Breakthrough in Writer's strike!!!

[Raph's Girl]

Several articles:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080203/...ywood_labor_10

A breakthrough in contract talks has been reached between Hollywood studios and striking writers and could lead to a tentative deal as early as next week, a person close to the ongoing negotiations said Saturday.

The two sides breached the gap Friday on the thorniest issues, those concerning compensation for projects distributed via the Internet, said the person, who requested anonymity because he were not authorized to speak publicly.

A second person familiar with the talks, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment publicly, said that significant progress had been made and a deal might be announced within a week.

The people did not provide specific details on the possible agreement. Major points of contention include how much and when writers are paid for projects delivered online after they've been broadcast on TV.

The studios have been insisting that programs be streamed online for a certain period, deemed promotional, during which writers would forgo residuals. When payment kicked in, the companies sought to limit it to a flat $1,200 fee, while the guild wanted a percentage of a distributor's revenue.

The Writers Guild of America did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade group representing the studios, declined comment, citing a news blackout agreed to by both sides during the talks.

Guild leaders have said they are fighting for a piece of the future, reflecting the widespread belief that Internet-delivered entertainment fare would inevitably claim an increasing and perhaps even dominant market share.

Although work remains to be done on elements of the agreement, prospects for a deal appeared solid, said those close to the situation. The tentative agreement would have to be approved by a majority of guild members.

The guild, whose 3-month-old strike has brought the entertainment industry to a standstill, began informal talks with top media company executives Jan. 23 in an attempt to reach a new deal covering governing work for film, TV and digital media.

Negotiations between the guild and alliance negotiators collapsed Dec. 7 after the alliance demanded that proposals for unionization of animation and reality shows be taken off the table. The guild refused.

During the negotiations impasse, the Directors Guild of America began its own talks with studio chiefs and swiftly reached a tentative deal that was announced Jan. 17 and covered some of the digital media issues key to the writers guild.

Major studio executives called on the writers guild to begin informal talks, which essentially are standing in for formal negotiations, according to those familiar with the situation.

The guild extended its own olive branch before the informal talks started by withdrawing the reality-animation unionization proposal and by deciding to keep pickets away from the Grammy Awards. It has since decided to allow the music ceremony to proceed with full union support.

However, the fate of the Feb. 24 Academy Awards has remained in question, with the guild so far declining to grant its blessing to the show. A union refusal to cooperate with the Golden Globes decimated the ceremony, which was boycotted by supportive actors.

Oscar organizers and producers have vowed they will stage some type of show, with or without union support — but a writers guild deal would allow this ceremony to proceed in its full, star-studded glory, providing an invaluable promotional showcase for movie studios and their films.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-m...,5163513.story

Hollywood's striking writers and major studios have reached the outlines of a new employment contract, resolving key sticking points over how much writers should be paid for work that is distributed over the Internet, people familiar with the negotiations said Saturday.

A final contract could be presented to the Writers Guild of America board as early as Friday, according to three people close to the talks who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.

The 3-month-old strike is expected to end once the board approves the contract.

The tentative deal came after two weeks of talks that culminated in a marathon bargaining session Friday that was attended by News Corp. President Peter Chernin, Walt Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger and Writers Guild of America negotiators David Young, Patrick M. Verrone and John F. Bowman.

Progress had been made in previous meetings on payment for work sold online, but Friday's session saw a breakthrough on the most contentious issue: compensation for the free streaming of films and TV programs over the Internet.

Representatives of the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, declined to comment, citing a media blackout.

Attorneys from the studios and the guild were meeting over the weekend to discuss contract language for the proposed agreement, which would need to be ratified by the union's 10,500 members. Even before a vote by members, the strike would probably be called off if board members strongly endorse the deal.

There are some issues that have yet to be resolved, including defining what qualifies as promotion on the Internet. The debate centers on the extent to which networks can run video clips and other materials on their websites to promote TV programs before paying writers.

Both the writers and the studios faced rising pressures to find a way to end Hollywood's costliest strike in two decades.

Concluding the strike would allow thousands of workers who lost their jobs when television production shut down to return to work. It would also allow the broadcast networks to salvage the upcoming fall season. Production of pilots is scheduled to begin this month.

An end to the strike would also ensure that Hollywood's most glamorous party, the Feb. 24 Academy Awards, would air on ABC as scheduled. Last month's Golden Globes were dramatically scaled back after writers and many actors refused to cross the picket line. The Oscars would likely have faced similar boycotts.

The writers began their strike Nov. 5 in a fight largely about securing their future as digital technology transforms the film and TV industry.

Writers fear being shortchanged as the studios rush to distribute their TV shows and movies on the Web, cellphones, video iPods and other devices. The payments they receive when their material is reused, known as residuals, help writers weather the feast-and-famine cycles of the business. Studios, confronted with rising marketing and production costs and flattening DVD revenue, have been reluctant to commit to the guild's new-media pay demands when the economics of the Internet and other digital technologies are uncertain.

The latest round of discussions began two weeks ago after directors quickly negotiated their own accord with studios.

In Hollywood, the first union to reach a contract often sets the template for the other talent unions in a process known as pattern bargaining.

The tentative writers' agreement is largely modeled on the directors' pact, which doubles residual payments for films and TV shows sold online, secures the union's jurisdiction over shows created for the Internet (above certain budgets) and establishes payments for shows that are streamed on advertising-supported websites.

A number of top screenwriters and TV writer-producers known as show runners had in recent weeks lobbied their leaders to use the Directors Guild deal as template for their own agreement, eager to put the town back to work.

The directors' deal, however, stirred a debate among striking writers. Many complained that the directors' contract offered meager residuals on shows that were streamed free on advertising-supported websites. Another criticism was that the directors' deal limited the union's jurisdiction over shows created for the Web at a time when online entertainment is burgeoning.

That complaint was echoed a few days ago by the Screen Actors Guild, whose leaders publicly disparaged the directors' contract.

On Friday, however, studios offered some key concessions to ease those concerns and keep the talks on track. Those included more favorable pay terms for streaming than those offered to directors. Studios also offered "separated rights" provisions for shows created for the Web, ensuring, for example, that writers would receive extra compensation and credit for online shows that spawn TV pilots, two people close to the talks said.

Writers made some important concessions of their own earlier when they dropped demands to unionize work on animated movies and reality TV shows -- both of which had been viewed as non-starters by the studios.

The agreement was negotiated on the studio side by Chernin and Iger, who had been designated by the heads of the other studios to negotiate on their behalf.

That stood in contrast to previous sessions with the writers in which top media executives weren't at the bargaining table and were led instead by Nick Counter, president of the producers association, and labor relations executives from the major studios.

Having done the heavy lifting, Chernin and Iger will now step back and rely on labor relations executives to formalize contract language this week.

Guild negotiators Young, Verrone and Bowman on Monday are expected to brief the union's 17-member negotiating committee and board of directors on the proposed contract.

[Jo Dawn]

They were still on strike?

Meh, no bother for me either way. No show I watch was affected, nor would I have cared if it were.

[Jester]

I've been watching so many DVDs during this time I little noticed.

[Drtooth]

It's not a breakthrough unless the WGA pops in and says, "We'll take it." It just seems like another deal in a long line of deals that isn't quite what they wanted. The only real progress I've heard was the WGA dropping their (ludicrous) demands to absorb writers from Reality shows (who are stealing their jobs, how come they aren't considered scabs?), and Animated programming (which, most of them belong to another union all together).

I just want the Oscars to go on so we can see which idiotic sobfest or mainstream indie film gets the awards. Plus, I want my ^%$# Family Guy back (Only prime time sitcom type animated programs were affected. And while The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and American Dad finished off their seasons, Family Guy needs the writers working till the last minute for their episodes).

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I just want them back in time to keep Battlestar Galactica on a decent schedule. I'm sure there would be a gap in new episodes at this point, but I want to see how this story ends!

If Heroes came back at a decent time, that would be icing on the cake.

[Triglyph]

I know of people working on reality tv shows who have been egging on the writers...saying things like: "Yeah you guys are right...don't go back to work until the studios cave in"...then laughing about the writers behind their backs.

[Spitfire]

Hard to tell there's a strike, most of the movies that come out now are terrible anyway. Same goes for TV programs.

[Raph's Girl]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080208/...lywood_labor_1

The now 3-month-old Hollywood writers strike could enter its final chapter Saturday when guild members gather in Los Angeles and New York to consider a proposed contract.

If writers respond favorably, the walkout that has devastated the entertainment industry could end as soon as Monday. Writers were wavering between hope and skepticism as they prepared to learn details of the deal for the first time.

"The feeling is relief and optimism and excitement," said Hilary Winston, a writer for the NBC sitcom "My Name Is Earl."

Still, she couldn't shake her lingering anxiety.

"I hope this deal made this three months worth it," she said.

Writer Erik Oleson, who watched a deal for a TV pilot fall apart during the strike, was reserving judgment.

"I'm not going to drink the Kool-Aid and accept a bad deal. I'd rather continue the strike," Oleson said. "We saw a press release but what matters is the fine print."

If members show strong support for the deal, the union could quickly lift its strike order, allowing dozens of TV shows to return to production and putting thousands of actors, crew members and others back to work.

An end to the strike might also salvage the Feb. 24 Academy Awards show, which is now facing a possible boycott by writers and sympathetic actors. The writers union has given a picket-free pass to Sunday's Grammy Awards.

The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, have not publicly commented on the proposed contract because of a joint media blackout.

Michael Eisner, a former Walt Disney Co. chief executive, told CNBC the proposed deal was good enough to end the strike.

"It's impossible the writers will turn it down," said Eisner, whose successor at Disney, Robert Iger, was among the studio chiefs who helped shape the proposal with leaders of the writers guild.

The most contentious issue in the talks was residual payments for TV programs and movies distributed on the Internet.

"Within the next five years, most American televisions will be connected to the Internet. The shows and movies you watch on your TV will be downloaded or streamed," the union said in its strike fact sheet.

Some accounts suggest the proposed deal involving the 12,000-member union and the world's largest media companies improves on a contract agreement reached last month by studios and the Directors Guild of America.

Directors won several key concessions on new media, including payments for downloaded TV programs and movies based on a percentage of the distributor's gross.

The writers guild, however, has been seeking 2.5 percent of distributor grosses from Internet-delivered projects — about three times what the directors guild got in its deal.

Writers also balked at the maximum $1,200 flat fee that studios agreed to pay directors for streamed, ad-supported programs.

Writers won't vote Saturday on the proposed contract but will have a chance to voice their support or opposition at the closed meetings.

An e-mail circulated by a strike captain urged pro-deal members to attend so union leaders wouldn't hear only from opponents.

Other e-mails to guild members said a favorable response by writers would be followed by a Sunday meeting of the guild negotiating committee to consider lifting the strike order and scheduling a formal membership vote by mail.

"I hope Monday is when this town gets going again," Winston said. "If it's not Monday, I'll take Wednesday."

Warren Leight, an executive producer in New York for NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," doesn't think writers will be swayed by high-profile colleagues who have trumpeted the directors deal as a solid template for writers.

"If the deal works, everyone is ready to go back to work. But it has to be discussed by 10,000 people, not by 30 show runners and wannabe A-listers," Leight said.

Among the show runners — industry slang for executive producers in charge of a series — who lauded the directors deal was John Wells, whose credits include "ER" and "The West Wing." He termed it, "Very good. For writers, for directors, for the future."

A quick end to the walkout might result in TV viewers seeing a more new episodes of their favorite shows this season. A script takes about three weeks to write and about 40 working days to produce, so it could take as long as two months for the first new shows to air, Leight said.

But once a production has scripts and is up and running, episodes are worked on concurrently and an hour-long show can be produced within eight days, he said. That could allow an hourlong drama to return with perhaps a half-dozen new episodes, and a half-hour comedy to squeeze in as many as seven new shows for the rest of the season.

Networks, however, are likely to pick and choose among shows, with low-rated newcomers less likely to get deals for more episodes than a series like "Grey's Anatomy," which has a big, faithful audience.

[Drtooth]

Originally Posted by Triglyph

I know of people working on reality tv shows who have been egging on the writers...saying things like: "Yeah you guys are right...don't go back to work until the studios cave in"...then laughing about the writers behind their backs.

And the WGA wanted jurisdiction over them as well. Greedy reality writing Effs.

Hard to tell there's a strike, most of the movies that come out now are terrible anyway. Same goes for TV programs.

While I do hates me 90% of everything on Tv, I will say this. This season, prior to the strike, I was watching at least one show every single night (except Fridays and saturdays, which are both death anyway). It looks like we're finally getting decent programming for the first time in years. As for the movies... of course they suck. They're mainstream Hollywood movies. It's hard to pick a good one in the bunch. Either they're formulaic or pretend preachy.

But that doesn't mean that they don't deserve what they're likely to get. If the shoe were on the other hand, you'd want a lot of money for creating something. Even if it is bad, it's you're creation.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I'd say as a whole TV is better than it was 5 years ago. Reality shows aren't quite as prevalent, and at least a few of the ones on are halfway decent, like Biggest Loser.

In the mean time there are shows like Lost and Heroes now, that while they have their less than excellent episodes are still both strong shows. Terminator looks to have a lot of promise. A Fox show that looks good. Who saw that coming?

I'd say my least favorite thing about TV is that BSG really is probably the best show that nobody's watching. I think it has done a great job of breaking the usual stereotypes about sci-fi shows, and had it gotten pushed harder in the beginning I think it could have done a better job of snagging a more mainstream audience. I think one of the problems is that anything with "star" in the title probably has to contend with images of Trekkies in klingon costumes.

[Drtooth]

Originally Posted by Mr._Mutant_Man

I'd say as a whole TV is better than it was 5 years ago. Reality shows aren't quite as prevalent, and at least a few of the ones on are halfway decent, like Biggest Loser.

I think they're getting sleazier. I have big problems with the biggest loser, myself. I think it's very exploitive for one thing. It almost feels like they're punnishing people who were fat for being fat, and saying the only way you'll ever be happy is to be thin. Meanwhile, they have them mud wrestle each other until they start crying. And put huge plates in food in front of them. If I want to see inspirational weightloss, I'll watch people who worked hard at home through diet and excersize. not people who are being humiliated on national TV.

And this strapping people to the lie detector show is beyond sleaze. Hard to think this is the same network that made them not air Insane in the membrane and Nightmare Recycled. Sleazey, sleazey, sleazy. I'm so glad the WGA dropped that demand. They deserve to work non-union.

In the mean time there are shows like Lost and Heroes now, that while they have their less than excellent episodes are still both strong shows. Terminator looks to have a lot of promise. A Fox show that looks good. Who saw that coming?

I swear, I haven't seen such enjoyable live action programming in years. Heroes on Mondays, Reaper on Tuesdays, Pushing Daisy on Wednesdays, NBC's Thursday night line up... up until the strike, my DVD's were starting to get dusty. AS much as I like watching Darkwing Duck, Heathcliff, Lucky Luke, and The Muppet show every night, I miss these shows.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I think the temptation parts are a little too much. It kind of defeats the purpose of trying to help them, doesn't it?

I think The Biggest Loser is potentially inspiring, because it involves people who are really obese trying to get healthier. But the thing to keep in mind is that they have those people on a pretty tough regimen. I think it would probably be more inspiring to have the stories of people in real life trying to get healthier as opposed to putting them on a game show where they are going to be on this extreme plan that the average person is never going to participate in. Plus someone in real life has to be more self-disciplined because you don't have someone yelling at you, and you have to face the temptation of poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle all the time.

[BubblyShell22]

Well, I know that Heroes probably won't be back until the fall because of the fact that it's a show with story arcs. However, I'll be happy if House gets back on the air. I know the last episode was last week, but I already miss it.

[Jo Dawn]

I loved the TV Guide today, the letter someone wrote thanking the writers for going on strike, as they found so much more meaning in their lives with much more fulfilling things than watching TV. It brightened my day and made me kinda laugh. I really respect someone for coming out and saying that.

[Raph's Girl]

Aaaaaand it's over!! Fin! Done!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080213/...wood_labor_108

A devastating, three-month walkout that brought the entertainment industry to a standstill ended Tuesday when Hollywood writers voted to lift their union's strike order and return to work Wednesday.

The move allows some TV series to return this spring with a handful of new episodes. It also clears the way for the Academy Awards to be staged on Feb. 24 without the threat of pickets or a boycott by actors that would have dulled the glamour of Hollywood's signature celebration.

"At the end of the day, everybody won. It was a fair deal and one that the companies can live with, and it recognizes the large contribution that writers have made to the industry," Leslie Moonves, chief executive officer of CBS Corp., told The Associated Press.

Moonves was among the media executives who helped broker a deal after negotiations between the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, collapsed in acrimony in December.

Residuals for TV shows and movies distributed online was the most contentious issue in the bitter dispute involving the 12,000-member union and the world's largest media companies and other producers.

Under a tentative contract approved Sunday by the union's board of directors, writers would get a maximum flat fee of about $1,200 for streamed programs in the deal's first two years and then get 2 percent of a distributor's gross in year three — a key union demand.

Other provisions include increased residual payments for downloaded movies and TV programs.

"These advances now give us a foothold in the digital age," said Patric Verrone, president of the guild's West Coast chapter. "Rather than being shut out of the future of content creation and delivery, writers will lead the way as television migrates to the Internet."

Writers who voted in New York and Beverly Hills were overwhelmingly in favor of ending the strike: 3,492 voted yes, with only 283 voting to stay off the job.

Most writers were happy about the outcome and eager to return to work.

"It will be all hands on deck for the writing staff," said Chris Mundy, co-executive producer of CBS' drama "Criminal Minds." He hopes to get a couple of scripts in the pipeline right away, with about seven episodes airing by the end of May.

Not all shows will get back on the air. Networks might not resume production of low-rated programs that have a questionable future.

Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which stages the Oscars, expressed relief that the strike was over.

"I am ecstatic that the 80th Academy Awards presentation can now proceed full steam ahead," without "hesitation or discomfort" for the nominees, he said.

Writers did not vote on whether to accept the tentative deal, which was reached after a Feb. 1 breakthrough between union negotiators and studio executives.

The guild will mail contract ratification ballots to members over the next few days. Writers can also vote at meetings. All ballots must be cast by Feb. 25.

The walkout stopped work on dozens of TV shows, disrupted movie production and turned the usually star-studded Golden Globes show into a news conference. It also dealt a severe financial blow to a wide range of businesses dependent on work from studios.

The strike took a $3.2 billion toll in direct and indirect costs on the economy of Los Angeles County, the home of most of the nation's TV and film production, according to a new estimate from Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.

The last writers strike, a 153-day walkout in 1988, caused an estimated $500 million in lost wages.

The latest strike began Nov. 5, and formal negotiations broke off Dec. 7 after the guild pushed to unionize writers on reality and animated productions.

Informal talks began Jan. 23 between studio heads and the union, which extended an olive branch by withdrawing its proposal to organize reality and animated shows. It also decided against picketing the Grammy Awards.

Pressure to reach an agreement mounted after the studio alliance reached a tentative contract Jan. 17 with the Directors Guild of America. That deal also brought improved payment for content offered on the Internet.

Among the executives who took the lead in breaking the impasse were Peter Chernin, chief operating officer of News Corp., and Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Co.

Michael R. Perry, a writer for "Persons Unknown" and other TV dramas, said the deal made him hopeful the guild and studios could be "partners in a growing pie" of Internet revenue.

"I want them to be fabulously, filthy rich. I just want my piece," Perry said.

Hollywood's labor pains may not be over, said Jonathan Handel, an entertainment attorney with the Los Angeles firm of TroyGould and a former associate counsel for the writers guild.

He pointed out that the contract between studios and the Screen Actors Guild is due to expire in June.

"The signs are mixed whether this is going to be another difficult negotiation," Handel said. "The actors face all of the new-media issues that the writers and directors faced."

[VaughnMichael]

Originally Posted by Jo Dawn

I loved the TV Guide today, the letter someone wrote thanking the writers for going on strike, as they found so much more meaning in their lives with much more fulfilling things than watching TV. It brightened my day and made me kinda laugh. I really respect someone for coming out and saying that.

It's funny I know so many people who started reading books and doing other things since the writters strike.
It's a shame they will go right back to rushing home every day to watch their fave program.

[Drtooth]

Originally Posted by Putrescent

It's funny I know so many people who started reading books and doing other things since the writters strike.
It's a shame they will go right back to rushing home every day to watch their fave program.

That won't even be for a month or so. Personally, I was just watching DVD's, myself. I don't have the disapline to read a novel. Though, if I was able to get the collected Hitchiker's guide to the Galaxy, I'd definately read that one.

[The Shelf]

The only show I'm waiting for to come back is Heroes. I wonder if they'll pick it up again this season or if they'll just wait until the fall.

[BubblyShell22]

I heard it won't be back until the fall because of the fact that it is a multiple story arc type of show. I don't watch very much TV, but I'm glad the strike is resolved.

[Raph's Girl]

From what I have been told Heroes HAS been renewed but there won't be any new eps till this fall. But it HAS been renewed at least. We just have to wait about a year for new eps. Heck 24 doesn't return till Jan 2009.