TV Writers Say Strike Set For Monday
There will be a last ditch effort to prevent a walkout by film and TV writers.
Union officials and producers plan to meet Sunday with a federal mediator in an effort to end the stalemate. The meeting will take place at a neutral location.
The writers are making final plans for a Monday morning strike that would be the first in two decades. Among the sticking points are profits from DVDs and Internet programming.
A guild official accuses the studios of wanting to shut down rather than reaching a fair deal. But the head of the producers' group calls the writers' strike "precipitous and irresponsible."
Four writers told The Associated Press that Writers Guild of America (WGA) president Patric Verrone made the announcement about Monday's strike plan in a closed-door session Thursday, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
"There was a unified feeling in the room. I don't think anyone wants the strike, but people are behind the negotiation committee," said Dave Garrett, screen writer for the movie "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo."
Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), said in a statement Thursday the alliance was not surprised by the action.
"We are ready to meet and are prepared to close this contract this weekend," he said.How Will A TV Strike Affect Viewers?
Negotiators for the writers, in a message posted on the WGA web site Wednesday night, slammed negotiators for the industry.
"After three and a half months of bargaining, the AMPTP still has not responded to a single one of our important proposals. Every issue that matters to writers, including Internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs, and jurisdiction, has been ignored," said WGA negotiators, in a statement. "This is completely unacceptable."
Counter, in a statement on the AMPTP web site, insists that the talks cannot move forward so long as the union's proposal to get paid more for DVDs and Internet downloads remains on the table.
"This cannot come as a surprise," said Counter. "Before the negotiations began, Writers Guild of America West President Patric Verrone met with many CEOs. The consistent message from the CEOs was that, for overriding business reasons, the home video formula would not be changed."
The strike won't just affect writers, according to Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman, who says members of some other union members are likely to honor the picket lines. That, she adds, could result in temporary layoffs on sets. Even security guards could be affected. "It could make it a bad holiday season," one janitor told CBS News.
The writers' union has been negotiating since July with film studios and production companies. Guild members two weeks ago approved an authorization for their negotiators to call the first strike since 1988, if necessary.
Verrone said at that time that "writers do not want to strike, but they are resolute and prepared to take strong, united action to defend our interests... What we must have is a contract that gives us the ability to keep up with the financial success of this ever-expanding global industry."
A key issue dividing producers and writers, as well as actors, whose contract expires in June, is compensation for DVD sales and productions that get distributed on the Internet and in other new media formats.
Writers at a union meeting Thursday night in Los Angeles said the line of questioning at the meeting wasn't whether the group was going to strike, but how it would be carried out. The mood was subdued as writers filed out of the building.
Janis Hirsch, a veteran TV writer, was among the 10 percent who voted against striking.
"It's sad, but I've got to support my union. At this point it makes sense," she said.
Many writers said that beyond royalties, respect is at stake. They said they had never commanded the same clout in the entertainment industry as actors and directors.
"I don't think it's something we can negotiate for," said Paul Guay, who co-wrote the movies "Liar, Liar" and "Heartbreakers." "What we can negotiate for is money. How we assess respect and worth in this town is money."
The first casualty of the strike will likely be late-night talk shows, which are dependent on current events to fuel monologues and other entertainment.
The strike will not immediately affect film or prime-time TV production. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
The key financial issue in the talks involves changing the formula for paying writers a share of DVD revenue, then applying the same equation to money made from material offered over the Internet and other digital platforms.
Studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, are dead set against increasing DVD royalties.
Writers and actors have been fighting for years to reverse what they see as a huge mistake made at the dawn of home video, when no one was sure if selling movies on VHS cassettes would ever make money.
The unions agreed to ignore the first 80 percent of revenue from the tapes and later DVDs, assuming most of the money represented the cost of manufacturing and distribution.
Writers settled for just 1.2 percent of the remaining 20 percent, a figure that amounts to about 3 cents on a DVD that retails for $20.
Writers are now asking for their share to be calculated on 40 percent of revenue and argue the same formula should be used for digital distribution because studios have almost no costs associated with that technology.
Consumers are expected to spend $16.4 billion on DVDs this year, according to Adams Media Research.
By contrast, studios could generate about $158 million from selling movies online and about $194 million from selling TV shows over the Web.
"Every incremental window of distribution has added revenue and profitability to the business model," said Anthony DiClemente, an entertainment analyst for Lehman Brothers Equity Research. "Digital is likely to be a positive thing for the studios."
Studios argue that it is too early to know how much money they can make from offering entertainment on the Internet, cell phones, iPods and other devices.
Producers are uncertain whether consumers prefer a pay-per-view model over an advertising-supported system. They want the economic flexibility to experiment as consumer habits change in reaction to technology.
The negotiations had revolved as much around emotions as economics, said Doug Wood, a partner with the law firm of Reed Smith, who has negotiated with actors on behalf of advertising agencies.
"The industry negotiates form logic, and the creative community negotiates from emotion," he said. "Trying to understand those differences on both sides of the table is a big challenge in any of these negotiations."
TV and movie writers haven't gone on strike since 1988, when they were on the picket lines for 22 weeks.
Losses to the industry from that dispute were estimated at $500 million.