WGA Meets Tonight; May Call Strike

Posted on November 1, 2007

The deadline has passed, but a writers' strike hasn't been called yet. But chances are good that one will be called tonight at the WGA meeting which is at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time tonight. When the producers said that flatly wouldn't agree to any changes in residuals for DVDs, the talks really ground to a halt.

Officials called a meeting of the union's 12,000 members for Thursday night and were expected to discuss whether to walk out. Guild members recently authorized their negotiators to call the first strike since 1988, if necessary. "The guild has never had the resolve to go the distance," said Harris Goldberg, screenwriter of "Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo." "They feel that if they don't do it now, they're never going to be able to do it again." Respect is also at stake, with many writers feeling they have 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."
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The key financial issue is 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.

If the strike is called, all members will have to stop writing for tv and film projects and will be urged to join picket lines. It's going to get ugly. The first to go off the air will be the talk shows, which rely on daily writing.

Update: According to Maria Elena Fernandez (who is at the WGA meeting, blogging for the L.A. Times), the strike is on:

Finally, this gets underway with a standing ovation for the WGA committee that has been leading the way during these labor negotiations. It's a full house, and everyone is at rapt attention as leaders discuss where negotiations stand.
A few minutes into the gathering, there is no more uncertainty: There will be a strike, leaders tell the thousands of WGA members in attendance. Leaders will send out a press release tomorrow afternoon, telling members precisely when the strike will begin. The Screen Actors Guild president says the actors guild is in full support of the strike and will stand by the writers for as long as it takes.