreement is done between the WGA and AMPTP, if the terms and conditions of that agreement are more favorable to UA, they will be able to enjoy that. This essentially means that UA has the ability to be in business with the WGA."
The official announcement will be made on Sunday in order to get maximum media coverage on Monday, I understand. My sources had no information about which UA movies stalled because of the strike might get re-started. Cruise's movies-only studio is partnered with MGM, which knew about the negotiations underway, I've learned.
I'm told the deal was hammered out under the utmost secrecy by UA's Paula Wagner, who has long been Cruise's producing partner, and WGA leaders Dave Young and Patric Verrone. Guild sources said it definitely helped during negotiations that Cruise is a longtime SAG member and Wagner also started out as an actress before she became an agent then producer and then UA studio mogul. "They said, 'All we want to do is make movies. And we know that you can't do that without the artists, especially the ones that create the stories. And those are the writers.' "
Of course, UA was originally founded some 86 years ago by movie greats Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith who wanted to get out from under the moguls' control and start an artists-friendly studio. After a long time when the studio was essentially dormant, Cruise and Wagner announced the rebirth of UA in November 2006. They followed that up about 9 months later with the news that Merrill Lynch set up a $500 million revolving credit to finance UA's film production.
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Nikki Finke,
Now that is what I’m talkin bout. Work it – UA was started by artist, Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplain and other so it is fitting for my union to understand it is the hawk against the doves.
Artist United will never be defeated. Does this mean I have to join Scientology now?
Go Tom! Go Paula! Go Will!
I would shave my head and become a Harikrishna and sip warm animal urine just to go back to work projects.
Bottoms up.
I’d like to see more deals announced, maybe with Companies like Lakeshore or maybe even some Private Wall St Hedge funds. Hell, they’re financing maany Studio Movies anyway. Who needs Middle Man Producers siphoning tens of Millions off the top with huge fees?Why not let Wall St get a better return than the lousy 15% they’re shoveled by the Studios?
As long as they make a fair deal with us, everyone wins. We know how to Produce Films too.
And the dominoes begin to fall…
…the dino media companies perform self-extinction as they sit and ponder their absurd bottom lines, like treasure hordes guarded by decrepit skin-and bone dragons who can no longer breathe fire…
Remember, remember the 5th of November…
So they’ll do a deal with a movie studio but won’t do one with DCP. Yeah, that makes a ton of sense.
Is what I’m doing right now a touchdown dance?
Yes, I believe it is.
See? Stop panicking! The studios are splitting up and breaking ranks. Just resolve not to break down before they do.
What a marvelous opportunity for Tom Cruise to avenge Sumner Redstone. Sounds like once again United Artists will be true to its name.
Well, at least all the trolls can stop whining ‘you people busted your own union by making a deal with Letterman’ and start whining ‘you people busted yourselves by making a deal with Cruise,’ it’ll be a refreshing change. And in lieu of blaming Letterman’s writers, since we don’t know who’ll be hired yet, please start comparing Cruise’s mental fitness to that of Verrone.
However, erm, “once an overall agreement is done between the WGA and AMPTP, if the terms and conditions of that agreement are more favorable to UA, they will be able to enjoy that” yeah, interim agreement would be the wrong word for that, that’s called a strike waiver. We should only be making deals with companies that agree to binding contracts whose terms supercede the eventual WGA/AMPTP agreement.
Divide and conquer.The smart will come to us. The dumb will crumble under us. (Sorry, I’m in a dramatic mood toight)
Things are starting to get back to normal in Hollywood. I can see Viacom next to the table if only to make sure that Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart get their writers back to work. For the record, everything is starting to fall between the moguls and writers and if they start pushing and shoving to get to the table, this strike will be over before sweeps.
Who better to appreciate a secret meeting than Tom Cruise?!
Talk about your Risky Business…
DreamWorks should do their own deal next. Katzenberg needs to step up to the plate here and do something constructive. He clearly can’t mediate a deal so he should negotiate a deal just to prove to the other moguls that he’s his own man now. Jeffrey stop trying to be pals with all the other putzes. They think you’re just the tip of Steven’s pom-pom anyway and like Eisner they hate you for being a “little midget” so be a big man and cut a deal with the writers. Your TV shows will be back in production and you should also let your animation writers join the guild as well.
These independent deals are what is going to break the guild. How are the writers that are not fortunate to work for these studios suppose to feel when thier friends and co-workers are going back to work and they are still walking the line?
Naysayers, start your engines. Here, I’ll get you going…
“This is yet another failure for the WGA. UA as a studio is irrelevant and everybody knows Cruise is washed up…” and so on and so on.
Speaking for myself however, if this is true, I say bravo to all concerned.
What makes this news really great is that UA is a part of the AMPTP whereas WWP is not. UA is the first official AMPTP member to break from the organization.
Tom Cruise is a genius. He gets to make movies again. He’s going to get a leg up on all the best spec scripts. And best of all, everyone’s going to love him again.
Now I guess all the haters who said the guild made a tactical error by signing the side deal with Letterman’s Worldwide Pants can just let it drop. It’s perfectly legitimate strategy to play divide and conquer with the other side… and now it’s beginning to work.
Patience and fortitude are still called for, but we’re starting to make inroads.
@Just A Viewer:
Can I suggest you change your name to “Just A Shill”?
This is fantastic news. I can’t wait for writers to flood UA. Finally, agents will have something to do again.
Now is the time to to rachet up the deal for Dick Clark productions. maybe start changing the deal showing people that the longer they delay the more they have to give up in the end the old Media will fall or be paying through the nose.
*cue choral climax of Beethoven’s Ninth*
Does this mean I’m obligated to find Lions For Lambs and watch it?
This is a great get if it does go down, since it’s on the movie side. AMPTP will likely release a statement, again, that UA does not deal with reality or with animation so jurisdictional issues aren’t a consideration blah blah blah.
And, again, if writers say they won’t keep picketing because a few writers are going back to work… they don’t understand the concept of “union action”. And maybe they should get their agents to set up a pitch at UA.
Are the crying screenwriters who bitched about the Letterman deal now going to stand up and apologize like men? Or women?
Come on, we’re waiting…
To Greg:
Why do the Golden Globes mean so much to you? I don’t understand why anyone would want to get their props from the HFPA anyway.
As for this piece of news, I think it’s fantastic. AMPTP can’t claim to be united when one of their own has broken away and succeeded in getting a deal with the writers. You fail so hard, AMPTP, that it’s rather hilarious.
“These independent deals are what is going to break the guild. How are the writers that are not fortunate to work for these studios suppose to feel when thier friends and co-workers are going back to work and they are still walking the line?”
LOL this is beautiful. And here I was wondering how the AMPTP shills were possibly going to spin this as “bad” for the WGA.
It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating: you’re sounding more and more like Baghdad Bob.
Fellow Writers…
Hang in there!
This is wonderful news on the feature film front. Not sure how it will apply to the television writers since U/A is a feature only venture. That being said, let’s hope other moguls make similar arrangements with the WGA. I think if this plays out, we will likely see MGM follow suit, followed by The Weinstein Company and Lionsgate as well.
Also, let us not forget that Cruise is repped by Mr. Rick Nicita at CAA. Nicita is also married to Cruise’s partner at U/A, Paula Wagner. Bar none, Nicita is one of the most powerful and influential agents at CAA and really brings some heat on the AMPTP.
If this divide and conquer strategy pans out… we could see something reminiscent to the fall of the Soviet Union. The more pressure the United States put on them, the faster their satellite states began abandoning the Communist Empire. With a little luck, we will witness members of the AMPTP systematically capitulate under the pressure. By cutting separate deals with their competitive rivals, the WGA will devastate the unity in their ranks.
God, as a pro-union guy (and pro-WGA)… I sure do love capitalism.
- Sloop John B.
Whoo-hoo!!!!!!
Best new years present the writers could ask for.
Thank you, Tom and Paula! United Artists indeed!
“Just a Viewer”,
How will I feel?
Triumphant.
Why these “interim deals” do not break the union:
Yes, some writers get to go back to work while I am still standing out on that picket line. Well, you better believe that my agents are going to try to get me into to pitch to UA and Worldwide Pants since they are no longer struck.
There will be fewer people hired for a bit of time. And there will be fewer projects made. However, UA now has a leg up and may be able to secure more financing for more productions. More writers hired. There’s nothing to stop me from being hired by these two companies. Some people seem to forget that.
This strategy will work if they can get enough people on board.
Very exciting. Thanks for the good news, Nikki.
It makes sense that a SAG member and former actress would do this, because as actors they know people are constantly trying to get away with things even with a union.
- Go get your money in cash in the alley out back, oh, the money isn’t actually here yet, but for the record you were wrapped 30 minutes ago, and PS it’s raining, PPS if you can make change you’ll get paid faster…
- 15 hours and 59 minutes, that’s a wrap…
- Yes, these are real cigarettes. Everyone light up…
The machine knows the wings are waiting with thousands of people who are willing to do anything for a job. It is a thin union line that stands guard against unfair and unlivable wages and working conditions.
Say what you will, Tom Cruise is a movie star, and he and Paula are doing UA’s history proud.
Sweet.
PS: Just A Viewer, aka Just Too Obvious–
Whatever.
Why does everyone on here who has a differing opinion from the WGA on here have to be a shill? It seems that some people just like to dismiss people who have a different opinion as shills so that they don’t have to really take to heart that some people just don’t agree with them.
With all of the talk about the WWP and UA deals, could someone from the WGA enlighten us as to what this deal actually is? Both sides were quick to release their respective proposals in the last round of talks. Now that we have two signed deals, shouldn’t we know more? Also, these deals were set after the WGA/DGA consult on the Ziffren new media report. Did that info play into these deals? For everyone in the dark in this town (which is everyone but Nikki, it seems), it would be nice to know.
Hey, wait.
You guys may have broken off United Artists, but we broke off John Ridley!
John Ridley’s gotta count for something, right?
Right?
dick clark productions is NOT getting a deal unless NBC does.
This is thrilling. I hope this is the start of Tom Cruise really sticking it to former boss Redstone. (I’m not a huge TC fan, but…)
United Artists? Perhaps the most desperate studio in Hollywood.
“Lions for Lambs?” that makes “The Golden Compass” look like a blockbuster. Maybe Valkyrie will fare better.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with making the deal. Embarrassing maybe, wrong no. Heralding it might be the mistake. Its history is nothing but impressive but in its current incarnation, well, Scotty mostly said it for me.
Just A Viewer,
I don’t think that it will cause any jealousy or bitterness between writers whatsoever.
Here’s what the AMPTP site has as their latest news that’s supposed to knock the writers on their ass. Damn, they got em! Got ‘em real good!
January 4, 2008
The WGA this morning engaged in a failed effort to stop the City of Los Angeles from issuing four separate permits for film production. Although the WGA was rebuffed by the L.A. Board of Public Works, the WGA’s attempt to derail production on films with completed scripts — and thus to throw hundreds and hundreds more people out of work — shows that the WGA’s organizers are continuing to do whatever they can to make good on their boast to “wreak havoc” on our industry.
Ooh! Is there a pool going on the next AMPTP member to sign a deal and get the leg up on its competitors?
Because if there is I’m going with Lion’s Gate or Sony.
And thus Nick Counter’s castle starts to crumble…
@Anonymous Dreamworks poster:
Katzenberg can make an agreement for Dreamworks Animation, but not for Dreamworks SKG. They don’t have any TV series on the air right now…
But you’re right — he should still make a side deal. If for no other reason than so his studio can hire some writers to start churning out something to make them money that isn’t Shrek-related. They need some other projects that can pull in Pixar numbers if they want to last.
manna from heaven…
Dear Hopeful,
See this is why it is so good that the AMPTP PR folks are so bad. If that story (if it is true) was on the evening news it would look extremely bad for the WGA. But they are so inept they just put it on a site that nobody really cares about. Also, they ruin their intended message by adding stupid phrases like “make good on their boast to “wreak havoc” on our industry” which merely makes it sound like propaganda.
By the way, I really hope that story isn’t true. You can’t try to demonstrate the lost revenues the city is losing at the hands of the strike due to the AMPTP by WGA members dog-piling on it. Very counter-productive if it is.
Or very Counter Productive…
Sign up one more big studio or production company and I feel like the floodgates will open (fingers-crossed). None-the-less, we can now show the DGA that we have a viable contract in hand. It should help with those negotiations. But, man, anything can happen.
This is great news! Personally, my bet is that Dreamworks will be the next to stumble and side with the WGA.
I think it’s only going to take a few more studios to fall before the AMPTP comes back to the table willing to bargain in good faith.
This helps the movie writers. What about the television writers?
“These independent deals are what is going to break the guild. How are the writers that are not fortunate to work for these studios suppose to feel when thier friends and co-workers are going back to work and they are still walking the line?”
Like adults instead of 5 year olds? “Damn, I hate walking the line, but if only Susie were here walking with me. If she were suffering, my lot in life would be improved more than it would be improved by actually ending this on our terms. Everybody suffer, it bring me joy for I am eaten up with resentment and faulty logic.” Yeah, I’d wish I worked for Susie’s company, but neither she nor her bosses are to blame for how greedy and intractable my employers are.
Fantastic news. Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner deserve a special Oscar for balls! As for the commentator who said, “Perhaps the most desperate studio in Hollywood,” every studio has had its problems at some point in its history, but that has rarely led to courageous action. Cruise and Wagner have to live in this town and take the heat for this decision. May they be the first (well, second, after the equally courageous D Letterman) of many to break from the pack – and the pack-mentality of the AMPTP.
While it’s gret they’re doing this, I’m afraid won’t help them immediately. It will still be very hard to put together a movie with a March start date (which they would need to get bonded with the threat of the actors strike).
great news….solidarity….still a ways away, i think
Bravo.
It boggles the mind how anyone can say “these deals are going to break the union” when it’s clear to anyone with half of a brain cell that these deals are going to break the *AMPTP*.
I predict…
a classified ad in the trades appearing Monday…
“Script readers needed to start IMMEDIATELY at UA.”
It is the mark of a smart man (and woman) to do the unexpected when they are with the backs against the wall. And, make not mistake, Tom Cruise’s back is against the wall. Meryll Lynch would like to see some money back from their investment, and with the slate of movies UA has put together since their conception, that is highly unlikely to happen.
But is a smart man who now can establish himself within the community as “one of us”, especially with those PR disasters in his past.
It will show Cruise to be “somebody who can make a deal” when none of the others wanted to, it is good thinking on his part, for Redstone et al do not like him anymore anyway.
To quote a rather good writer: “He who has nothing left to lose is truly a man without fear”
Although I do question Mr. Cruise’s taste as of late, I can appreciate his brains. He has nothing to lose by making the deal and everything to gain.
Smart cookie, that man is.
Will it have any bearing on the grande front? No, of course not. For the 8 Old Men have everything to lose and nothing to gain from a deal. Please note that I am not saying “the corporations”, for the companies themselves, to their bottom line, a deal would make sense, rationally speaking.
For the 8 people thinking they OWN (and most of them do not own anything, they just THINK they do… somebody should check on their mental health and while we are at it, the mental health of almost every CEO worldwide who has that “I am the king and this is my castle mentality”)… they have no incentive PERSONALLY to make any deals.
Guys and gals,
Before your adoration for the ‘divide and conquer’ strategem becomes the 11th commandment, I’d suggest you read the terms again. UA will get the deal the AMPTP gets if it is more favorable to UA.
Read that again: UA gets to make films now, but when, not if, the deal the AMPTP bangs out is worse than the last one the WGA presented (that UA is presently using) that is the deal they will operate under. If UA was operating under the deal until the next negotiation that would be a win. This is not.
The WGA essentially is giving UA a ’strike free pass’ while the AMPTP rakes the guild under the coals on the other end.
This isn’t ‘divide and conquer’ this is the guild feeling the heat from the members who are BROKE trying to look like they are putting people back to work in favorable conditions. They are running a big big risk.
DGALP-
Check out http://www.wga.org the terms WWP agreed to are up there.
That last comment was so misguided I had to slap my hand to keep from sending an angry reply. I remind myself of internet rule number one…
Don’t Feed The Trolls…
Hey Paula, I wanta marry you. Hey Paula, nobody else but you! Good going. You now have to get UA into the TV biz very fast. Hire a top TV agent from CAA and presto UA-TV is open for business. Start buying pilots from writers who’ve been walking the line. Buy a dozen and make all of them. If you’re going to do this then do it right. Why should UA only do movies when TV can also be done at the same time? You have plenty of money to invest in new shows. All you need is one hit.
Well, I can be fair and acknowledge that this is certainly good news. The only observation I have is that the real victory will be when the WGA nails down a deal with one of the major television studios. If they can make that happen then I think a lot of things will start to fall in place.
Just imagine, one of the major television studios does a deal and are suddenly the only network with pilot season, first run drama and comedies and a big leg up. It’s only going to take one to make this thing end itself.
I still believe that the WGA would do well to manage it’s PR and start to minimize all the “sources” that seem to be fueling the fire. However, if, and it’s a BIG if, they can take control and get tv on board I think we’ll have something. And I truly believe that the UA deal is a quality first step.
Here’s to hope.
I’ll bet Sumner Redstone had a bad evening.
Good.
I think MTvA may be right – from the summary at http://www.wga.org/contract_07/wwp_exec.pdf:
“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.”
Here’s why interim agreements aren’t bad: Because if we peel off enough people by means of these agreements, it creates a de-facto template for who gets to work, and puts the AMPTP in a position of having to negotiate down from that. In other words, what they’re trying to do with the DGA, we’re already doing with these interims. Good work.
Ignore Just A Viewer guys, the REAL fans are here and cheering you on!
Sure, MTvA is correct that if the AMPTP hammers out a better deal with the guild, then UA will benefit and get that same deal. So what?
By dividing and conquering and getting only a couple more studios to sign interim agreements, the guild bargains from a much stronger position. Heck, simply having two studios break ranks helps us immensely!
Do you really think the old men *aren’t* sweating over this latest news? Think again. All along, they’ve tried to convince the public that the reason talks have broken down is the union is intractable and impossible to deal with. These side deals prove they aren’t being unreasonable. The AMPTP has been trying to break the guild, and now the guild has begun to succeed in breaking their alliance. Just a couple more, and the rest will REALLY start sweating!
Further, with the DGA entering negotiations and these interim deals in place, they’re less likely to side with the AMPTP and more likely to side with us. And that’s good for us, too!
So let the AMPTP try to benefit from this situation… the truth is, the more we drive the wedge, the less likely that becomes.
Patience and fortitude…
Sorry guys, this is just another desperate attempt to lock in some seemingly good news before the DGA/AMPTP deal is settled.
Both this and the Worldwide Pants agreement have the same “favored nations” provisos. When the strike is settled, these two companies will be honoring the same deal with the WGA that everyone else will be honoring.
For Cruise/Wagner, by the time they get whatever film projects they have in the pipeline completed and out to the paying public, they won’t have to pay any of the profit participation points in this interim agreement, because it will be moot.
What someone should do is form an independent company, say, to run CSI! That independent company will agree to all the WGA proposals so that the CSI writers can go back to work. Keep doing this for every show on TV until we’re all back at our jobs.
Writers: demand your union leadership give a crap about YOU, and not those animation and reality show writers who are (a) not walking the picket line with you, (b) still working and getting paid and helping the networks survive without you.
Get your ignorant leaders’ heads out from that dark place they are currently located. Not only is your game being lost, your coaches are off watching another game.
It’s obvious that the WGA has no solidarity and your union is mismanaged. As a member of another union that is feeling this strike much more than the members of the WGA, I feel embarrassed for you.
Still no movement on Jusidiction or sympathy strike right? It is just a waiver to another preferred entity.
More fuel for the viewers to demand ones for the award shows that the writers seem to hate (unless they are nominated of course). And now back to you DGA…
So what if it’s all but a strike waiver for UA and WWP? They were the first to cut a deal, they get rewarded. Once the WGA has momentum, you really think NBC or Disney would get the same terms?
Hey, I’m thrilled companies like UA are willing to strike independent deals with the WGA… But I’m not celebrating yet… How many films does UA put out a year? Two? Three? And how many writers is that? Two, Four, Six? The don’t do television so there’s no additional writers affected there… So this is not a floodgate… but hopefully a first step… a tiny one at that. D.
The WGA should offer this same agreement to every studio and independent production company in town. SAG should offer the same type of agreement.
The companies that can continue to produce film/TV product without fear of a strike from either the WGA or SAG will have a huge competitive advantage over the others — who will then be forced to come to the table.
Now, this just might be something the WGA can crow about. Granted, UA is kind if pathetic in terms of the other studios, but it could be a step in the right direction. What this could do is make UA a player once again because they will be able to attract guild writers to their projects where their competitors cannot. Played right, this could bring about UA’s resurgence. People have been scoffing at the guild’s divide and conquer strategy, but tiny little UA just might be the impetus to open the floodgates. I wonder who’ll be next? The only major downside could be a backlash against Cruise, but even with his recent flops Cruise is still capable a making a hit, he just needs the right project, and I can’t see the studios blacklisting him.
QUOTE:
These independent deals are what is going to break the guild. How are the writers that are not fortunate to work for these studios suppose to feel when thier friends and co-workers are going back to work and they are still walking the line?
As I understand it, only 30-40% of the Guild membership works consistently at any one time. (Please correct me if I’m wrong). If so, then the current arrangements are no different than normative conditions.
Here’s a hypothetical questions for everyone….What if, a large number of independent studios like UA sign before the last few disosaurs come to the table? Isn’t it possible that they will all be playing by the terms of the UA deal after all?
ISn’t this a worthy gamble?
Now, where are the Weinsteins? Shouldn’t they be next?
Dear “Here’s a thought”
There most certainly are animation writers on the picket line. I’m one of them.
There are some reality writers too.
BTW Here’s a thought, noone and transpo399 all seem to be in cahoots or the same person.
I guess this means I have to start liking Tom Cruise.
Just A Viewer: do us all a favor. Next time you see Chris Lehane at a staff meeting, ask him if this feels at all like August 2004.
Everyone else: don’t be alarmed by that *cracking* sound you hear. It’s just John Ridley’s balls audibly shrinking.
I feel it’s horribly shortsighted to dismiss these interim agreement deals as something that’ll just revert when an eventual AMPTP deal is made. The AMPTP are trying to push a totally unworkable model, one that the WGA can’t accept without essentially committing suicide.
It makes no sort of sense that the WGA would give out a load of waivers, then agree and revert to a hugely inferior deal. The entire point of these agreements is that the mark gets steadily pushed away from the AMPTP’s proposal, and closer to what all of these splinter groups agree to — the WGA proposal. The more groups who agree to the WGA terms, the more strength in negotiation. Good on them.
For those of you who keep saying that these interim agreements show that the WGA’s demands are reasonable…
it does not. if that were the case WWP and UA would have simply signed binding contracts (independent of any eventual AMPTP contract). this is little more than a strike tactic and PR stunt.
I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS A BAD MOVE (only time will tell), but remember 2 things…
1) Neither WWP or UA plays a major role in the AMPTP, which is the target
2) If anybody believed that these interim deals were good policy they wouldn’t be interim deals (the Favored Nations clause). By including the Favored Nations clause they are concedeing that any eventual deal will much more favorable to the studios)
*Also, note that in both causes there was no negotiation, both WWP and UA simply agreed to the WGA’s terms.
UNTIL A BIG NAME STEPS FORWARD TO HAMMER-OUT A SIDE DEAL OR ANYBODY SIGNS A BINDING DEAL THIS STRATEGY WILL BE MEANINGLESS AND INEFFECTIVE. At this point its neither a victory (as the writers are claiming) nor is it a failure (as dare I say the shills are claiming).
Gotta say I can’t stand Tom Cruise since he went Xenu but this was a butch move on his part and he deserves props.
I may even have to start seeing his movies again.
Anon wrote:
“We should only be making deals with companies that agree to binding contracts whose terms supercede the eventual WGA/AMPTP agreement.”
Dear Anon,
No one would sign such a deal. It would put them at a competitive cost disadvantage and lower their return on investment relative to other companies.
Companies with higher cost structures than their competitors have a more difficult time attracting investors and raising funds. A publicly-traded company that agreed to a higher cost structure than their competitors would immediately see their stock price take a hit.
Respectfully,
Lawdawg76
I definitely think that this is the beginning of the end. I’m very optimistic
I am exclusively a TV writer and I can see the profound benefits this deal would have for all WGA members. I would be willing to bet that other studios / networks are waiting in the wings to see the town’s reaction to the WWP and UA deals. When other studios / networks realize they can simply get back to work, the dominos will begin to fall.
And for those of you who claim an interim agreement means nothing, remember that these two companies accepted everything the WGA put on the table… that’s more than you could EVER hope to gain in any negotiation. So, if the final deal is a bit smaller, this would still be an ENORMOUS victory for our guild, SAG and the rest of the town that relies upon us for providing shows and movies to work on!
Bravo, WGA. Let’s hope this news all bears out to be true.
Let’s see you all on the strike line on Monday and going forward and let the moguls know that we are stronger than ever!
To answer Comment by DA in LA
“Are the crying screenwriters who bitched about the Letterman deal now going to stand up and apologize like men? Or women?”
My guess is probably not. At least not until their producers cut an interim deal and they get to wave bye-bye’s to the picket line. Just like when, down the road, after one by one the deals keep getting made and the wall finally tumbles, no one will remember or credit Letterman for striking the first blow.
BTW if “Ed” or “Everybody Loves Raymond”, both WWP productions, were still on the air, THOSE writers would have been back to work last week as well. And we’d have been hearing the whines of some picketing sitcom scribes too.
I support the writers but this is not a big deal. It just isn’t. UA is a production company, if you think about it, and doesn’t have the ability to skim off the top projects in town and greenlight them like you seem to be suggesting. Nor will those projects automatically go to them, if only because not everyone wants to work with UA. It’s not like UA has some huge competitive advantage or something.
The WGA WANTS this to be seen as a big deal — fair enough. But truly, this is just another PR move for Cruise and Wagner. They are trying to score points with the writers and give the impression they are a big force in town post-Lions for Lambs.
Now, if one of the big networks or congloms breaks ranks, then we can talk about a fundamental change happening. However, you and I know they aren’t amateurs and they won’t be stampeded by hyperbole and speculation.
Nikki, you’re being a little biased here.
Well, lah-di-dah. If I get a better deal at UA and then have to go spend all of it on Scientology and worshiping Xenu, I might as well stay on strike. We’re not taking paid work, so I guess there’s going to be a mountainous mudslide of spec scripts when this is all over. Lah-di-dah.
Tim: I don’t think anyone believes that UA is suddenly going to turn into WB. The importance of the deal is that it offers substantial cover for other studios who are sick of the quagmire to break ranks with the AMPTP. The only thing holding those guys together is self-imposed political pressure — as that pressure releases, so will their cohesion.
The most significant twist to this story is the alleged foreknowledge of MGM. If that’s the case, MGM itself may not be far behind. Ditto Sony.
This is *exactly* what happened with the auto industry. The guild leadership may have the worst communications machine in the history of labor relations, but they seem to have a firm grasp on the lessons of that history…
This is good news.
Is there any follow-up to the WGA filing with the NLRB against the AMPTP for unfair labor practices in this “negotiation”?
It’s amazing how out of the 60+ comments here, only a few like MTvA and dontgetexcitedyet see how totally irrelevant this is.
This is nothing more than a strike waiver. UA can offer whatever terms it wants, i.e. $1 to writers for every DVD sold, etc. THEY DON’T HAVE TO HONOR THEM.
It’s basically like Company A signing Contract 1 giving striking union workers a $4/hour raise if they come back to work. But if Companies B, C, and D offer no raise and the union signs Contract 2, Company A says, “Oh, we’re going to honor Contract 2 instead. So you don’t get a raise after all. Sorry.”
This UA agreement is simply a back-door deal orchestrated by a few A-list screenwriters who didn’t want their projects to stay in limbo. They know this strike is mostly about television and UA is in the movie business only.
These scribes are not about to let their careers be compromised over issues they don’t give a shit about, like reality TV and revenue from streaming episodes of The Office.
About 8 people benefitted from this UA deal. For the rest of you, it means absolutely nothing. Sumner Redstone and the rest of his ilk couldn’t care less about it. They’re not “sweating” over this.
Whatever deal the AMPTP signs with the DGA, that’s what UA and Letterman’s WWP will honor.
For those of you who want to scream “shill!” at me, ask yourselves this:
Who in the WGA has benefitted from these two interim deals with UA and Letterman? The highest paid TV and movie writers in the business, that’s who.
I take back every bad thing I ever said about scientology. Congrats WGA leaders! From this day forth Patric Verrone will now be known as P VIDDY!
Excuse me… I’m must dance now.
I agree with much that has been posted here. Yes, it’s great news but not that big of a deal considering UA is an Independent arm of MGM, again a fringe player BUT it is movement and moves the mark for us.
These are the deals we are accepting and they are more than reasonable. And it is a great PR move by Paula, Tom and Nick, but deals like these are made easier because there are very few people to deal with. Studio congloms are Committees and Oligarchies with Boardooms, let’s face it.
BUT, it does open the door for other players to come out and play. I was wondering just who they may be. Lionsgate, Lakeshore, Harvey, etc?
Just being back in business with more Companies CAN provide an impetus here. My God, we are only talking about a collective 9-10% new media Share deal here between the Guilds, the companies will still get 90%, so maybe the actual rationality of all this will begin to set in and get a Major like Sony to break ranks. I’m sure their Overseas Execs don’t like the way things have gone, and being a Foreign Company perhaps they can claim a different vision without being lopped into the the Hard Ass stances Fox and Warners have taken. Remember, any AMPTP deal can be vetoed by any one Company. Sony breaking ranks would give a clear path to other companies to follow suit, if they feel the AMPTP is no longer serving their interests, who needs them? They should be considered bad for business based on their conduct. Many now agree with this as evidenced in the recent LA Times Article.
Who do you guys think are the next likely Companies to make a deal with us?
PS: Oh and Jay, how do you think you look now?
Nikki,
I love your column, but I think you may not be asking the right questions on this one. It seems (to me) highly unlikely that Cruise and Wagner made this decision on their own. They own only a small stake in UA, which is a subsidiary of MGM Studios. MGM is owned by MGM Holdings, Inc., which was formed by a consortium including Sony, Comcast, TPG Capital, L.P. and Providence Equity Partners. I haven’t seen the UA contracts and I’m not an insider to the deal under which UA was recreated, but I very much doubt that those contracts leave decisions like entering into a “divide and conquer” agreement supposedly designed to stab at the heart of Sony’s strike strategy (and that of the other media companies with which Sony is conspiring – er, I mean, “cooperating”) to the management of UA, a third-tier Sony operating subsidiary.
My guess is that that $500 Million financing you mention is driving this decision. Sony may have agreed to this deal with the writers because the ongoing strike was threatening to create a default under those financing documents – which I haven’t seen, either. Even if that is not the reason, Sony agreed to this settlement and the question is (or should be): “Why did Sony go along?
Anyway, I further guess that the media companies – which are suffering losses way beyond what they would have to pay if they gave the writers every penny they want – are acting under an undisclosed agenda that goes way beyond those little fee percentages everyone keeps talking about, and probably way beyond breaking this union.
It’s time (actually, way, way past time) for the unions to start talking to some big-time, big-picture business-academic consultants, I think. To the media companies, this strike is simply not just about those little fee percentages. Unless the writers get a better grip on what the media companies are after, the writers are going to get savaged. Just some free thought.
Cheerio!
Yo Katzenberg,
First you bet the wrong horse on next-gen DVD, GO Blu-Ray! Now don’t make another wrong bet on the next step in entertainment, give the WGA a same agreement for Dreamworks and have a Philly Summer!
I don’t get all the excitement over another strike waiver.
Somebody please set me straight, is this about internet residuals, or increased WGA jurisdiction?
Neither UA or WWP can give WGA jurisdiction over reality or animation. So, any of those terms that they agreed to in their strike waivers are meaningless. The favored nation clauses ensure that these deals are just a tricky way to get some people back to work, but that has great potential to backfire, especially once the picketing starts back in ernest Jan 7.
If the strike is in fact it all about internet residuals, why not take jurisdiction off the table and go back and negotiate with AMPTP about residuals? I’ve read elsewhere that they have already stated the $250 figure was just a starting point, its a classic negotiation tactic to lowball at the start. The failure of the WGA leadership to engage a true negotiator is really showing through here, its quite obvious that WGA really either doesn’t know what they want, or is split from their leadership and their membership’s true agenda. Did you guys just see the big story about Blu Ray? Anyone who thinks DVD is dead is sadly mistaken, in about another 12 months the format wars will be settled and people will be heading out to rebuild their DVD collections with hi def. Why is DVD off the table? Can UA or WWP deals get this back?
How is the general public supposed to understand why David Letterman can have writers, Tom Cruise can have writers, but Dick Clark can’t have writers (when he has stated he would agree to the same terms as WWP)? The answer is they won’t, because its clear that even membership doesn’t understand this.
Call me a shill, whatever, I’m just sick of this nonsense.
UA is a vanity production company on steroids, not a studio. It makes no TV, releases a limited number of films, is a member of the AMPTP in name only. This will have zero impact on the major producers. It will not cause them a moment’s unease, and, most importantly, will not drive them back to the negotiating table.
Amid the irrational exuberance evidenced in these posts, there needs to be pointed out something so obvious I can’t believe no one has noted it. Handing out waiver agreements to independent producers was a policy/tactic in the ‘88 strike. There were any number of these situations — I personally benefited from one. It had precisely no effect. That strike went almost six months, the Guild started to fracture, and the leadership sensibly settled. There has never been any reason to assume this labor action would have anything but the same result.
And, no, I’m not an AMPTP shill. Or a quisling. Or anything but a veteran working writer who has seen this all before.
For those who keep saying “once a big name breaks rank” … that’s ridiculous. Think about this in the way of any other industry. You manage to get those who come to the table first, and you slowly build momentum and pressure against larger corps that are slower to move. We know the dinos will be last to the table, no matter what, but the union is poorly run if for the last year we’ve continued to say “we just want people to come to the table and hammer out a fair deal”. If that’s the line (which it has been since the beginning) you can’t then later turn around and say “sorry, we’re unwilling to work out a deal unless Viacom is part of it.. unless Disney steps up, etc.” Just doesn’t work that way.
So how does it really go? The more “deals” that get put in place, the more power negotiators have with the AMPTP.. why? Because the more people you have playing ball with you, the easier it is to make it clear that you’re side is “sensible” and “reasonable” and then the Studios become the hold outs.
Here’s the other thing.. it becomes more and more clear to those on the outside of this as deals get made, and we get portrayed in a positive light.. we were the ones “making deals”. So, the studios who had early on argued that “The WGA is trying to put people out of work by refusing to negotiate” .. that ploy looks more and more like BS to the outsider every day, and that claim looks more and more ridiculous.
The studios went into this with the mindset that they would blame the WGA at every turn for work stoppage. Every deal cut tells the world that’s BS, and the WGA is working hard to put people back to work with the right deal.
Great news – the feature version of the WWP TV deal. Now if only more writer-centric movie star production companies started to sign on… can you say “paradigm shift”? And if you haven’t heard/read the words of Eric Bogosian regarding studio accounting and their fear of real numbers of website hits and technology that counts every download, edumacate yourselves. Yet another reason the studio/network position is JUST PLAIN WRONG and DRIVEN BY FEAR. The internet (and what’s next) is the greatest democratizing tool in history. The consitutional amendment that made corporations people and pretty much ruined America has now been turned upside-down. Each of us who writes is a studio. We can all be Sumner Redstone. But fuck that. I’d rather be Abraham Polonsky or Dalton Trumbo.
This is great news of course, but how many projects can UA churn out in a year? Some writers will get back to work but unfortunately not ALL. Cruise will probably head for the Top Guns first (Sorkin, Zaillian, Koepp) the ones that aren’t particularly hurting for money.
I’m just a viewer and don’t work in the industry so my opinions probably don’t even make a lot of sense but isn’t the sticking item between the two guilds over Internet content and DVD sales? If so this is where this new Cruise/Wagner UA deal will be of benefit. Possibly not so much Internet but is there another actor who has sold more DVD’s then Cruise? Possibly Johnny Depp, Adam Sandler or whoever. I don’t know. But when Cruise is in he right movie he gets what counts – butts in seats. A year and a half ago the industry was ostracizing (SP? I’m so not a writer – we really need you guys back.) Cruise but people were forgetting the billions he’s made for studios during his career. I think Cruise is capable of being the force he used to be. His beliefs are a bit naa-noo, naa-noo for myself but don’t count him out.
Hopefully a deal like this will lead other actors with companies to seek individual deals with the WGA(Sandler’s Happy Madison, Foster’s Egg Productions, Apatow Productions)until most if not all writers are back at work.
That’s two snowballs rolling…
Words I thought I’d never say: I love that Tom Cruise. What a smart guy.
This is actually bad news……UA is probably the least viable of the studios as they stand now. They did this out of panick not conviction….they need a win just to keep the doors open. So they were willing to sacrifice any attempt to help the other houses create a sustainable business model because if they don’t get some revenue flowing the point will be mute for them anyhow.
In my opinion it is bad news because it will embolden WGA to believe they are winning the struggle and be more recalcitrant in negotiations.
If you were to calculate the real gains that writers may end up recieving, against their current burn rate in non-recoveable expenses,a benefit cross-over will hit soon.
Union leadership is looking to expand their base on the back of current members. You are subsidizing a political strategy that may not benefit you at all.
What is sure is that the longer that this goes on the more likely the landscape will be forever changed in ways that most likely penalizes all involved. The consumers habits change slowly but inexorably.
Everyday more advertisers find different ways to make their spend to reach their target consumer. They will find spots of success and when the strike ends it is naive to believe that they will abandon those strategies and return to the spend levels prior to the strike.
In the end the writers may enjoy more participation individually but fewer will be involved in the process overall. Additionally, reality and animation writers will not be included in the final settlement so the head count shift between Union and non-Union will move away from the WGA.
UA is doing a very smart thing here. They have played this just right. And somewhat off-topic but worth considering: I’d like to see various groups of TV writers go back into their offices and start writing scripts on spec. You still have your parking spots and your offices. Use the studio facilities instead of picketing. Inform your supervising executives that you are there working on new shows on spec. Contractually they can’t kick you out of your own offices without invoking force majeure. But they also can’t demand to see any new material either. You can use their electricity and run up the phone bill. This would be an interesting test of force majeure. You would literally be on studio property “doing your jobs” but not getting paid or turning in any new pages. I think it’s a better tactic than picketing at the moment. It could very easily force whatever studio or network whose office you are back using to try and make their own side deal with the group of you to get your show back into production. Certainly worth trying.
“Read that again: UA gets to make films now, but when, not if, the deal the AMPTP bangs out is worse than the last one the WGA presented (that UA is presently using) that is the deal they will operate under.”
MTvA, the AMPT won’t even negotiate with us. UA isn’t the only company out there that’s hurting, or that’s sick of colluding with its competitors to its own detriment. It’s not a loss if we can get other companies to break off, follow their interests and ours instead of Murdoch’s, create dissention in the AMPTP ranks and force them to return and bargain an acceptable settlement.
How about if we finally settle under an agreement that’s pretty darn close to what we have now with UA? That’s a win for us, right?
As a film writer without a dog in this race and fundamentally opposed to unions, I must acknowledge this is good news for the guild. And it makes sense to me that film studios will break first, as most film writers with good management negotiate individual contracts and are not concerned with guild minimums.
Bravo, UA. May it precipitate sea change.
CUT TO: Me, jumping up and down on a sofa!
Additionally, what a nice touch that the history of this studio (The deliciously named United Artists) comes from the idea of artists taking their own power and realizing that they are the actual means of production in this business.
Studios and networks are banks and distributors. When distribution models change, artists will always remember that it was United Artists that first acknowledged who really makes movies in this town. Artists, and the crews, not moguls.
Between 70 major stars nominated for Golden Globes standing in total solidarity with the writers who are fighting their fight before them, and this move, I sense a sea change in this town. The scent of fear is receeding, soon to be replaced with the sweet fragrance of self-respect.
This town has too long been ruled by fear, but the unfettered marketplace of the Internet is a symbol for how self-serving inefficient monopolies inevitably will self-destruct.
If the so-called moguls could do what we artists do, we ‘d be in trouble, but they can’t.
They can’t even put up a decent website.
AMPTP: More Irrational Than Tom Cruise!
What a great way to start the New Year. I’m so pumped I think I’m gonna grab some clippers and straighten up my scraggly strike beard! Booya!
There is no “pressure” to the AMPTP.
This is what the studios want, to go back to work while preparing the deal.
UA and WWP or whomever will sign the Interim deal won’t be binded to it.
It’s like a contractor comes to me and tells me “I’ll build your house for 10 mil” and I say “OK”, but then I know that when it’s time to pay there will be a law that will prohibit me from paying him anything but 1 mil.
Also, regarding the Golden Globe… My god, HUGE mistake.
The writers are pissing off Gil Cates, the producer of the Oscar AND the negotiator for the DGA.
Not that I would expect the writers to understand that…
This is horrible for the WGA!!! The AMPTP has now officially won!!!! You fell for their super secret strategy!!!
ARGGHHH!!!!! ARGHHHHH!!! ARRRGHHH!
How to spot a shill: any one claiming to be BTL like “BTLine” who opposes interim deals. Real BTL workers support interim deals because it puts people back to work.
And Gil Cates is not going make a bad DGA deal simply to get back at the WGA for striking the Oscars. (He may make a bad deal, but the Oscars won’t be the reason).
UA makes one movie a year. I call first dibs! One writer back to work–yay! Victory! Woo-hoo! Wow! Big, big, big, big news, Nikki! This is big!
ahem… yawn…
Does this mean we are in bed with scientology now?
How is the general public supposed to understand why David Letterman can have writers, Tom Cruise can have writers, but Dick Clark can’t have writers (when he has stated he would agree to the same terms as WWP)? The answer is they won’t
No, it’s okay. We’re not idiots. We get it.
*jumps on the couch with Tom*
Absolutely fabulous. Tom Cruise has won my respect once again. Now lets get these writers working, the movies moving and the public happy because we don’t have to watch no more reality tv or exhausted re-runs. Television is a deadland…
Do the WWP or UA deals include reality and animation aloong with a no strike clause. I understood that they were part of the ultimatum. So it would only seem logical that they would be in these interim contracts. That would make these two deals that much more impressive. I hope you guys get what you ask for without losing everything you have already worked for.
Hey, Wenben:
Nick Counter called. He said meet him in the Denny’s parking lot on Gower and he’ll give you the blow job like he promised.
How can this be good for the WGA getting their internet residuals? As long as the movies are being churned out, TV is still off the air. How much you want to bet few major TV players get in on the action? Why? Because the AMPTP needs to get its money flowing again. They do not make money without their movies; they can live with just reality TV. Especially because movies is a global market and TV is mostly domestic. I see most major movie studios cutting these deals and TV being stonewalled until internet is pulled off the table. And I’m guessing whenever a dual movie/tv company comes up to the table, they’ll negotiate just for the movies. They don’t want to pay internet anymore then the AMPTP does.
The specifics of the company, big or small, vanity, high profile, whatever doesn’t matter at the moment. It’s all about chipping away, cracking the foundation to start a domino effect. Things are not going to change overnight. This deal might get a slightly bigger company to join in and then a bigger one and then the floodgates open and suddenly we’re in a great position to help us get a fair deal. Still, everyone keep their guard up, Big media will do whatever it takes to keep their balls from getting cut off. They’re thinking of a way, right now, to flip the whole game board off of the table.
tom r–”It’s basically like Company A signing Contract 1 giving striking union workers a $4/hour raise if they come back to work. But if Companies B, C, and D offer no raise and the union signs Contract 2, Company A says, “Oh, we’re going to honor Contract 2 instead. So you don’t get a raise after all. Sorry.”
Yeah, except Company A couldn’t legally do that, nor would Companies A, B,C, and D be colluding with each other. They’re competitors, not partners. There wouldn’t be two contracts on offer there, there’d be 4, and which one would apply to you would depend on which company you’re employed by, not the behavior of any other company (well, the other companies’ terms would influence your contract, but the contracts wouldn’t be identical). Things are a little different in an industry where we’re dealing with a cabal that brings new meaning to “anti-trust” rather than negotiating separate contracts with separate companies within a single industry like everybody else. We have to get a bit creative.
This is a good start. And anything that gets a few writers back to work is good for the whole. We need to chip away at this. And I agree with everyone that says if we can get more studios and production companies to sign, then the over-riding and final deal will be much better.
UA needs to be the start. We need other companies to break ranks for this to be meaningful, longterm.
The Big Media negotiators say they speak for companies across the board. If this is the way we get a deal, then it might break them, more than it breaks us.
And I still believe, this strike is about breaking, not bending, either side.
this is a win-win situation – a win for the writers who get to work, and a win for the studios, which can buy up projects produced by those writers under the UA mantle to fill their 09 slates if necessary.
Also, props to Jeff Kleeman, whose appointment as UA’s head of production was poo-pooed by Nikki. He is a WGA member and actually ran for the board before the UA job was around (he got the most votes of any non-ticket candidate).
This is good news for the writers, but UA is just a guppy in the big ocean of Hollywood studios.
Nevertheless, this could be proverbial hole in the dike which could cause the current massive studio control to crack. I’m sure that the WGA could negotiate some deals with some smaller movie studios which may set up their own TV divisions. Better yet, why not negotiate a deal with Oprah or Mark Cuban, who also own their own production companies? While Oprah and mark Cuban may be really small players in the entertainment field, they are very high profile people that could create some good PR for the WGA and cause some of the other studios to come back to the bargaining table.
Ironic how the first seventy posts were mostly enthused by this agreement, and then the shills came online. I guess the AMPTP had to get their group of internet savy strokers (Nick Counter) to put together a few (idiotic) reasons why this isn’t a great deal for the WGA. I for one will now ask my agents (CAA) to send all my specs and pitches to UA first. If they can make a deal with the WGA, then they can make a deal with SAG. Let them have the pick of the bunch out of all the new projects for the next six months and start making movies while all the other giants sleep. Tom and Paula, pick the two “can’t miss projects” and rake in all the dough you can. You deserve it.
Outside of John Ridley…”who wanna work?!?”
Let’s hear it for Cruise and Wagner.
I hope they gets the best specs written during the strike,
and they make some great movies at a nice profit.
>>How many films does UA put out a year? Two? Three? And how many writers is that? Two, Four, Six? The don’t do television so there’s no additional writers affected there… So this is not a floodgate… but hopefully a first step… a tiny one at that.<<
I always figured you were David Goyer but I guess not if you’re this stupid.
Do you have any idea how many projects a studio develops but never get made?
All those projects have writers.
So just because a studio only puts out a handful of movies a year, doesn’t mean that many writers are getting assignments or selling specs to that studio throughout the year.
That’s just a little FYI between you and me, k?
WGA Writer with Business Sense: “This town has too long been ruled by fear, but the unfettered marketplace of the Internet is a symbol for how self-serving inefficient monopolies inevitably will self-destruct.”
Correct. To be replaced with Google, Apple and Microsoft: self-serving, efficient monopolies, all of which are notoriously sympathetic to the idea that the creators of their intellectual property are due ownership rights, or at the very least, residuals. Google’s YouTube, for example, is a huge source of residuals for the writers of the many TV and movie clips posted there.
/sarc
HAIL XENU!!!!!
This has been the first positive step since this started…by far the most significant.
I hope John Ridley chokes on his own pubes. Fi-coring S.O.B.
Well, now that the rest of the “Boys’ Club” is “furious” with Sloan, he might as well go ahead and make the WGA/MGM deal…. yes?
*hope* *hope*
Interested in continuing developments of AMPTP being pissed at Harry Sloan for allowing this…
On the film side, the next to go should definitely be DreamWorks Animation or the Weinsteins. Unfortunately, this is all chump change in the grand scheme of things because they aren’t major studios. Still, there will come a time when a deluge of independent producers / mini-majors will face the fact that they need to get their slates up and running again.
On the TV side, I say push in on Moonves. TV is still CBS Corp’s major business, it doesn’t have the diverse division strength that Sony, News Corp, Disney, GE and Warner Bros have. I’m not sure how signing an agreement with CBS Corp would affect The (mightily struggling) CW since that netlet is 50/50 with Warner Bros, and Barry Meyer is such a hardliner (plus most of CW’s shows are Warner Bros TV produced). But CBS Corp has another network and a TV studio in its umbrella, and getting a deal with such an entity would be HUGE for the WGA (as well as for CBS Corp, because it could produce and would have a network to air the series on, keeping all money in-house). While CBS’s line-up of CSI clones repeats well, it has very little in midseason programming compared to the competition.
Some walk blindly behind thier leaders never questioning, never understanding why they follow. Yes people a few weeks ago you were told they best way to bring the AMPTP to it’s knees was through collective action, solidarity forever! Cut those supply lines, shut down production, no one works in this town until we get a deal for all of our people.
Yup that was a few short weeks ago. And you know, it’s a pretty good strategy, has served mankind for millenia in times of turmoil. Cut off the supply routes and strangle the evil monsters.
But now the mantra has changed. Chip away at them a little bit at a time, strangle them but not all of them, don’t give in, except when you give in. Give this man food, let this one starve, we’ll fight them on the beaches, in the fields, but not the spas they are out of bounds okay!
Yup folks pretty much blindly follow their leaders, they just assume that the leaders know where they are going. Sadly more often than not they don’t.
This is good news, but until the WGA makes a deal with a company doing prime time residual-heavy television (like Bruckheimer or someone), victory dances are premature. Because that’s really what 85% of this strike is about– not late night shows, not movies– because prime time network scripted TV is the business model that will be most affected by whatever deal is struck.
Also, is there a DVD bump in this deal or was that taken off the table officially in the WGA’s December 7th offer which this is supposedly based on? Anyone know?
“If the strike is in fact it all about internet residuals, why not take jurisdiction off the table”
Because in a negotiation, both sides propose things they know they’re not going to get, and then use those proposals as bargaining chips to gain leverage on the baseline concessions they have to have in order to agree to a contract. That’s pretty much the definition of negotiating. It’s not about refusing to negotiate and trying to pretend you’re not refusing by claiming you would be negotiating if only the other side would agree to all your demands upfront. You want something off the table? Fine, what are you willing to move on in return? Let’s negotiate about something other than the 27 conditions under which the AMPTP claims they’ll deign to talk to us again. We’re there at the table all the time, willing to negotiate about everything, no strings attached.
In addition, the AMPTP negotiators are untrustworthy liars. They told us at the outset that if we took DVDs off the table they’d deal on the internet. We did as they asked, they gave us nothing, walked away from negotiations and tried to portray us as obstructionists. You ask why DVD is off the table. It’s off the table because we did what you’re advising us, trusted moguls who negotiate in bad faith and got screwed. So your answer is more of the same?
The idea that the AMPTP will make a deal if we take reality and animation off is nonsense. Lucy, don’t pull that football away this time. It’s a PR move, plain and simple. They can’t tell the truth, which is they’ll offer a reasonable deal when hell freezes over, so instead they pretend that the deal’s all set if only we’d wear red instead of blue, if only we’d raise up their chairs, if only we’d order in Thai instead of Bengali for lunch. If we called their bluff, they’d come back with ‘we’re not going to negotiate unless you agree to give up pensions and health care.’ It’s all nonsense. We won’t get fooled again, giving up everything for some vain promise until we end paying them to let us work.
Sherilyn said: “I always figured you were David Goyer but I guess not if you’re this stupid.”
you realize you could have made your point without calling this person stupid? You do realize that, don’t you? Is this maybe a good time for people to speak decently to each other, especially when disagreeing?
‘Do you have any idea how many projects a studio develops but never get made?’
Not anymore baby. Sit back and watch. Wait until you see how many staff members are hired on shows when we come back. A third less. At least. We don’t look good here folks. Jay beats Letterman with no writers. It makes them realize that we are not as important as we think we are.
Hmmm, I am thinking Lion’s Gate will be next up to break from the pack.
This is definitely a good sign for the WGA although I don’t think it’s as big as people think. UA is like the old school studios; it lives or dies by it’s movies. The other main studios today are mere departments of larger corporations so they can afford to shelve their big films. United Artists, however, can’t. They have only a couple movies coming out a year and the strike was putting a halt on one of their bigger films, Oliver Stone’s “Pinkville” starring Bruce Willis. If that movie fell apart (following the bomb that Lions for Lambs was), UA might have been in trouble.
Regardless I agree with Huey that “this could be proverbial hole in the dike which could cause the current massive studio control to crack.” It’s a small step but it’s in the right direction.
Oh please oh please let Lionsgate be next! They could hire some more execs, cherry-pick their projects, and make a TON of movies! And once they’re underway doing that, new companies will be created by smart entrepreneurs to follow suit. Soon there will be tumbleweed blowing around the lots of the major studios. Paradigm Shift!
Why can’t a production company such as PLAN B (Brad Pitt’s) make an Interim Deal? Is it because he’s partnered with Brad Grey? And the whole Paramount Connection? So many that are on that list of Struck Companies on the WGA’s website are owned by Actors or Directors. Why don’t they jump in? Scottfree (Ridley Scott), etc.
WGA: Divided you fall.
As you will be able to tell by my question I’m not in the biz, so will someone pls explain to me how this workd?
If the WGA lets UA produce movies, then does MGM release it like it did for “Lions for Lambs”? If so, isn’t that a good thing for MGM?
in a tip of the hat to both Scientology and UA’s old-school Hollywood roots, may I suggest bringing Elizabeth Taylor of of mothballs, teaming her with Travolta to make “Butterfield: Earth”
does this deal also apply to MGM since they are partner companies?
Harpo Films? What about Oprah? She can make a deal.
Happy Madison? Adam Sandler
Gary Sanchez? Will Ferrell and Adam McKay
The above guys have been VERY silent during all of the Strike yet are still cranking out movies right now.
Some of the posts here allege that the AMPTP is paying shills to say bad things about the WGA and how the strike is going. I’d like a piece of that so here’s my tariff –
1. Expressions of vague dissatisfaction with the serial blunders of the “leadership” — $25.
2. Slashing attacks on Verrone, Bowman, Young and the nodding donkeys of the neg committee who have been totally out of their depth since Day One — $50.
3. Potentially libelous revelations (researched or fictional) about the private lives and morals of everybody involved, including posters on these links (you know who you are!) – Premium rates; call for quote.
With any luck this will pay the rent until we settle sometime in 2009.
BTW – 20% of everything I make will be paid to anyone considering writing a WHY WE WRITE piece if they agree not to write one. I’d rather have ferrets snack on my testicles than find another one of those in my in-box.
I don’t get the people acting like this is no big deal because once the dust settles and the strike ends, UA will still get whatever deal the rest of the AMPTP gets. Actually, never mind, I do get those people. They’re assuming that the strike will end with the WGA taking a shitty deal. Well, those people, I don’t know who pissed in your coffee this morning, but if you’re going to look at it that pessimistically, then sure, I guess you’re technically right and this will have been for naught. This will also have been for naught if L.A. County burns down before the strike end, or if the entire known world goes simultaneously blind and visual media is no longer a viable business.
So you’re entitled to your fatalism. Go ahead, enjoy it. I guess it makes you feel superior or something. Myself, I’m going to look at it as a small but important win for the WGA, the win that proves they’re willing and able to negotiate with any reasonable film and TV entity who comes their way, and the win that guarantees one studio a film slate while the rest of them can only look forward to being dead in the water. Way to go, writers, and as much as it sort of kills me to say this, way to go Cruise.
Watching today’s NFL playoff on NBC. The promos for Jay/Conan brag that the shows are “unscripted!” Like that’s a great new thing. Ugh.
Congratulations Tom and Paula! Charlie would be proud! UA’s mission statement is in it’s moniker, and I am extremely grateful to see you honoring the company’s proud name and history. This industry is still great! Thank you guys!
STOP SAYING LENO HAS NO WRITERS
LENO HAS WRITERS
They’re giving us what we want, and I’m stunned by how many negative comments are coming about this wonderful development, and it is wonderful. The AMPTP has had absolutely not intention of ever negotiating fairly, or giving up anything. They believe they have to.
So, we’re removing them from the equation.
Now, we’ve seen the first cracks in their walls. Small cracks, sure, but cracks they are. Lionsgate, the Weinsteins, and maybe even MGM will probably follow. Business that benefits us will be supported, and businessmen who chose not to play fair can sit on the sidelines and watch their competitors grow fat with profit.
It’s simply supply and demand. We have the supply, the consumers have the demand, and the studios are the middlemen, cultivating the relationship and the product – for better or worse. They’ve decided that they want to pay less, take more, and sell it to the consumer for a higher price. Well, no, that’s unacceptable.
Give us what we want, and we’ll go away.
That sounds pretty straight forward to me, but there are obviously some shills posting here, trying to Astroturf the DHD forums. But, they’re getting paid to be assholes. Anyone else who can’t see how this new development is a good thing needs to have their head examined, or join John Ridley and Fi-Core.
At least be an intellectually honest rat.
“We don’t look good here folks. Jay beats Letterman with no writers.”
In case you’re living in a closet, Mike, Jay always beats Letterman. That’s not the point. The quality of Letterman’s show today is much better than Jay’s. If Jay continues putting out a product far inferior to what his audiences are used to, they will eventually change the dial to something else. Hopefully that will be Dave. If actors decide to book Dave’s show and not Jay’s, then his ratings will go up. That’s how these things work. Not overnight, but one step at a time.
“It makes them realize that we are not as important as we think we are.”
Oh, you mean this isn’t already their mindset? Wow, baby. That’s news.
Why on Earth would other studio moguls be furious at Harry Sloan for allowing this to happen? Sloan seems to be doing his darndest to help the IATSE crew-members, assistants, and all others who suffered collateral damage when the AMPTP members threw them out of work just before the holidays. People want to get back to work. Which of these moguls is really so opposed to benefiting the local economy?
“So they’ll do a deal with a movie studio but won’t do one with DCP. Yeah, that makes a ton of sense.
Comment by Greg — January 4, 2008 @ 9:29 pm”
Actually it does make sense. DCP wants a 1 time waiver so they don’t lose money on this one GG award show. The UA is making an overall deal for people to make movies and actually work for more than one night. Which is better than helping NBC not have to refund Advertising pre-sell dollars. I say let NBC write the refund check to Cadillac….This is just one of the benefits for their share-holders NBC/Uni/GE reaps for not settling the strike or even negotiating with the WGA. GE-whiz their dumb.
Now I know who our new PR/strategist is… Zenu.
Still, this can’t be a bad thing, no matte how you look at it. It might not be as good of a thing as some want to hope… but it’s certainly not a bad thing.
I just wish it were anyone but Cruise.
I guess it could’ve been Gibson, so I’ll count my blessings.
I have just found an all new respect for Tom Cruise. Go get ‘em boy!
- striking feature writer who now wants to work for UA
>>Because that’s really what 85% of this strike is about– not late night shows, not movies– because prime time network scripted TV is the business model that will be most affected by whatever deal is struck.<<
Oh really? 12,000 writers are on strike because of television? Then what the fuck am I and every other feature writer doing supporting “your” TV strike then? Hmm?
This isn’t about TV, sweetheart. This is about the internet.
But God forbid you stop thinking about yourself for five seconds, right?
Worldwide Pants got some TV guys working and now Tom has got some movie guys working.
Why should the movie guys be the last to get back to work? Would you like to take over my house and kick my family out for the duration of the strike while you’re at it?
Anon,
You obviously have no formal training in business negotiations. You are correct that in a negotiation you place peripheral items on the table to use a leverage to get the item(s) that are most important to you. However, you do not put items on the table that you know you are not going to get!!! If you know you are not going to get it… the other side knows you’re not going to get it either – SO THERE IS NO LEVERAGE! Its a non-starter and inhibits any progress in negotiations.
Since you have a lot of free time, pick up any basic negotiating strategies book and read it – you will find that law of negotiations somewhere in the first few chapters. But maybe you don’t need to read it. Maybe your commonsense will help you realize why using something you know you aren;t going to get as leverage won’t work. (anybody that would give you something in a negotiation in exchange for something you were never gonna get anyway would be an absolute idiot). Negotiations are give-and-take on viable issues. Non-starters are thrown in to delay the negotiation process. Just like when the AMPTP issued their ultimatum, they knew they werent going to get the union to concede all their demands, they wanted to stall the talks.
I like all the comments dissing UA as not an important studio and not relevant. Regardless of how true that is when they’re the only studio that can proceed with film projects, I’d say that makes them suddenly pretty damn relevant.
The idea that WWP and UA only agree because they won’t be held to it is ridiculous. they signed it because it’s fair and reasonable but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to get any concessions that come in the final agreement.
Also, the more companies that follow suit gives the WGA more leverage to say to the remaining companies “Hey we’ve got several companies that thought our current agreement was fair enough to sign. You guys wanna be the half of hollywood still struck while your competitors are working, go right ahead.” Is that so hard to understand? The more companies that sign the “interim” agreement, the more leverage the WGA has and the closer the final agreement will be to the current interim agreement.
Anon,
To further make the point, the AMPTP could throw in to the negotiations that all writers wear speedos to work. They know they’ll never get it, but they can take that off the table in exchange for WGA removing jurisdiction.
Understand why you don’t bring issues into serious negotions that you know you will never get? It just turns into an all out tit-for-tat to see who can bring more unrealistic issues into the process and you never get to the real issues.
I understand my example of speedos is a bit absurd, but i used it for emphasis, but substitute eliminating all health benefits and pensions for a more realistic example.
WGAJim said:
“How to spot a shill: any one claiming to be BTL like “BTLine” who opposes interim deals. Real BTL workers support interim deals because it puts people back to work.”
Hey Jim I oppose interim deals as it is a weak way to run a strike. Patrick Verrone is no hero in my opinion, more like a clueless bumbling baggart who is giving unions and labor a bad name. To many side deals and side fighting going on causing a lack of focus on the real goals of internet residuals and DVD rights.
As for you saying anyone who says they are below the line is a shill I say shill this – 399! Do you even know what the number means? Yes I am a Teamster who is sick of being out of work and being asked to support a clueless pathetic negotiating team who willnever get the AMPTP back to the table with their Bush playbook “stay strong, stay the course” tactics.
I guess we can drive across the line at whatever lot UA films on as long as we have a UA placard on the dash of the truck, eh?
Time for the DGA to move in and negotiate for real.
BTL 399
Not MY strike
Moderate THIS
Mike Binder –
So you’re saying we should take a deal that doesn’t compensate us for internet reuse? Is that your position?
I liked your HBO show a lot. It’ll be fun to watch some of the old episodes for free.
Seems to me that the naysayers-and frankly, the trolls-you know who you are-are overlooking one thing in suggesting that the “exceptional” nature of these side deals will boomerang to the WGA’s detriment when the studios finally make a deal-and that is that we forget just how greedy and desperate each of the studios are on their own terms. Yes, they are part of a “united” group, but do you not think that with each layer of the onion peeled off, and this was one thing I wanted to ask, just how much of the pie is Tom Cruise’s company? the studio suits will become increasingly uncomfortable and think to themselves “is he going next? is he going next? (coz you know they’re mostly he’s) should I go next?” Coz you know we’re on a downward slope here. The bargaining terms, even for exceptions will get better for the WGA members as one after another, AMPTP members crack. These guys care ONLY about one thing, and that’s money. Never forget that. If they thing that by failing to settle that they’re depriving themselves of a better deal, other studios will make deals and then cry wolf on the WGA when in fact they’re just projecting. Don’t blink now WGA. Just because we don’t hear the dissent from among the AMPTP, doesn’t mean they’re not unhappy. But just as a thought, how much is the market share of UA? I’m just wondering just how big a player they are. Anyway, just know that the shills and trolls here are the minority and the American people are overwhelmingly behind you. Really, I’d just ignore the trolls.
For thom taylor:
“Why on Earth would other studio moguls be furious at Harry Sloan for allowing this to happen?”
I’m guessing that the “boys’ club” ego/mentality doesn’t allow them tolerance for any potential threat to their collective power. Of course, anger at Sloan and cancellation of his “membership” to their club, would probably make him more open to negotiate a WGA/MGM deal. (Yay!)
“Which of these moguls is really so opposed to benefiting the local economy?”
I don’t think any of them is opposed to benefiting the local economy; I think they just don’t particularly care. If the economy crashes and burns, they can all bail out with their “Golden Parachutes” and live like the kings they think they are somewhere else. (Of course, karma will follow them wherever they go)
DISCLAIMER: These are just my rather uninformed thoughts; I could be completely wrong. My education is ongoing, thanks to this new-fangled internet thingy… But hey, if I’m posting this, I must have been ruminating on this for awhile.
To “Just a fan in LA” who wants to know United Artist’s market-share: right now, it’s 100%, because in the feature business they will effectively be the only game in town.
Combined with MGM last year they had a 3.8% market-share, so they would be considered as small as Lionsgate. However, Cruise & Wagner have worked with every major talent you can think of, which pretty much means that everybody wants to work with them – especially now. Should they remain to be the only viable feature distribution outlet, they will be the lodestone for filmmaking into 2009 and beyond.
“These independent deals are what is going to break the guild. How are the writers that are not fortunate to work for these studios suppose to feel when thier friends and co-workers are going back to work and they are still walking the line?”
Happy. They are supposed to feel happy for their friends and hopeful that their own employers will make the same deal.
Honestly, I don’t understand this “jealousy is going to bust up the union” line of thinking. We’re talking about adults here.
In case you’re living in a closet, Mike, Jay always beats Letterman. That’s not the point. The quality of Letterman’s show today is much better than Jay’s. If Jay continues putting out a product far inferior to what his audiences are used to, they will eventually change the dial to something else.
To be honest, Jay’s show has been better than Letterman’s so far. I’m sure the hard-cores won’t agree, but objectively the monologues have been funnier and the show has a new found energy. Maybe it will fade over time, maybe it will not. I don’t foresee Jay losing viewers, especially if this spat between him and the WGA gets more press. Jay will look like the good guy and his fans will rally around him.
Lastly, the strike jokes on Letterman are already getting old, and most of them are falling flat judging by the response of the audience. This is inside baseball stuff being joked about, and most of the viewing public just doesn’t get it (good example, after the joke about Nikki, all you heard was crickets).
Maybe if all the big name stars only do Letterman there will be an effect, but it remains to be seen and it will be a very slow process if it does happen. If everyone is looking for this strike to last another 12 months or so, maybe this deal will come into play. If it gets resolved in the next few months, the ratings will not change enough to make a difference.
The people who say that these deals are meaningless because they will revert to the eventual terms negotiated with the AMPTP as a whole are missing the point of the strategy entirely. It is not about forcing these particular companies to give us a better deal than the others in perpetuity; it’s all about putting pressure on the remaining companies to negotiate a better deal than they would otherwise — or for that matter, to resume negotiating at all.
Game theory provides a pretty simple explanation of why cartels like the AMPTP are inherently unstable: The first members of the cartel to cheat on its rules gain disproportionately large rewards by doing so. They can operate with a competitive advantage that none of the “loyal” members of the cartel enjoy. Which causes more of those loyal members to rethink their loyalty and start breaking the rules as well, which further diminishes the rewards/increases the penalties for those who continue to follow the rules, and so on.
The only question until now has been whether negotiating these side deals with the WGA would in fact confer a competitive advantage to the companies that made them. For late-night talk shows, I’d say the jury is still out; the personalities of the hosts and the quality of the guests may be bigger factors in people’s viewing decisions than the presence or quality of writing (especially since some writing is apparently being done on the struck shows anyway). But SAG’s support does impact the quality of guests, too, at least to the extent that people want to watch interviews with movie and TV stars.
This latest case is pretty clear-cut, though. Can anyone seriously dispute the idea that a movie studio gains a competitive advantage by having access to new screenplays — and above all, rewrites — at a time when the others don’t? UA will not be the last to do this, by any means. And even if the defections are limited to smaller players at first, they may not remain small players forever if they’re the only ones with a product to sell….
I LOVE TOM CRUISE!
As for you saying anyone who says they are below the line is a shill I say shill this – 399! Do you even know what the number means?
BTL 399
Not MY strike
Moderate THIS
Yes, 399 does resonate with me, and with many WGA supporters. It is the Teamsters branch that is SUPPORTING us during this strike. And yes, I know individual members may not agree with their leaders. On the other hand, at NBC a couple of days back, a Teamster refused to cross our lines, and a supervisor had to be called to finally drive his rig onto the premises.
But I certainly can understand your frustration. And your very natural reaction: you see US on the picket line, so WE must be the root cause of your unemployment. And, not to put word in your mouth, you MIGHT be happy if we just folded and went back to work, so YOU can get to work again.
So WHY is 399 supporting us? Is it because, your branch, like many entertainment unions DO have a horse in this race? Is it because Teamsters pension and health receives over half of their funding from residuals…yes…RESIDUALS? That’s what they’re called in the Teamster (And the IATSE) contract. The small sums per member don’t go to individuals, but into the general pension and health fund. The global amount of residuals to be paid into the pension and health fund for all concerned BTL unions this year exceeds 300 million dollars.
So, if say, 50% of reruns and movies are only streamed over the Internet in five years, and there is NO recognition or coverage of these shows–shows Teamsters have worked on–that’s, by my calculation, a 25% hit your P&H takes. And, if, eventually, nearly everything is streamed via some kind of Internet interface, your union is going to have serious trouble making P&H work for their members. I’ve met a number of Teamsters on the line with us out at Universal…location managers, and others. They get it.
I know you don’t care how I feel, but I really do understand your frustration and anger at hour leaders. But this fight really does concern you. And there are other leaders to blame for this: our mutual employers.
So how many feature scripts will UA get this week? 5,000? Since they’re open for business they should be flooded with new and old scripts. Could they get a thousand scripts? Can someone do a funny cartoon of Cruise buried alive in screenplays? Trying to claw his way out so he can breathe. We should see one of his hands and his nose and eyes that’s all. The rest of him is buried beneath scripts.
Does anybody know anything about the laws governing anti-trust?
The other moguls are furious with Slone for signing a deal that makes money for the studio of which he’s the chairman.
Can the shareholders of the other studios file suit to demand that the other CEOs stop conspiring with rivals to suppress their own profits?
Wild guess – Once the UA deal is inked, Lions Gate and possibly even the Weinstein Company won’t be far behind. The Weinsteins in particular must have Wall Street breathing down their necks….
ExGrifter: how long have you been waiting to use that “Butterfield: Earth” line? It’s the funniest thing I’ve read all day.
I am amused and delighted to watch as the AMPTP slowly, gently, one crack at a time, starts to shatter. The studios’ fury at every surprise WGA victory in this process, as evidenced by their increasingly incoherent press releases, shows that their plan is unravelling.
In reality, the studios never really had a plan — their hubris deluded them into thinking that the power of deep pockets was by itself enough to break the unions. They made the fatal mistake of underestimating the intelligence and resolve of their puny adversaries, the writers. Just like America in Vietnam (and Iraq), and the Soviets in Afghanistan, the powerful ignored the weak, and had no plan for the resulting insurgency.
But the world is changing, and the corporate dinosaurs do not see meteor that is burning ever brighter in the heavens.
There is a quantum shift happening in the atmosphere. The karmic pendulum is swinging back against the corporate monopolies that have attempted to control the masses for the past century. The victories of Obama and Huckabee shocked the corporatists in Iowa. In a society where cartels and oligopolies are used to running things, the idea that the masses could begin a revolution was never anticipated, and there is no gameplan in the corporate handbook for the new world we are just entering.
The WGA strike is a small battle that is part of a greater societal power shift whose time has come. This process of breaking the outdated Hollywood oligopoly will probably take many or months, as small and medium-size companies slowly make deals with the WGA one at a time, leaving the big congloms increasingly bewildered as to how they got trapped and suckered by their fellow moguls into committing financial suicide.
One step at a time, we’ll get there. And the shills and trolls will keep rehashing their propaganda until one day they realize that there is no one left to pay their PR bills. Much like the Communist bureaucrats who kept towing the party line, and then woke up one day stunned to see that the Soviet Union had suddenly vanished.
Guys, guys, there is a point to this strike. Since the inception of Hollywood, writers have always gotten a raw deal. Greedy, unprincipled producers consider it part of their duties to screw the writer(s). They even boast about it amongst themselves. The practice of using multiple writers is an attempt to water down an individual voice and create a more homogenous product that (theoretically) has greater mass appeal. (Read: more money.)
Here’s a deal I got on my first produced script before I joined the WGA. This movie sold and still sells all over the world, plays on TV, cable and so on. When I look at the returns, it makes both me and the IRS weep. On the first day of principal photography the movie made $5 million NET profit. Amount due to writer = $0.00. After a Box Office receipts: $0.00 The DVD goes into the top ten sales. Amount due to writer: $0.00. Foreign box office and sales: $0.00. Foreign residuals after 10 years: $850.00. Okay, it was a shitty deal and I know better now, but the point is that the WGA is fighting to redress an ingrained imbalance in Hollywood deal structures with regards writers.
The whole point of this strike is to force the hand of the AMPTP by shutting down the system and costing their members money. I feel for the IATSE crew members and others who are losing money. Maybe they should have more sympathy for the writers’ cause? The WGA is also seeking the the right to go on strike in support of other labor organizations.
The right to strike is one of key differences between a slave and a free man. These side deals weaken the WGA’s strategy. Divide and rule.
UA’s production slate is fairly slim: is not an important studio any more, and, it would seem, Cruise needs to get back to work to fix his flawed Valkyrie movie (new scenes slated to shoot in February 2008). That might indicate that Cruise/Wagner/UA are not looking at the bigger picture, just what is expedient in the short run. Even if it costs Cruise and Co. a couple of hundred thousand to sweeten a few writers, the stakes are much bigger: the success of Valkyrie, Cruise’s personal PR (pretty much at rock bottom after he went all Xenu) and the future of his Studio whose opening salvo was a huge disappointment (Lions for Lambs.)
I suspect that Cruise is not such a big player in Hollywood these days, but Rick Nicita is. If Paula Wagner, his wife, and Tom Cruise, his client, were in desperate need to get back to work, that would pressure Nicita and CAA to get with the program. That might have helped the cause and, by the bye, CAA does ten-per-cent not a small number of scribes. While UA may appear to voice support of improved deals for writers, by its actions it is working actively against them.
“These independent deals are what is going to break the guild. How are the writers that are not fortunate to work for these studios suppose to feel when thier friends and co-workers are going back to work and they are still walking the line?”
Thrilled, one would imagine.
By entering this agreement, UA have done two very important things:
1. Given the WGA a significant victory and shown that their demands are rwell within the boundaries of reason.
2. Caused tension amongst the rest of the AMPTP – they are now faced with holding their ground, or watching UA gain the upper-hand in turn-over by being the ONLY studio able to produce films; right now, everyone is furiously calculating how much profit UA will make from this and seriously consider their options…
Divide and conquer was the most ingenious plan the WAG came up with, and I salute them for it!
I’m not sure I quite understand all of this. Please help me. Does this WGA deal with Cruise/UA mean that EVERY screenwriter in Hollywood now has carte blanche to begin writing again (as if they really stopped) and submitting scripts to UA? If that IS the case, then the strike is effectively over for them.
The TV writers, however, face a different hurdle. They are contracted to individual shows/production companies, which happen to be owned (in many cases) by major studios. You’re not going to have a writer for “The Office” now submitting material to Letterman. So, how are the TV writers going to benefit from UA/MGM (and then Lionsgate, Weinstein, etc.)? What’s it going to take for the TV writers to begin getting deals? I met one writer on the picket line from “Jeopardy”. His show is owned by a production company that is owned by Sony. So, can his production company make a deal with the WGA even though the company is owned by Sony, or does the WGA have to make a deal directly with Sony in order for his staff to go back to work?
There are many other examples I’ve run across…a writer working for a company owned by Warner Bros. comes to mind.
So Tom Cruise is a hero now? He’s doing the rich history of UA proud? My, how short our memories are.
Last I checked, T.C. was still the guy who bought himself a wife half his age, brainwashed her, cut her off from her family, then insulated her from the world with money and private jets. Sounds like the behavior of a mogul to me.
Maybe he broke away from the AMPTP not because he’s one of us, but because he thinks he’s bigger and badder and meaner than all of them put together. Untouchable.
Let’s be very careful who we make heroes out of. And let me be very clear that I, a television writer, would like to go back to work, too. UA is a movie studio. They will employ feature writers. Feature writers, whether they care to admit it or not, have been fairly insulated from the economic impact of this strike. Forgive me for not getting excited that the least impacted among us are the first to be cleared to go back to work.
In order for this strike to have been worth it, ALL OF US have to get back on THEIR lots. And the only way that’s going to happen – no matter how wet all you sycophantic cheerleaders get your underpants over these side deals – is TO GET BACK TO THE TABLE WITH THESE PEOPLE. And antagonizing and name calling just ain’t gonna get it done.
According to a comment left on Variety, there’s a freelance writer who has been submitting material to Leno and knows other freelancers (scabs) who are faxing jokes to Leno. This makes sense. There’s far too much material for Jay to be writing on his own. Anyone who’s tried to write topical jokes on a daily basis knows this. Hundreds of jokes are written and the best 20 are used for the show. So, to assume Jay is doing that work solo is absurd. This is Jay’s real crime.
But when you see who he has for guests, you see how poor the quality of the show has been since the late night hosts have been back. The LA Times reported today that one of Leno’s guests next week will be Jimmy Kimmel. And one of Kimmel’s guests will be… Jay Leno. Now, that’s scraping the bottome of the ‘guest barrel.’
WGA: united, strong and winning this fight!
Dear BTL 399 (also known as “Bill” over on unitedhollywood.com) –
Here on DHD you’re saying you “oppose interim deals as it is a weak way to run a strike,” but over on United Hollywood you’re telling writers they should now give up half of the six proposals the AMPTP demanded we drop just before they stalked out of negotiations like pissy little girls.
So the right way to run a strike is not to divide and conquer the AMPTP through interim deals but instead to drop a bunch of important proposals in the _hope_ that the AMPTP will come back to the table and finally negotiate? Yeah, you’re a real strong union guy, Bill. Thanks for the advice.
pseudonymouse writes:
Game theory provides a pretty simple explanation of why cartels like the AMPTP are inherently unstable: The first members of the cartel to cheat on its rules gain disproportionately large rewards by doing so.
Okay, as one of maybe five people still checking comments on this stream, I give you props for the freshest take on all this in recent days. Haven’t heard game theory mentioned before. You must have A Brilliant Mind!
Well said.
Maybe after the dust settles, John Ridley and Gavin Polone will realize that they still have each other.
So why are Letterman, and more to the point, Tom Cruise, now the “heroes” of the WGA? Do you people not realize that if these guys were not paid the gazillions they are, maybe there’d be more money to trickle down to the writers?
How much does Tom Cruise make for a movie? How much more would writers make if he made half that?
Funny, how when someone hops in bed with you, it doesn’t matter how much they’ve taken from you in the past…
So why are Letterman, and more to the point, Tom Cruise, now the “heroes” of the WGA? Do you people not realize that if these guys were not paid the gazillions they are, maybe there’d be more money to trickle down to the writers?
Now there’s an interesting test balloon to float. I think that if Tom Cruise made half of what he normally does, the writers would in no way, shape or form see the difference in their paychecks. That money would instead go to the director or a better supporting cast or maybe even to the special effects budget. Remember, the writers are asking for what amounts to 3.17 pennies per dollar spent right now and the result is that they were left stranded at the negotiating table when the studios walked away.
Lee Kerry (11:28), your comments make no sense whatsoever. Tom Cruise is an actor. David Letterman is a host. Those guys get paid by the same people we do. Okay, maybe tom’s a studio now, but neither of them have taken anything from writers in the past. If anything, writers who’ve worked on Cruise projects and on Letterman’s staff have made far more than average, so, for the record, I’d love to hop into bed with either of these gentlemen, any time. Metaphorically speaking, of course…
How much does Tom Cruise make for a movie? How much more would writers make if he made half that?
Oooh, oooh! *raises hand*
What is “no more at all”, Alex?
The studios decide what Tom Cruise is worth to their project and pay him accordingly. They also decide what the writing is worth to their project and pay writers accordingly. A screenwriter who’s considered “bankable” will also get paid millions if the studios believe it’s worth it.
But an actor getting an extra dollar does not equate in any way with a writer getting one less dollar, or vice versa.
Intrigued, no, I’ve never taken a course in business negotiation, I have practical experience in labor management-negotiation (NOT for the WGA, I should hasten to add). I helped negotiate a handful of union contracts when I worked in another industry, and everytime we introduced things we knew we weren’t going to get, and so did they. That’s how it works. Leverage comes from the fact that they have to tread carefully, knowing they can’t give you what you’re asking for but not knowing how major a sticking point it is to your side (and that goes for both sides). What you’re hoping to do is either create a little crack where they give you some of what you’re asking for even if you know they won’t give you all, in the hopes that you can crack it open wider in subsequent negotiations down the road when there’s perhaps something that that they really need that you can give up without too much pain, or they make other concessions on your critical issues to get it off the table. You find out pretty quick that you’re sometimes way off in trying to determine what’s the other side’s real priorities are.
Speedos–jeez, let me guess, you’re in B school? Yeah, no, no lear jets for everybody. We’re not talking about crazy examples, we’re talking about legitimate issues. What you have to understand is that negotiators represent the membership and can’t just disregard that and do whatever they want. There are plenty of WGA writers in reality, and plenty of others who care a lot about that proposal, it’s legitimate and important. The negotiators can’t just say hey guys, sorry, but we’re selling you down the river before we even begin. They know it’s an important issue, they know it needs to be dealth with, they know they’re not going to get it at least fully, but they have to try, and if they’re forced to give it up they have to point to what they gained concretely in return and how and why it’s worth the tradeoff and hopefully how we’re going to position ourselves to gain more traction on the issue in the future. Union bargaining units have to answer to the membership and address our concerns, and contracts do sometimes get voted down (more likely in a non-strike situation, admittedly) when there’s a perception that too much was given up in order to get too little, even when the reality is that what was given up was never going to be granted under any circumstances. It’s a delicate balancing act trying to keep everyone happy.
And as far as proposing to take away all pension coverage and health benefits being an example of a wacky, extreme thing that would never happen and that’s analogous to proposing that everyone wear speedos, if you know anyone who’s ever served on a bargaining committee, ask around. It’s not exactly unheard of. It’s happened during negitiations I was a part of (health care in that case), and spooked us since we didn’t know how hardcore they were going to be about it, and that fear caused us to move a bit more than we would have liked on other issues to get that off. Oh and in subsequent negotiations after I left, they did dig in and forced concessions in that area, not as much as they would have liked but pretty significant; the net result of proposing something they knew they were never going to get was that they ended up with probably more than they thought they could get, either on that issue or another issue that mattered as much or more, and we found that ourselves, that’s why everyone does it, it often works.
We wouldn’t actually make any more money if Tom Cruise made less, all that money would go to the studios. Also, I don’t think that the studios would be content with scaling back star salaries without also trying to scale back everyone’s else’s pay scale, we’d end up worse off than we started, probably.
Really, if you think that they’d just love to pay everyone fairly and increase minimums, if only they had a bit more available capital by asking Cruise to be reasonable, no. Nor are the moguls going to scale back their own salaries to help us out. Equitable distribution is not really a priority there.
David, that’s hilarious. The late night hosts should form their own mini-cartel to prop up each other’s shows.
From the UPI
“The agreement with UA would allow UA to supply MGM with ready-for-market films. MGM is a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, while UA is not.”
So, doesn’t this mean we’re just giving MGM a way to get movies made?
Any insight would be helpful.
Pseudonymouse, the game theory explanation also justifies the Most Favored Nations clause. MFN makes it even easier for AMPTP members to defect from the cartel because it ensures that they have ZERO cost for doing so — they’ll end up with the same deal when the contract is eventually settled.
(The trick, which we hope they will be tempted to fall for or ignore, is that if enough of them defect, there won’t be a critical mass of companies still at the bargaining table in order to win the AMPTP’s goals — so the defectors may end up having to live with exactly the terms the WGA gave them initially.) Basically, we’re hoping they won’t see the forest for the trees — what with specular highlights and whatnot.
I hope that this will cause the strike to end soon. I need my Supernatural episodes.
PleaseExplain, I thought the same thing, but maybe it’s good if MGM can get some movies made. Apparently the AMPTP is very unhappy with MGM for “allowing” this deal to go through? Could it be that the other studios will resent MGM’s ability to get a leg up on them? I think the goal is to cause dissension within the ranks. If the other 2 mini studios sign on, I think it could cause even more insecurity among the studios holding out.
Comment by not a shill, a real writer, I swear,
you wrote:
“UA is a movie studio. They will employ feature writers. Feature writers, whether they care to admit it or not, have been fairly insulated from the economic impact of this strike. Forgive me for not getting excited that the least impacted among us are the first to be cleared to go back to work.”
As the wife of a feature writer who has been greatly impacted by this stirke, I’d have to disagree with you there; and no, we’re not rich by any stretch of the imagination. I know of 2 other guys in similar situations. If you can’t write and turn in your drafts or be hired to do rewrites, you don’t get paid. How is this different? I also didn’t hear any of the feature writers complaining, “what about us?” when the Letterman deal was made. Do you really think UA’s ability to make movies will meet the distribution needs of all of those feature writers out there? The majority will still be out of work, just like the TV writers. Does that make you feel better? Try to look at the overall picture, rather than your own personal hardships. Every person out of work due to the strike who isn’t wealthy enough to coast for a while is hurting right now. Please don’t belittle the efforts and situations of your fellow WGA members.