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STUDIOS WALK OUT OF STRIKE TALKS
Monday, December 10 2007
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Hopes of a resolution of the Hollywood writers' strike before the holidays were dashed Friday night as studio negotiators angrily walked out of talks, accusing negotiators for the writers of being incompetent and self-serving. In a statement, the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers said: "The WGA organizers sitting across the table from us have never concluded even one industry accord." It added that the WGA negotiators were determined to advance their "personal agendas at the expense of working writers and every other working person who depends on our industry for their livelihoods." Ironically, talks appeared to collapse not over issues related to the writers' demands for increased payment for Internet distribution and DVD sales -- which were said to be the primary issues in the strike -- but over the writers' demands concerning reality TV shows and animated fare. In a statement released Friday night, WGA negotiator John Bowman said, "We remain ready and willing to negotiate, no matter how intransigent our bargaining partners are, because the stakes are simply too high. ... We were prepared to counter their proposal tonight, and when any of them are ready to return to the table, we're here, ready to make a fair deal." But in an interview with Daily Variety Bowman added, "We wound up being engaged in fake negotiations. I suspect they're trying to do this so that writers will suffer during the holiday season." Analysts have concluded that much now depends on whether early negotiations begin with the Directors Guild of America. A deal on the Internet -- or "new media," as the negotiators call it -- between the producers and directors would likely (but, as Variety pointed out today, not necessarily) set a precedent for similar deals with actors and, in the end, writers as well.
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