WGA Continues With Interim Deals

This was released by the WGA today:

WRITERS GUILDS REACH INTERIM AGREEMENTS WITH
INTERMEDIA AND THE FILM DEPARTMENT

Los Angeles – The Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East are pleased to announce they have reached interim agreements with The Film Department and Intermedia. The Guilds continue to sign agreements with companies that value the essential role writers play in making films, television programs, and content for new media.

“Companies like Intermedia and The Film Department recognize the importance of signing a deal that compensates writers fairly for the work they do,” said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, in a joint statement. “In turn, we’ve designed an agreement for the entertainment industry that takes into account the economic realities that it faces.”

“We are pleased that we were able to conclude successful negotiations with the WGA so that we can move forward with our production slate across all media, while being able to provide fair and equitable compensation to the writers now and into the future,” said Intermedia President Linda Benjamin. “In light of this agreement, we will shortly be announcing our updated film and television slate.”

Intermedia Film is a global, independent media enterprise with affiliates in London and Los Angeles organized under Munich-based parent company, IM Internationalmedia AG. The core business of the company consists of the development, financing, and distribution of high-quality theatrical films as well as TV productions.

Current and future Intermedia releases include Breach, screenplay by Adam Mazer & William Rotko and Billy Ray, story by Adam Mazer and William Rotko, starring Chris Cooper and Ryan Philippe; The Hunting Party, written by Richard Shepard, starring Richard Gere and Terrence Howard; One Missed Call, screenplay by Andrew Klavan, starring Edward Burns and Shannyn Sossamon; and The Prodigy, written by John Romano, starring Richard Gere.

The Film Department is an independent movie finance, production and international sales company founded by former Warner Independent Pictures and Miramax Films president Mark Gill and former Miramax Films executive vice president and Yari Film Group COO Neil Sacker. With capitalization of $200 million, the company plans to fully finance and produce six films per year budgeted between $10 and $35 million.

The deal with both companies is similar to agreements the WGA recently reached with Lionsgate, RKO Productions, Marvel Studios, The Weinstein Company, United Artists, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Spyglass Entertainment, MRC, Jackson Bites, Mandate Films, and Worldwide Pants.

The Negotiating Table (WARNING: NSFW Puppets)

Not that any kind of puppet video is really appropriate for work. Video written by Seth MacFarlane. Featuring Josh Radnor, Kat Foster, Nick Kroll, John Viener, Seth MacFarlane, and Erik Weiner. Directed by Bryan Carmel and Brendan Colthurst.

Michael Russnow: Let's Have a Formula That Is Meaningful

Former WGAw board member Michael Russnow has been covering the strike on his personal site and recently began blogging "The Writers Strike for Dummies" on the Huffington Post. In his most recent entry, Russnow discusses the importance of setting precedents for compensation on the Web.

We believed the AMPTP when they cajoled us to accept the cable deal in 1981 with the understanding that when they stopped rerunning old black and white shows and started making serious money they would take care of us.

We believed the AMPTP when they cajoled us in 1985 to accept the definition of gross to be one fifth of the monies they received, because the VHS industry was new and those cassettes were expensive to make. When it became really profitable they would take care of us.

Well, they did become profitable, even more so when they switched to DVD and its much cheaper manufacturing costs. And of course, the cable industry grew and grew as it became more and more the norm for shows to rerun directly from their original traditional network home to cable networks like USA, Lifetime and Arts & Entertainment, and the ad rates for those new rerun shows soared through the roof.

And guess what, they didn't change the payment formula. [...] And now there's the Internet and all its possibilities, some of which are already here.

So while history certainly provides ample reason to be circumspect about the AMPTP's predictions and promises about new technologies, Russnow points out that it's incorrect to make a one-to-one comparison between prime-time reruns and online streaming:

[N]o one's suggested that either $20,000 or the $12,000 prime-time network residual fee that half-hour shows receive should be paid for reruns transmitted on the Internet. When the Internet replaces broadcast and cable as the main source of original programs and reruns the fees should more accurately approach the amounts writers, directors and actors receive in syndication, which are significantly lower than the prime-time rerun rates. These monies are in the low to mid-thousands for subsequent runs and descend in value as rerun usage increases until the payments are in the hundreds of dollars.

I'm also not saying we must absolutely have the syndicated rate, and perhaps it's time to recognize the vast dissemination of viewing possibilities. Just as there are many, many more cable networks than there are over-the-air channels, the Internet possibilities are infinite, yet it's clear that in the future a relatively manageable number of dot.com networks and film companies will dominate.

Let's have a formula that is meaningful and reflects the true worth of AMPTP afterlife profits, rather than the pitiful amounts they propose... .

Hopefully, both sides in the current informal talks can acknowledge that new technologies need new thinking and new payment structures. Check out Russnow's full piece for his thoughts on why the composition of the DGA and WGA memberships lend themselves to different deals and, to my knowledge, the first strike metaphor based on Charles Schulz's "Peanuts." (Who's the Red Baron in all this?)

John McNamara: A Fair Deal Is Worth the Cost

John McNamara sent this letter to leadership, and submitted it to us to reprint. McNamara is a TV writer/producer whose credits include The Adventures of Brisco County, Profit, Lois & Clark, Vengeance Unlimited, The Fugitive, Eyes and Jericho.

He is currently writing haiku.

On January 14th, my overall deal at CBS/Paramount was terminated. So this is actually my two cents... plus hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I bring this up so you'll understand that starting on November 5th, I began losing a substantial amount of money. (To put in perspective: I started my career as a playwright, and what I made in my first year of writing theatre, I lost each day as a suspended showrunner.)

As of the 14th, I’ve now lost everything due me under my term deal.

Given that this financial blow is due to the strike and the fact that it's been well over a decade and a half since I made any real money via the MBA, I should be writing to you gentlemen begging you to take the DGA deal.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

I'm writing to urge you -- don't settle for anything less than the best deal possible.

Because this isn't about me or my losses. This isn't about any one writer. This is about thousands of us, up and down fortune's ladder, some who are better off than I am right now, many much worse off, but each of us linked by this:

We all know the difference between a good deal and a bad deal.

"Good" is any provision where our share grows alongside all possible delivery forms.

"Bad" is anything else.

The DGA deal as it stands today is bad. It may be a bad deal with a few good points but it is not the reverse.

Don't be swayed to think otherwise. You know what's right here. Everyone does, no matter what they say out of anger, desperation, greed or exhaustion.

My Dad was a trial lawyer. He spent most of his life trying to sway people. A job that was always easier when he represented a client whose plea or defense was legally sound. Because then he didn’t have to use as many words. My father always said, “The more words you use to explain something, the less true it is.”

What you’re trying to do can be boiled down to two short, declarative sentences:

If they make nothing, we make nothing. But the more they make, the more we make.

Any argument against those sentences would have to be elaborate in the extreme. Possibly confusing. And certainly disingenuous.


Do what's right. Don't back down, don't concede, don't give in to fear, pressure, or worst of all, the common wisdom.

I set out to have a long career that would weather many ups and downs. So far, that's what I've had and there's no denying I'm in one of life's little troughs at the moment. But I'm not alone. And I haven't lost my bearings. This is a fight for the future.

Someday, when that future becomes the present and I look back on all of this, I want to say I was a small part of a big fight that mattered. I stood with people who knew that. We rose together and took action.

I'm proud to do what I do for a living; more proud of that than any check that's ever crossed my desk. Checks, and jobs, come and go. But I'm a writer -- with you -- forever.

- John McNamara

Voices4Action!

As the media blackout continues, the only voices we hear are our own as we discuss the DGA deal, parsing it for nuances, looking for weaknesses and breakthroughs. On the picket line the work continues, as we keep our struggle in the public eye. Voices4Action! has been posting video interviews with our fellow members.

Steve Gaghan gives a clear-headed, no-nonsense view of the strike. Jordan Roberts talks passionately about our debt to past members. Stacy Title reminds the AMPTP that writers are determined to fight for the best deal possible.

In the coming weeks we'll post more interviews, including ones with Billy Ray, Mike White, Joss Whedon, Walter Bernstein, Doug McGrath, and Marty Scorsese.

What Have Unions Ever Done For Us?

From Australia:

Adopt a Writer: a Fan Generated Project

Liz Pardue, Editor of Glowy Box at http://www.glowybox.blogspot.com/ writes this synopsis:

Adopt A Writer is a project organized by TV bloggers in support of the WGA, in association with United Fandom and United Hollywood.

Each participating blog will interview a TV writer about their life as a writer —and as a striking writer— with the goal of putting a human face on the WGA for our readers and showing the public that the average writer is much more like the average viewer than the AMPTP wants us to believe. Each interview will be published on the interviewing blog's site, and all interviews are also collected on the central Adopt A Writer site.

More than fifteen top independent entertainment blogs have signed on to participate in the project, and we're in the process of recruiting writers. (If you're a writer and you'd like to be adopted, please email Adopt A Writer at adoptawriter@gmail.com.)

Visit Adopt a Writer at http://adoptawriter.wordpress.com/.

Jim Lehrer Report: the Internet and the Strike

"The Newshour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS) reported on how the internet is at play in the Writers' Strike. Featuring an interview with Shawn Ryan, and clips from the first Strike TV meeting. Check out the clip at this address:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/module.html?mod=0&pkg=25012008&seg=4

Thoughts From a Screenwriter

Just wanted to mention this, after reading Phil Alden Robinson's piece:

As someone who works almost exclusively as a screenwriter, here's why I reject the idea I hear often that "this is a TV writers strike."

It's true that the streaming numbers don't affect screenwriters now -- but in the future, new means of delivering content, including movies, are going to be invented. Will we get 1.2% of 100%, as we do for pay-per-view/video on demand? Or will the companies arbitrarily decide to classify whatever the new technology as getting the DVD rate (1.2% of 20%, i.e. .3%)?

Don't think it can't happen, screenwriters -- just take the case of EST, aka downloads. The DGA, WGA and SAG all maintained that EST should have fallen under the "video on demand" formula, meaning 1.2%. Common sense says it should. But the companies unilaterally declared downloads to be DVDs. We got .3% -- and improvements on that in the DGA deal still don't come close to the 1.2% that should, logically, have been the baseline we started from.

If our union fractures, and screenwriters decide not to support the needs of TV writers in this negotiation, then when our turn comes, we'll be in the same position -- and we'll be there with no leverage.

It certainly seems to me that it's no accident that the companies didn't go after the screenwriter hotbutton numbers of 1.2% for New Media rentals (Netflix, Apple TV, etc.) in this round of contract talks. By doing this, they convinced some of the membership that this strike wasn't about their interests. It's strategy, it's smart -- but the congloms didn't decide to do that just because they like screenwriters. They did it specifically to divide.

I personally remember hearing, during the contract talks in the 90s, that DVD residuals were "a screenwriter issue." In hindsight, that perspective proved to be both misguided and totally incorrect -- and TV writers who bought into it were some of the most affected, when DVDs of their work sold millions and millions, and they were effectively shut out of a whole new revenue stream.

I hope we won't make the same mistake again.

Divide and conquer is one of the oldest tricks in the book. But it's still a trick. Unions survive, and make meaningful gains for all their members, when all those members recognize that the greater good matters. Not for altruistic or idealistic reasons -- although those are also important -- but because of the cold, hard math of the bottom line, which is this: once the companies succeed at picking off some of us, it means they're eventually going to come after all of us.

We're not just the Screenwriters Guild of America, or the Television Writers Guild of America. Nor are we the Comedy, Drama, Punch Up, Soap Opera, Late Night or Script Doctor Guild of America.

We are the WRITERS Guild of America. And that's where our strength lies.

-- LK

"We must all hang together, or assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
-- Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence

United Hollywood Live

Tune in for another edition of the only show in Hollywood that actually hopes every broadcast is its last, United Hollywood Live (12 pm Pacific/3 pm Eastern).

Today, they'll have interviews from Xena Day along with updates from the various picket lines.

Join the live chat interface by CLICKING HERE (or by using the widget located along the right hand side of UnitedHollywood.com). The show, which airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday, is also available as a podcast immediately after each broadcast via the widget and on iTunes (search: United Hollywood).

Benefits and Events!

Update: The "Family Guy" at Carnegie Hall event is Thursday 1/31. The incorrect date has been fixed.

TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 30:
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS WALK THE LINE: Northwestern University Alumni (otherwise known as the "NU Mafia") are cordially invited to join their fellow writers, actors and other supporters on the picket line, Wednesday, January 30, from 11:30-2:30 PM, at NBC Alameda. Scheduled to attend: Perry Rein, Maria Ferrari, John Lehr, Hank Chilton, Aaron Solomon, Tananarive Due, Pang-Ni (Bonnie) Landrum, JP Manoux, Robert J. Elisberg, Matt Johnson, Kristin Rusk Robinson and Ian Deitchman, among others. Please wear your NU gear and/or purple!

WGA STAFF SUPPORT DAY AT CBS
Picket signs in hand, WGA staff will join the line at CBS this Wednesday. 12-1 PM.

THURSDAY JANUARY 31:
TEACHING THURSDAYS AT WARNER BROS: Every Thursday writers of various genres are invited to join us at Gate 2 at Warner Bros, making themselves available to discuss story, structure and everything in between. For our second Teaching Thursday it's MULTI-CAMERA COMEDY DAY! Join the cool kids from "The Big Bang Theory" and "The War At Home". And remember: If it rains on our heads, it's tragic. If it rains on yours, it's comedy gold! 9 AM-12 PM, Warner Bros Gate 2.

JOHN EDWARDS WILL JOIN THE LINE AT FOX:
John Edwards along with brothers and sisters from SEIU, the Teamsters, and other unions will picket with us this Thursday. Fox Plaza, Galaxy Ave & Ave of the Stars, 11 AM-2 PM. Parking at Cheviot Hills Park - Motor Ave.

TMA SOLIDARITY: The Talent Managers Association will be picketing in solidarity with us at NBC Burbank from 12 pm - 3 pm.

PICKET WITH AFSCME WORKERS:
This Thurs is a great opportunity to show that WGA members stand united with working families by joining the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) on the picket line. Patient Care Technical workers have been unable to reach a fair agreement with University of California management, and the UC Service Workers' contract expires on the 31st. Support their fight for living wages, health care, and justice. Jules Stein Plaza, UCLA Westwood Hospital (n. of Le Conte on Westwood Blvd), 3-5 PM.


FREAKIN' SWEET: An Evening with Family Guy's Alex Borstein & Seth MacFarlane to Benefit the Actors Fund and the WGA East Strike Fund at the legendary Carnegie Hall. This one-night-only evening of music and comedy will include wild renditions of pop anthems, musical theater numbers, and a special guest appearance by the incomparable PATTI LUPONE and JANEANE GAROFALO. Who knows? Maybe your favorite FAMILY GUY characters will stop by for a song or two.

Warning: this production contains adult language and situations that may not be suitable for all ages. Recommended for mature audiences only.

Get tickets for 25% off by visiting carnegiehall.org and using code WGA6020. Or CALL CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 and use code WGA6020 (available 7 days a week, 8am-8pm).

"TV TAKES THE STAGE": A benefit weekend of original, short theatre written exclusively by striking TV writers. Participants include writers from Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Cold Case, My So-Called Life, CSI, Tell Me You Love Me, Law & Order, Sex & The City, The Wire, and more! ALL PROFITS from the event go to the Motion Picture and Television Fund to benefit non-writers being financially affected by the strike. Jan 31st - Feb 3rd at The Macha Theatre. Tickets are now available at Plays411, or by calling the reservation hotline at 323.960.1052.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1:
"BANDAID": A Musical Tribute to Benefit the Industry Support Fund. No cover charge. Cash bar. Donations graciously accepted at the door for the Industry Support Fund. NO ONE TURNED AWAY FOR LACK OF FUNDS. Featuring INCENDIO, THE POSSIBILITIES, LILI HAYDN, and cabaret chanteuse and WGA member, SHELLY GOLDSTEIN. 6:30 pm - 10:30 pm at Busby's East, 5364 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, 90036.

iO WEST PRESENTS "TALK SHOW: THE TALK SHOW": Hosted by WGA members Jordan Rubin (The Man Show, Crank Yankers) and Brent Bradshow (The Andy Milonakis Show), "Talk Show: The Talk Show" is donating proceeds to the WGA Industry Support Fund. On Friday February 1st, special guests will be John Landis (director, "Animal House," "Trading Places," "Thriller," "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project"), Andy Kindler ("Everybody Loves Raymond"), and Anthony Jesselnik (standup). 11PM at 6366 Hollywood Blvd. For tickets call 323-962-7560. Check out the website at iowest.com.

HOLLYWOOD WRITERS TAKE THE STAGE AT iO WEST IN HOLLYWOOD: WGA Member Brett Paesel (Mr. Show with Bob and Dave) will take the stage with fellow writers Bob Odenkirk (Saturday Night Live), Dana Gould (The Simpsons) and Jeff Garlin (Curb Your Enthusiasm) in a show called "Hardly Working" as they share their clever and hilarious wordsmithing on a multitude of subjects. Half the box goes to the WGA Industry Support Fund. 8pm at 6366 Hollywood Blvd. For tickets call 323-962-7560. Check out the website at iowest.com.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 4:
iO WEST ARMANDO NIGHT WITH KATE WALSH AND MORE: Kate Walsh (Private Practice, Gray's Anatomy) and Reno 911 creator and star Robert Ben Garant will host the 3-act, 2 ½ hour improv extravaganza. Garant (along with partner Thomas Lennon) is a top screenwriter, having written the hits The Pacifier, Herbie:Fully Loaded, Balls of Fury, Night at the Museum, and the upcoming Night at the Museum 2. The Office’s Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, and Ed Helms as well as MADtv’s Mo Collins will be joining the cast of regular “Armando” performers including Tim Meadows (Walk Hard, SNL) for this incredible night with more special celebrity performers to be announced in the upcoming days. All proceeds go to the WGA Industry Support Fund. Tickets for this special show are $25. The show starts at 9pm. iO West is located at 6366 Hollywood Blvd. For tickets call 323-962-7560. Check out the website at iowest.com.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 6:
SCI FI CHANNEL DAY FOR FANS & WRITERS: Jaime Paglia, co-creator of "Eureka" is inviting fans to join the writers, producers and cast members from Sci Fi Channel's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, EUREKA, FLASH GORDON, PAINKILLER JANE, and others for a rally at NBC Studios. 12 noon - 2 pm at NBC STUDIOS, 3000 W. Alameda Ave, Burbank, CA.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12:
STUDENT SOLIDARITY DAY: Film school and college film program students will join us on the picket lines at Paramount and NBC Burbank from 12 noon - 3 pm.

Letter to SAG Members -- Weaknesses in the DGA Deal

This letter was just sent out to SAG members by Doug Allen (Executive Director and Chief Negotiator) and Allen Rosenberg (President). Emphases in red are from us at UH -- LK.

Dear SAG Member:

Everyone hopes the WGA strike will end with a fair deal for the writers. There has been much speculation about the impact on the WGA strike of the tentative agreement between the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the employers' representative, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Some have rushed to anoint their deal as the “solution” for the entertainment industry. We believe that assessment is premature.

All we know of the deal are the general terms described in a joint AMPTP/DGA press release. That press release leaves many important questions unanswered. Apparently, many elements of this deal remain unresolved and/or have not been reduced to writing.

The DGA press release suggests progress in some areas, but until the details are known, that is only speculation. Several examples: The formula for new media “electronic sell through (paid downloads or EST)” is based on the higher distributor’s gross revenues, rather than producer’s gross revenues, but the definition of distributor’s gross is vague and not sufficient to protect against manipulation by the employers. Also, information regarding employer “deals and data” will be available to the DGA to monitor distributor’s gross and paid downloads on the Internet, but the press release does not detail what data, who provides the data, and what happens if the data is not provided. The devil is in the details. In the tri-guild audits under the current guilds’ collective bargaining agreements (including the DGA’s), for example, some audits are still open after eight years, because of problems with enforcement under current contract language.

Some have suggested that the new DGA deal contains a “fair market value” test for revenues included in the new media residuals calculation, to protect against self-dealing when one part of a conglomerate sells new media content to another part of the conglomerate at an unfair, low price in order to reduce residuals. We hope this is true, but the press release does not use “arms-length transaction” or “fair market value test” language, and says only, “If our exhibitor or retailer is part of the producer’s corporate family, (DGA has) improved provisions for challenging any suspect transactions.” This language could mean anything, and certainly does not guarantee against self-dealing by media conglomerates to hurt creative talent.

Fair market value and distributor’s gross are two issues that the AMPTP demanded that the WGA take off the table, along with four other items, which resulted in talks breaking off in December. Now after prolonging the strike for another month, the AMPTP has negotiated these two issues with the DGA.

That is the good news. There are also even more serious problems with other provisions described in the DGA press release, particularly those involving new media. For example, why are residuals for electronic sell-through (paid downloads or EST) for directors based on their lower DVD formula (.3%) rather than the higher pay TV formula (1.2%) in their current agreement? All three guilds – SAG, WGA, and DGA – filed for arbitration to overturn management’s attempt to impose the DVD formula for residuals on the calculation of residuals for downloads under the current agreement. The DGA stated in their arbitration filings that payment of the lower amount is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement and the proper residual formula is the higher pay TV percentage. The concession by the DGA in the new deal, to use the formula that management improperly imposed under the current agreement, is an AMPTP roll-back. The new agreed-upon percentages for television (.7%) or feature films (.65%) are much lower in the DGA deal than the percentage that the DGA claims is appropriate in its arbitration (1.2%). And these “increases”, which are based on the discredited DVD formula, do not increase residuals on the sale of DVD’s, but only apply to downloads; despite the fact that DVD’s will generate billions in revenue to the studios and networks for years to come.

The very high thresholds in the DGA deal for full jurisdiction for made for new media content may well incentivize non-union work below the threshold amounts ($15, 000/minute, $300,000/program, $500,000/series, whichever is lower). What will stop the industry from making cheap, non-union pilots at below $300,000 per episode, for testing first on the Internet before the productions migrate to broadcast or basic cable?

Your Guild has signed 210 Internet producers to SAG contracts in the past two years and only seven of them (or 3%) would fall inside the high DGA jurisdictional thresholds. We have worked hard, just as we do with low budget features, to capture this Internet work and to make sure it is done union. This DGA proposal appears to abandon jurisdiction over a huge swath of actual Internet productions, which we currently cover.

This deal gingerly addresses certain issues now, with the apparent hope that in three years or more, revenues will grow and the agreement can be improved to capture more of it. Bargaining history in the entertainment industry, however, teaches that it is much harder to get a fair share of revenue after management puts it in their pockets for years. Residual compensation should be based on a fair share of revenue generated by covered content from the first dollar. Rather than a “percentage of revenue, payment from first dollar” approach to residuals, the DGA deal instead provides for a 17 day window for free streaming of television programs over the Internet without compensation (24 days for the program’s first season). The deal also allows a one year buy-out of $1200 for Internet use v. $20,000 for one re-run on broadcast television.

For these specific reasons, and because so much of the new DGA/AMPTP deal is unknown, no one should assume this new deal is a template for anyone else, certainly not for actors. It is up to the leadership and membership of the DGA to decide if their new deal with the studios and networks is acceptable, but whatever they decide, their decision will not determine what will be satisfactory for the leadership and membership of Screen Actors Guild. Each guild must act in the best interest of its own membership, including rejecting management-imposed “pattern bargaining.”

In solidarity,

Alan Rosenberg, President
Doug Allen, Executive Director and Chief Negotiator

Phil Alden Robinson: DGA Deal Vs. WGA Needs

This was submitted by Phil Alden Robinson, writer-director-producer, and member of both the WGA and the DGA.

While we anxiously await the results of the "informal talks", I've been doing some hard thinking about the DGA deal. There's quite a bit in there to be pleased with - deal points that should serve us well in the future, and that never would have been achieved without our strike. But there are also a few things in there that, in my opinion, just don't work for us, and quickly need to be improved.

First, there's nothing in the DGA deal relating to Separated Rights, since directors don't get them. Only writers do. I think everyone agrees it's mandatory we shore up these rights in New Media. Our negotiators are working on this as we speak.

Next, there's Jurisdiction. The DGA deal establishes budget figures below which they can employ non-union directors (and, ostensibly, writers). Unfortunately, these figures are way too high. Higher even than our current Pay Cable budget thresholds. Virtually all of today's made-for-Internet production fall well below these numbers, so if we want to cover made-for-Internet production, we need to fix those numbers. And our negotiators are working on that, too.

And then, there's the Ad-Supported Streaming proposal. The companies are suggesting that they be allowed to stream TV shows on the internet for free during a lengthy window, after which they can re-run the show as much as they want for a year and pay the writer $1200. When the DGA proposal was announced, a former WGA president released an email praising this proposal. Those were the last kind words I've heard about it.

Since then, I have read scores and scores of emails, received countless phone calls, and spoken to an ocean of writers on picket lines, and I have not heard one person say they liked this provision. Not one. Reaction has ranged from "We need to improve that" to "It totally sucks". Everyone I know wants that proposal improved by a lot. And with good reason.

The entire philosophy of our efforts as they relate to New Media has been "If you make money, we make money." That's why we proposed a percentage residual, not a fixed residual. Under a percentage residual, we stand to do well if they make a fortune, but we also might make nothing at all. Frankly, I'll take that risk every time.

Because under a fixed residual, the companies can make huge amounts of money, and buy us off with pocket change. That's the mistake we made in the 80s, and we must never make that mistake again.

Now, a few people have suggested that this is a TV writer's issue, and that screenwriters have no real stake in it. Well, I personally will probably never see a penny from ad-supported streaming of TV shows. So maybe it's in my economic interest for us to cave on this point so I can go back to work. I sure as hell want to get back to work, and, truth be told, I need to.

But here's my problem: I believe in unionism. I know that I have profited handsomely throughout my career from the sacrifices of previous generations of WGA members. I have a Health Plan, a Pension Plan, minimums, and residuals because writers who came before me stood together for the common good. It wasn't easy for them - it cost them dearly - but they did it, and we're much the better for it.

So if TV writers - who stand to win or lose a lot depending on how hard we push on this issue - say they cannot accept this part of the DGA proposal, then I can't either.

The good news is, our negotiators are working hard on this one, too, and I believe they could use our help. We need to let them know - loudly and clearly - how we feel. They are only as strong as we are, and now is the most crucial time to show our strength.

It's my strong conviction that if an unaltered DGA deal were put before our membership for a vote today, it would fail resoundingly. I'm not sure the companies fully grok this yet. If they insist on trying to shove this deal down our throats without improvements, this strike will not end anytime soon.

But if they come to understand that we won't accept it without adjustments that serve the specific needs of writers, this whole thing can end pretty quickly. That's why I'm convinced that the fastest way to end these negotiations successfully is for us to vocally and visually support our negotiators.

Make some noise.

phil robinson

If you'd like to let the leadership know how you feel about getting a deal that meets writers' needs email AFarriday@wga.org, and she'll send your thoughts on to the leadership and NegComm.

Speechless #34: Interim Athreement

The latest from "Speechless" starring, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Zoe Kazan, Allyson Sereboff and Diana Paschal.


See all the "Speechless" videos:
Brightcove (hi-res)
YouTube (low-res)

Readathon Benefits Industry Support Fund

This article was submitted by WGA member Michael Arkof. It runs today in Writers: On The Line, a weekly print newsletter distributed at picket locations.

AND A CHILD SHALL READ THEM

Sabrina Batchler didn’t write the book on supporting the WGA strike, but she is reading one. Lots of them, actually. The eleven year-old is conducting a Read-a-thon to raise money for the Writers Guild Foundation, to help people put out of work by the strike.

The idea originated with Sabrina’s mother, writer Janet Batchler, who said she got the notion over the winter break. Since then, her daughter has read five books, going on six, for a total of about a thousand pages. By collecting pledges for her tireless reading, Sabrina has managed to raise more than a thousand dollars in contributions.

“Sabrina loves to read and was interested in the strike from the very beginning,” said Batchler, “So I thought why not combine the two.” Batchler explained that Read-a-thon pledges vary. Some pledge a penny per page, others pledge per book, while still others give a donation per month of reading.

In between turning the pages, Sabrina keeps a blog and sends out emails to her sponsors, updating them on the number of pages she’s read. The sponsors then mail out checks to the Foundation, which in turn allocates the funds to one of two locations (based on the pledge’s choice): the Industry Support Fund or the Actor’s Fund. (Ed. note: both these Funds are for non-writers who are out of work because of the strike.)

You might guess that Sabrina Batchler’s determination to help out writers stems from her own desire to become a writer someday. Not so, said the 5th grader. “I want to be a fashion designer rock star.”

This week in Sabrina’s elementary school, an announcement will go out to the entire student body advertising the Read-a-thon idea and asking other students to join. To enroll a child as a reader or to make a pledge, go to Sabrina's blog for more information.

Our thanks to Sabrina and all those like her who continue to help fundraise for non-WGA members affected by the strike. Her determination is inspiring.

Rumor Mill on Overdrive

Yes, we are hearing the same rumors you're hearing. Repeat: rumors. And last time we all got too excited by such unsubstantiated expectations, well, you know.

So as you get your third email and/or phone call from the guy who knows somebody who talked to the woman who heard from a person "who knows people who know," take a deep breath and read Ray Richmond's column yesterday on The Huffington Post. An excerpt:

With the settlement rumors again flying fast, we are left to question the precise source of said scuttlebutt. Here is one undeniably pessimistic and hardcore but I believe at least semi-plausible theory:

The studios make a deal with the Directors Guild, whose residual guarantees don't come close to matching what the WGA is seeking. A producer rep circulates around the idea that things are looking up and informal talks have commenced. There is a resumption of in-person bargaining, followed quickly by an abrupt break-off and the usual angry recriminations along the lines of "So it seems those arrogant bastard writers think they're worth more than the directors!" and "We held out an olive branch and they ripped it to shreds!". The producers still have done nothing to move the talks forward -- or in truth even start them -- yet can seize the moral high ground. The WGA side will have been lured into a trap. The premise postulates that the studios have zero interest in ever coming to a reasoned agreement but are instead moving resolutely forward on a campaign of solidarity splintering and ultimate guild destruction.

Mind you, this conspiratorial scenario could be 100% (OK, 98%) off-base. An accord might conceivably come today and I'd be exposed as an alarmist whack job -- a development which I would applaud enthusiastically, if slightly sheepishly. We have, after all, seen an increasing trickle of independent production companies breaking ranks and signing their own pacts with the WGA, a list that now includes a couple of heavyweights like Lionsgate, Marvel and the Weinstein Co. Still, there remains unbending unity among the only guys who count: Disney, Warner Bros., Fox, et al.

But let's end here on a buoyant note, shall we? It's a gorgeous January day. The town is buzzing. The writers are picketing. The air is pregnant with possibility. And if you listen really hard, you can make out the glorious sound of thawing ice. On the other hand, that could also just be the moguls rubbing their hands together.

Is the above the worst case and an admittedly "pessimistic" scenario? You bet. Just as all the rumors flying fast and furious the last 24 hours are of the rose-colored glasses variety. So stay calm and wait until we have facts instead of getting too high or low based on a text message based on an anonymous blog post based on a tip from "a guy who knows a guy who talked to a guy."

Rumors, Facts, Picketing and Leverage

We've had the phones ringing off the hook today, with people telling us they've heard that "a deal is imminent" and "both sides have agreed to the deal points." This rumor has picked up so much steam in such a short time that it's a little scary.

We're in a news blackout. So we can't get confirmation or denial from the WGA. But here's what we do know: last time we all got excited about a rumor that a deal was about to be reached, it turned out to be untrue, and the collective damage done to our morale was considerable.

So here are a few things to factor in:

• SAG just reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the WGA last night. Patric Verrone stood onstage at the SAG Awards with Alan Rosenberg. Several actors weighed in supporting writers, and Rosenberg himself said: "The strike is about protecting the next generation so they can continue to create, continue to give great performances that can be rewarded."
  


• The companies know that if they can't negotiate a deal with us, there will be no Oscars, because of SAG's support.
  
  
• It's possible that good-faith negotiations are going on right now; but because of the news blackout, if the congloms were stalling (as they have in the past,) we wouldn't have any way of knowing about it.

So we would argue it's dangerous to assume either way, because we don't have the facts.

The last time we got our hopes up, frankly, they were dashed. Let's not forget it. Buying into blind optimism -- and it's "blind" because we're in an information vacuum -- is a dangerous thing to do.

But while we don't know what's going on in the negotiating room, we can still directly influence it. Negotiations succeed or fail due to leverage, applied at the right time and in the right places.

SAG has given us more power with their support; and every day that we show up on the lines, and keep up the blogging and the publicity and the determination publicly to get a fair deal for our work, we hand power to the men and women negotiating for us in that room.

That is the best way to end this strike quickly.

Our advice: ignore the rumors. Keep up the pressure. Because that pressure is the only thing that's going to get us, SAG or anyone else in this town a fair deal.

Congloms Stocks Drop; Network Ratings Fall As Original Content Runs Dry

As per AOL Money & Finance:

Disney, CBS, GE, Time Warner, News Corp. and Viacom are all officially underperforming the Dow.

The green line on the chart above (ticker symbol $INDU) is the Dow Jones Index. The graph shows stock price performance relative to the Dow Jones since Nov. 2, the last trading day before the strike.

We're aware that many, many variables affect stock price performance; a whole industry is built around the complexity of those variables.

That said, we're simply pointing out the fact that, although the larger Dow is inarguably down, the conglomerates' stock prices have underperformed even further than the average, on a timeline that lines up with the strike. Even this Marketwatch article, which attributes the media companies' losses in part to recession fears, also points out the damage being done by the WGA strike.

According to the Neilsen numbers, ratings for the major networks have dropped in the advertiser-critical 18-49 demographic (excluding sports).

Ratings for the week ending Jan 20:

ABC -35%, CBS -27%, FOX -3%, NBC -17%

Season-to-date ratings:

ABC -14%, CBS -20%, FOX -3%, NBC -16%

Elisberg: Cieply View Of WGA "Different Than The Reality"

Robert J. Elisberg, who writes the regular WGA Strike Primer columns on The Huffington Post, responds below to Michael Cieply's recent article in the New York Times entitled, Writers Strike Tests Mettle of 2 Outsiders.

Last week, Michael Cieply wrote once-again about his perception of “fissures” in the Writers Guild. It’s a theme of his. Back during the 1988 WGA strike he specialized in writing about such “fissures” for another paper. There was a very organized, though small group then, Union Blues: they made a great deal of noise, and in the end, that’s all they did. Mr. Cieply then took time off to become a producer at Sony Studios. And now, he is again writing about his perceived fissures in the Writers Guild.

Most recently, on Friday, he took it from a different angle, describing the “outsiders” leading the Writers Guild, president Patric Verrone and executive director David Young. The clear implication being that “outsiders” are out of touch with Real Writers.

Mr. Cieply disparagingly paints the successful Mr. Verrone as a “sporadically busy comedy writer” whose law degree “has seen him through the rough spots between jobs.” Firstly, all writers are sporadically busy with rough spots. All. (Okay, except Stephen King.) Second, being Guild president is a full-time job – imagine it during a strike. And third, that Patric Verrone juggles TV writing with the law should be a badge of honor. Would Mr. Cieply tar Scott Turow for being a “writer with a law degree that has seen him through the rough spots”? Mr. Turow hasn’t had a book published in over a year. Thank goodness he has his law job to fall back on.

As for David Young, Mr. Cieply dismisses his expertise by a patronizing description as a former “plumber.” (Actually, it’s worse – a “plumber turned hard-bitten labor organizer.” Like he was so embittered working on toilets, he decided to rile up the hordes.) David Young has built a credentialed, admired 20-year career and is a labor leader. No doubt Mr. Cieply would not expect to be himself described as a “grocery stock boy turned cynical muckraker.”

Worse though was when Mr. Cieply went to psychologists and sociologists to actually analyze Mr. Verrone and Young. It was shameful, playing into the AMPTP strike tactic of painting the opposition as crazy. If Mr. Cieply wanted to at least be fair and wanted to analyze someone to discover if they're actual sociopaths, honestly he should have tried the CEOs of the AMPTP companies. Imagine the field day analysts could have had with Rupert Murdoch or Sumner Redstone.

Yet it was all just the latest in Michael Cieply’s ongoing career-pattern of trying to show fissures in the Writers Guild. As noted, it was the specific topic in his article the week before. Yet there is no organized vocal dissent in the WGA as I write this. None. Let him point it out. The best Mr. Cieply could do to show this supposed-“fissure” in the 12,000 member Writers Guild is to quote from one email sent to 30 people from someone working towards his first credit. Yipes, horrors. He also quotes from the only screenwriter in the entire WGA who has gone financial-core during the strike.

But he reached journalistic depths by referring to 50 anonymous “prominent” screenwriters who have formed a “network of dissent.” This old rumor is a long-known hoax. A highly-credited WGA board member laughingly notes that he doesn’t even know of 50 A-list writers – adding that every one he’d contacted had never heard of any organized dissent group.

It would be foolish to say there is no dissent during a strike. There should be. And writers dissent for breakfast on a good day. But the WGA world continually painted by Michael Cieply, from “fissures” and “outsiders” to his infamous depiction of writers in scarves and designer glasses, remains different than the reality. It’s a reality of angry support based on the understanding by most writers that to accept what the AMPTP corporations initially offered would destroy the Writers Guild, ultimately destroy the Screen Actors Guild, and in the end destroy Hollywood.

TV Residuals and the DGA Deal: A SAG Perspective

The following was submitted by SAG board member and regular U.H. contributor Justine Bateman.

Remember how at the beginning of the WGA's negotiations, the CEOs made a threat about getting rid of residuals? Well, by my reading, the DGA deal does that for TV.

Are you ready to trade an entire year's worth of TV residuals for a one-time fee of $1,200?

Currently, writers and directors both make approximately $20,000 for the first prime-time rerun of an hour-long episode. The residual gradually decreases on any later reruns (if the writer or director is lucky enough to get more reruns). So the directors' deal potentially gives up 97% of the first prime-time residual while the corporations can "rerun" their work infinitely over an entire year.

It seems to me that if the DGA formula for streaming is ratified, the networks will be on a fast track to never, ever rerun our work on broadcast TV.

The DGA formula is based on current fixed residuals, not upon any measure of online revenue. And experts predict that that revenue will more than double over next three years. Today, advertising online doesn't begin to match that of conventional TV, but as ad dollars shift to the Web, why would the companies rerun content when they can stream it?

If this residual formula is accepted by the WGA or (god forbid!) SAG, I bet you will see more fiber optics get installed by the communications companies. The corporations will want everybody in the country to have the highest speed Internet so they can deliver everything over broadband.

And this isn't some vague future -- IPTV, with a set-top box that streams content directly from computer to your tv, is expanding market share right now, most notably in Europe and Asia, and is already the way many people watch tv -- it's replacing broadcast tv, but viewers still use their same tv set and see the same shows.

IPTV, and services like it, are exploding in popularity right now. And under the terms of the DGA deal, what people using IPTV see on their tv looks like a rerun -- but contractually, it's streaming.

I fear the DGA formula will, in one swoop, cancel out every single residual stride that older members sacrificed to gain in the 1960's. That would be shameful.

It's been said -- I personally have said it many times -- that this moment is like the dawn of television in the sense that the responsibility falls on us to establish the rates and terms under which we will work. But I'm sure the corporations have said the same thing themselves... in the sense that when TV began there were no residuals.

Content creators have lost millions upon millions on that twenty-year-old DVD deal, but at least we could make a decent living under the minimums for TV and film production plus residual payments for TV re-use. It's vitally important we get Internet re-use terms right. The Internet is not a "supplemental market," it's where we are all going to work. By my rough estimate, the formula that pays writers and directors $1200 would translate into $99 for actors.

And we can forget about international residuals too. The Internet is "international." And what about syndication market residuals? After a show has had its run in prime time, "syndication" will likely mean web sites. The health and pension contributions that BTL crew members in the DGA depend upon will gradually go away as there will be no residuals to support them. And I understand the pension and health over at IATSE is 60% supported by residuals. When that contribution disappears, crew members will have virtually no insurance or pension.

The above scenario is NOT a legacy for which I want to be responsible.

I urge all DGA, WGA and SAG members to look in their books for 2007. How much of your income consisted of residuals? Now ask yourself if you could get by if that number were reduced by 97%.

Just ask yourself that, and come back and tell everyone you want that deal.

-Justine

United Hollywood Live

Tune in for another edition of the only show in Hollywood that actually hopes every broadcast is its last, United Hollywood Live (12 pm Pacific/3 pm Eastern).

Today, we'll be broadcasting from Fox and the WGA/SAG Solidarity Day march.

Join the live chat interface by CLICKING HERE (or by using the widget located along the right hand side of UnitedHollywood.com). The show, which airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday, is also available as a podcast immediately after each broadcast via the widget and on iTunes (search: United Hollywood).

SAG Awards Honor Achievement and Solidarity

United Hollywood extends its congratulations to all the winners of last night's SAG Awards and thanks all those who supported the WGA during their remarks.

- Read the official SAG press release about last night's ceremony.
- Coverage from the New York Times and from David Carr, aka "The Carpetbagger."
- A photo gallery from the LA Times.

And don't forget to stop by the SAG/WGA Unity rally at Fox today! Organized by the WGA Union Solidarity Committee and the Women's Committees of SAG and WGA.

Location: Fox Studios, 10201 W Pico Blvd, 90064

Shifts: 7-10 AM, 10 - 1 PM, 1 - 4 PM
Special SAG participation from 12 - 3 PM

Sign-ins: Motor Gate and Galaxy intersection (at Ave of the Stars).

Parking:
· Free four-hour parking in the parking lot at the park right off Motor (200 yards from Fox).
· Two-hour parking on Motor and side streets south and west of Fox.
· Pay parking at Century City Mall.

Bathrooms: Public bathrooms in the building halfway up the parking lot at the park.

Be Safe! Traffic on Pico and Motor is very heavy -- stay out of the street. Cross intersections only with the lights, and watch for turning cars. Step all the way up on the curb when the light has changed. Be particularly careful when passing Gate 3, where cars come in very fast.

Thanks to Fox Picket Coordinator Ashley Gable.

Strike Wars Video Picked Up By "Wired"

"Wired" Blog Network has picked up one of our favorite entries to the FairDeal4Writers Contest -- Strike Wars.

It was created by supporter Rubberpoultry from Ohio, with some pretty impressive effects work and a truly epic storytelling sense.



Enjoy the satire. We all need to be able to laugh once in a while.

John Sayles Talks Labor, Movies and the Strike

Over at HuffPo, writer-director John Sayles gives an interview with Bob Eisele about unions, the entertainment industry, the strike and how the changing world of Internet delivery is intersecting with the consolidation of huge corporations:

What we have today are fewer unionized workers, especially if you don't count public service workers, than you've ever had before. And the movie industry is one of the most unionized industries left. I feel a lot of what this strike is about is corporations looking at their entertainment division and saying, "What's the deal here? As the paradigm changes, can't we turn this into Wal-Mart?"

Read the whole conversation here.

Benefits and Events

MONDAY JANUARY 28:
WGA/SAG UNITY DAY: Monday, January 28, 2008 - Fox Studios -10201 West Pico (& Motor). Picket shifts are 7-10 AM; 10 AM – 1 PM; 1 – 4 PM. Dual WGA/SAG members are encouraged to attend 12-3 PM shift as available. Sponsored by the WGA Union Solidarity Committee and the Women’s Committees of SAG and WGA.

iO WEST ARMANDO WITH BOB ODENKIRK: Actor, comedian, writer, and director Bob Odenkirk is set to host the Armando show Monday night, January 28 at 9:00 PM at iO WEST in Hollywood. Odenkirk, a former writer for Saturday Night Live, starred in Mr. Show With Bob and David, and recently directed The Brothers Solomon. He will appear in The Armando Show as part of iO WEST’s month-long series of WGA benefit shows, and the theater will be donating half its box office proceeds to the WGA Industry Support Fund. For tickets and info. call 323-962-7560. Check out the website at iowest.com.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 30:
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS WALK THE LINE: Northwestern University Alumni (otherwise known as the "NU Mafia") are cordially invited to join their fellow writers, actors and other supporters, Wednesday, January 30, from 11:30-2:30 PM, at NBC Burbank. Scheduled to attend: Perry Rein, Maria Ferrari, John Lehr and many more to be announced.

THURSDAY JANUARY 31:
AFSCME PICKET AT UCLA: UC workers’ contract expires Jan 31 with no agreement in sight. Join hundreds of custodians, food service workers, nursing assistants, medical assistants and techs to support their effort for fairness and respect. Thursday, January 31, 12 NOON, at UCLA Medical Center (Westwood Boulevard and Jules Stein Plaza).

TMA SOLIDARITY: The Talent Managers Association will be picketing in solidarity with us at NBC Burbank from 12 pm - 3 pm.

"TV TAKES THE STAGE": A benefit weekend of original, short theatre written exclusively by striking TV writers. Participants include writers from Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Cold Case, My So-Called Life, CSI, Tell Me You Love Me, Law & Order, Sex & The City, The Wire, and more! ALL PROFITS from the event go to the Motion Picture and Television Fund to benefit non-writers being financially affected by the strike. Jan 31st - Feb 3rd at The Macha Theatre. Tickets are now available at Plays411, or by calling the reservation hotline at 323.960.1052.


FREAKIN' SWEET: An Evening with Family Guy's Alex Borstein & Seth MacFarlane to Benefit the Actors Fund and the WGA East Strike Fund at the legendary Carnegie Hall. This one-night-only evening of music and comedy will include wild renditions of pop anthems, musical theater numbers, and a special guest appearance by the incomparable PATTI LUPONE and JANEANE GAROFALO. Who knows? Maybe your favorite FAMILY GUY characters will stop by for a song or two.

Warning: this production contains adult language and situations that may not be suitable for all ages. Recommended for mature audiences only.

Get tickets for 25% off by visiting carnegiehall.org and using code WGA6020. Or CALL CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 and use code WGA6020 (available 7 days a week, 8am-8pm).

TEACHING THURSDAYS AT WARNER BROS: Every Thursday writers of various genres are invited to join us at Gate 2 at Warner Bros, making themselves available to discuss story, structure and everything in between. This Thursday will be focused on multi-camera comedies. 9 AM-12 PM, Warner Bros Gate 2. For more info email Priya at http://wbteachingthursdays@gmail.com.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1:
"BANDAID": A Musical Tribute to Benefit the Industry Strike Fund. No cover charge. Cash bar. Donations graciously accepted at the door for the Industry Strike Fund. NO ONE TURNED AWAY FOR LACK OF FUNDS. Featuring INCENDIO, THE POSSIBILITIES, LILI HAYDN, and cabaret chanteuse and WGA member, SHELLY GOLDSTEIN. 6:30 pm - 10:30 pm at Busby's East, 5364 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, 90036.

HOLLYWOOD WRITERS TAKE THE STAGE AT iO WEST IN HOLLYWOOD: WGA Member Brett Paesel (Mr. Show with Bob and Dave) will take the stage with fellow writers Bob Odenkirk (Saturday Night Live), Dana Gould (The Simpsons) and Jeff Garlin (Curb Your Enthusiasm) in a show called "Hardly Working" as they share their clever and hilarious wordsmithing on a multitude of subjects. Half the box goes to the WGA Industry Support Fund. 8pm at 6366 Hollywood Blvd. For tickets call 323-962-7560. Check out the website at iowest.com.

iO WEST PRESENTS "TALK SHOW: THE TALK SHOW": Hosted by WGA members Jordan Rubin (The Man Show, Crank Yankers) and Brent Bradshow (The Andy Milonakis Show), "Talk Show: The Talk Show" is donating proceeds to the WGA Industry Support Fund. On Friday February 1st, special guests will be John Landis (director, "Animal House," "Trading Places," "Thriller," "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project"), Andy Kindler ("Everybody Loves Raymond"), and Anthony Jesselnik (standup). 11pm at 6366 Hollywood Blvd. For tickets call 323-962-7560. Check out the website at iowest.com.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 4:
iO WEST ARMANDO NIGHT WITH KATE WALSH AND MORE: Kate Walsh (Private Practice, Gray's Anatomy) and Reno 911 creator and star Robert Ben Garant will host the 3-act, 2 ½ hour improv extravaganza. Garant (along with partner Thomas Lennon) is a top screenwriter, having written the hits The Pacifier, Herbie:Fully Loaded, Balls of Fury, Night at the Museum, and the upcoming Night at the Museum 2. The Office’s Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, and Ed Helms as well as MADtv’s Mo Collins will be joining the cast of regular “Armando” performers including Tim Meadows (Walk Hard, SNL) for this incredible night with more special celebrity performers to be announced in the upcoming days. All proceeds go to the WGA Industry Support Fund. Tickets for this special show are $25. The show starts at 9pm. iO West is located at 6366 Hollywood Blvd. For tickets call 323-962-7560. Check out the website at iowest.com.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 6:
SCI FI CHANNEL DAY FOR FANS & WRITERS: Jaime Paglia, co-creator of "Eureka" is inviting fans to join the writers, producers and cast members from Sci Fi Channel's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, EUREKA, FLASH GORDON, PAINKILLER JANE, and others for a rally at NBC Studios. 12 noon - 2 pm at NBC STUDIOS, 3000 W. Alameda Ave, Burbank, CA.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12:
STUDENT SOLIDARITY DAY: Film school and college film program students will join us on the picket lines at Paramount and NBC Burbank from 12 noon - 3 pm.

Monday: WGA/SAG Unity Rally

This was sent yesterday to WGAW members:

Dear WGAW Members,

As you know, we are currently meeting informally with the companies under a news blackout. However, we would like to take this opportunity to urge you to attend this Monday’s WGA-SAG Unity Day picket at Fox Studios in Century City. More info here.

This joint WGA-SAG picket event will once again demonstrate to the entertainment industry, the local community, and nation our continued support, solidarity, and shared commitment between the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild to reach a fair and reasonable deal as soon as possible to put the entire town back to work.

Spotlighting the essential collaboration and mutual interests of both writers and actors, not only to create quality work but define and secure our primary role in the future of entertainment, this WGA-SAG Unity Day reminds us that the core issues currently on the bargaining table are vital and important to all creative artists, including writers, actors, and directors, whether they work in front of or behind the camera.

A good turnout from both Guilds will illustrate our combined strength and solidarity to show that both our memberships stand behind the WGA's collective bargaining goals and our Negotiating Committee.

We invite you to join us this Monday, as we’re all in this together.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone
WGAW President

John Bowman
Chair, WGA Negotiating Committee

David Young
WGAW Executive Director & Chief Negotiator

WGA/SAG Unity Day

Monday, January 28, 2008
Fox Studios
10201 West Pico (& Motor)

Picket shifts are 7-10 AM; 10 AM – 1 PM; 1 – 4 PM
*Dual WGA/SAG members are encouraged to attend 12-3 PM shift as available.

Sponsored by the WGA Union Solidarity Committee
and the Women’s Committees of SAG and WGA

NBC Cancels Pilot Season... Forever?

NBC has announced that it is doing away with pilot season. The New York Times reported Wednesday that NBC Universal chief executive officer Jeff Zucker made the announcement during a videoconference from London with the company's international employees. Zucker's decision to eliminate pilot season is an effort to cut costs due to the writers strike and a slowdown in the economy. According to Zucker the cuts will reportedly save the company as much as $50 million a year. Zucker went on to say they may still occasionally produce a pilot or two each year, just not on a regular schedule.

This comes on the heels of rumors that GE may be looking to divest itself of NBC Universal during this year's second quarter.

Tony Gilroy: It Has to Be the Right Deal

WGAE member David Steven Cohen sent us this video of Tony Gilroy on the day he was nominated for two Oscars. (Congrats, Tony!)

Tony mentions the need to take a deep breath and not "blog the DGA deal to death." Alas, guilty as charged.

Overheard: We Love Our Grips

WGA member "Chris" sends this anecdote. -JA

I have a nice story from the line that will warm the heart:

We're at the CBS TV City main gate today, and it's raining, with big, slappy drops. There's maybe a dozen of us braving it out for The Cause, but only a couple umbrellas, meaning most of us are getting soaked. (Someone asked, "What's more unappealing than an unemployed writer? An unemployed wet writer.") Then a car drives up with a bag full of brand new rain ponchos. The guy handing them to our grateful selves says, "I'm a grip. So when you go back to work, just remember -- not all grips are dicks."

Duly noted.

Tom Fontana: Dear Jim

This email was written by WGA member Tom Fontana, creator of the HBO series "Oz." Last week, the Artful Writer reprinted an email written to "Jim" from John Wells, unedited. The email below has also been reprinted in unedited form.

Dear Jim,

Yes, I, too, was left breathless by John's letter. As always, he makes many very valid points.

But there are a couple items which still trouble me and a number of my writer friends.

1. The original content jurisdiction seems like smoke and mirrors -- how many TV series (made for Internet) in the next three years will have a budget of $500,000? The highest budget I've heard for a current production is $350,000.

Besides, when has a budget ever come before a script is written? That means while directors will be hired under a DGA contract after the script is done and the budget is set, we writers will have no union contract to protect us. Wouldn't it be better to require all AMPTP members to use a WGA contract no matter what the budget is?

2. Streaming rate confuses me, but I'm no economist (I barely passed high school math). The $1200 seems too little, especially because, despite the bright sunset provision on the horizon, we all know that after our patience over DVDs and cable, we will have to live with the concept of a flat rate for the next twenty years.

This won't hurt guys like John or me, because as showrunners, we are also owners. But I wonder how the staff writers and, worse, freelancers will cope. And I find the 17 day / 24 day window to be exploitive, sending us to the well when it has already run dry.

I want the strike to end soon, I'm desperate to get back to work on my new series, but I want a fair deal.

People say the continuation of the strike will destroy our industry. Well, if thats true, why are the studios so willing to bring on the Apocalypse? Maybe in three years we'll have more data about Internet revenue, but why can't we be true partners in the uncertainty?

I realize I will be blogged to death but, hey, I can take the hits -- I have WGA pension and health care.

-Tom Fontana

Lessons From 1988

This was submitted by WGA member Robert Eisele, who was present for both the strike in 1985 and the longer strike of 1988.

"Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it."
-- George Santayana, 1905

In 1988, writers endured a strike of nearly six months. In 2008, we are now approaching the halfway point of the length of that strike.

Although most Guild members in ’88 stood strong and united, the memory of our three week strike in ‘85 haunted us -- because in the '85 strike, largely because of a divisive group of anti-unionists in our midst called “the Union Blues,” we gave up, capitulating to what has become the hated VHS/DVD residual.

Those of us who walked the picket line in ’88 don’t remember disunity or weakness. We held our ranks. We didn’t win that strike, but we didn’t lose it either. We upped the foreign residual and stopped rollbacks during an era of union-busting and Reaganomics.

The Contract Adjustment Committee (C.A.C.) was a result of that strike. 88’s lengthy work stoppage traumatized the industry, and both sides wanted to find a better way. The Contract Adjustment Committee was convened with the intention of regular meetings and negotiations between management and the Guild, so strikes could be avoided.

Unfortunately, the C.A.C. was used by the studios to lull us into a torpor that slowly whittled away at our resolve and our MBA. The AMPTP, enticing us with the canard of “partnership,” found a way to screw us without giving us a kiss. That era ended only recently. And a new unity and strength was forged.

I think it’s a mistake to look back at the ’88 strike as a loss, however, or a capitulation. Good and courageous writers sacrificed a great deal in that strike. The demon in our history is the ’85 strike, where writers who may have meant well took actions that weakened all of us -- and harmed writers for decades to come. And the Contract Adjustment Committee that resulted from the ’88 strike, a child of hope and weariness, unfortunately didn’t work, and even diminished our stature.

So what lessons can we learn from this history to guide us in ’08? The obvious lesson is to stand strong and united. But the most important lesson can only be learned in the answer to this question: What do we want the legacy of this strike to be?

Our negotiating committee is working behind the veil of a media black-out for our greater interests. We are walking picket lines in the rain. The trade papers haunt us with apocryphal reports of a fi-core retreat. There is hope and anxiety because the future is still uncertain. This is the moment when we need to remember the words of our old pal, Shakespeare: “Adversity is ugly but wears a precious stone.”

What could make this adversity worth it? How about a contract that brings economic justice to our membership? Or a legacy of strength, not to intimidate our employers, but to insure and institutionalize a mutual respect?

We don’t need management to love our leadership, just to negotiate with us in good faith. Then, perhaps together, we can find a better way to deal with one another, perhaps even a real partnership, so that in three years we aren’t faced with economic war.

That would be a "precious stone" worth having.

Norman Mailer once said: “...it was more important to be a man than a very good writer, and that probably I could not become a very good writer unless I learned first how to keep my nerve."

We all have to keep our nerve, if we want the legacy of this strike to be something we can all look back on and say: "it was worth it."

Lionsgate, Marvel Studios Sign Interim Deals

The following two WGA press releases were sent to media today to announce that Lionsgate and Marvel Studios have both signed interim agreements with the Writers Guild.

LIONSGATE SIGNS INTERIM AGREEMENT WITH WRITERS GUILD

LOS ANGELES – Leading independent filmed entertainment studio Lionsgate is the latest company to sign an interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America. The company is one of the largest independent producers and distributors of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content.

The agreement is similar to the deals the WGA has recently announced with United Artists, The Weinstein Company, Worldwide Pants, Spyglass Entertainment, MRC, Jackson Bites, Mandate Films, and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.

“We are pleased Lionsgate has joined the growing number of companies that have signed interim agreements with the Writers Guild,” said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, and Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, in a joint statement. “Lionsgate is considered a leader in the industry, and its signing an interim agreement again confirms that it is possible for both writers to be compensated fairly and respectfully for their work and for companies to operate profitably.”

Upcoming Lionsgate films include Rambo, The Eye, Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, Forbidden Kingdom, My Best Friend's Girl, Punisher 2, Saw 5, and The Spirit. Upcoming television series include Weeds (Showtime, fourth season), Mad Men (AMC, second season), and Fear Itself (NBC, debut season).

WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA AND MARVEL STUDIOS ANNOUNCE INTERIM AGREEMENT

LOS ANGELES – Marvel Studios, a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc., and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced today that they have reached an interim comprehensive agreement that will put writers immediately back to work on the Marvel Studios development slate. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We’re very excited about our summer releases, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and look forward to resuming work with writers on our future projects including Captain America, Thor, Ant-Man, and The Avengers,” said Marvel Studios Chairman David Maisel.

“Marvel Studios’ signing of an interim agreement with the Writers Guild is more good news for our membership,” said WGAE President Michael Winship and WGAW President Patric M. Verrone. “Marvel is committed to fairly compensating their writers and now they can move forward with their planned production schedule.”

Marvel Studios recently launched its independent live-action film studio to develop, produce, and fully finance Marvel movies, which will include two of this summer’s most anticipated releases – Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man will be released by Paramount Pictures on May 2, 2008, and stars Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow. The Incredible Hulk, which will be released by Universal Pictures on June 13, 2008, is directed by Louis Leterrier and stars Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, and William Hurt. In cooperation with other studios, Marvel previously produced a long succession of hits, including the Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four franchises, Ghost Rider, and Daredevil.

The WGA recently entered into interim agreements with The Weinstein Company, United Artists, Lionsgate, Worldwide Pants, Spyglass Entertainment, MRC, Jackson Bites, Mandate Films, and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.

From Ron Moore

This piece was submitted by WGA member Ron Moore, creator of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica.

At this moment, informal talks are underway between representatives of the AMPTP and the leadership of the WGA. A news blackout is in effect and there will be precious little, if any, word leaking out from the talks and we’re all going to have to get by with rumor, speculation and the precious bits of information that come from Nikki Finke.

This is a moment of trust.

Trust in the people we elected to represent our interests, to fight for our rights and to safeguard our interests for the future.

The Guild leadership and the members of the Negotiating Committee have put themselves out in front, taken the ill-informed knocks from the media, the calculated slander from the studios, and the cajoling, bickering, and Monday-morning quarterbacking of some elements within the membership itself and yet they’ve never wavered from their goals of trying to achieve the best deal for all of us and for the writers who will follow in our footsteps.

The sheer number of arrows these people take on a daily basis on the internet alone rival the incoming fire at the Little Bighorn and it’s something of a miracle that not a single one of them has simply let loose in a tirade of vitriol and bile at their tormentors in some public forum. I’ve heard them accused of everything from seeking personal political gain to seeking to foment communist revolution over the course of the strike, but time and again they just keep coming back to the basic issues of fairness and justice in what they’re seeking for all of us.

They deserve our trust. And they damned well have earned it.

We can all sit around and bitch about how “we” would’ve handled the negotiations or about how “we” know what to do now, but the bottom line is that “we” aren’t in the hotseat and “we” haven’t spent the time and effort pouring over the endless details of the MBA for the last two years or immersed ourselves in the complexities of the emerging new media. The men and women on the negotiating committee and the board have put in the time, held themselves up to abuse and done the work that needed to be done.

Right now, we need to trust that they know what they’re doing and that they have the best interests of the membership in mind as they approach the new round of talks. Does that mean we have to rubber-stamp anything they want? Of course not. They’ll eventually be submitting something for us to vote up or vote down and we’ll have ample opportunity to debate the proposal on its merits. But now we need to give them the leeway to maneuver if they’re to be any real chance to get a good deal at the bargaining table.

The last thing we need is for writers to be bitching anonymously to the media (like Patrick Goldstein claimed in an incredibly slanted column this week) or, worse yet, for high-profile members (like a certain former president of the Guild) to be sending out public “letters” saying how the DGA deal is so great and putting public pressure on the negotiators to just take it already at the very moment they need to keep all their cards to themselves. It’s both foolish and self-destructive and they should all know better.

The leadership of the WGA did not trick us into a strike or stir up passions that did not exist. That 90% strike authorization vote made it abundantly clear that the leadership accurately reflected the very real sentiments of the members and there’s no call for any of us to suddenly start acting otherwise.

Hang tough. Trust our Guild leadership. And remember who the real opponent is out there.

- Ron Moore

Daily Show and Colbert Writers - Mock Debate in DC

Zach Pentel from CampusProgress.org sent us these videos. Check out their coverage of the event here.

Here's video of the mock debate in its entirety:


Some of the congress members' responses:


WGA Member Allison Abner, who helped organize the event wrote the following report:

The WGA had a great day in Washington yesterday. The event was hosted by Reps Nadler D-NY, Weiner D-NY, Schakowsky D-Ill, Watson D-CA. Each host put in a word in support of the striking writers and vowed to aid us should we need help with negotiations this go-round.

The highlight for Congressmen/women and their staffers was the standing-room only mock debate between the Daily Show and the Colbert Show writers. "Daily Show" writers Rob Kutner, Tim Carvell and Jason Ross represented the WGA. On the other side, in suits, was the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, played by "The Colbert Report" writers Michael Brumm, Peter Grosz and Tom Purcell. The debate was 'interrupted' by protesters (writers Kevin Blyer and Peter Gwinn) who were dragged out by WGAe President Michael Winship. It was every bit as smart as you'd expect from such incredible talent as these writers. And honestly, people walked away more informed than when they came in.

The goal in bringing this mock debate to Washington was to provide a national platform for our issues, to take it out of LA and NYC, and explain (in a fun and instructive way) why we're on strike. We got a ton of press (AP, Reuters, LA Times, Washington Post, Roll Call, Politico among them).

We (which includes WGA ex director Mona, assistant director Ann Tobac, our fabulous Washington point person Margaret Cone, and Sherry Goldman, our pr person out of east) also met with members of Congress on judiciary, labor, and telecommunications. We spoke to them about the state of negotiations, our hope that we'd reach a settlement soon. We also discussed issues like the importance of residuals -- both as a form of what I call R&D, which are scripts created outside of the development system such as Desperate Housewives, that we finance on our own dime; and as part of our expected income. We also discussed how residuals from writers are different than they are for directors, and how that affected the DGA deal.

But here's the interesting part -- and what will come to be the future direction we will have to take as writers: the issue of COPYRIGHT. When the WGA formed, we wrote away our Constitutional right to own our own material in exchange for residuals. By the way, we are the only writers in the WORLD in this situation. Like a novelist, songwriter, playwright -- the concept, the idea begins with us. We fill the blank page. And like any other artist who does the same thing in different form, we deserve the right to own our material.

The example I used was the trend among artists in the record industry, who are now licensing their masters back to the majors to exploit for a set number of years (generally 7), then rights revert back to us. I explained that many artists have made their pensions and most of their income on the latter portion of this deal. And for tv/screenwriters this would also hold true: who knew the A-Team would one day be available on DVD and itunes? And who knows what other uses there will be in the future?

Going forward into new media (internet, phones, something we haven't yet invented), we should lobby to retain our copyright. This is the third-rail of studio/WGA negociations, and if we don't work towards this, we will very possibly be out on the line again in another 3 years fighting to get paid another sliver for our work.

That being said, members said they would look into these issues, as they require legislation.

All in all, it was an incredible day on the Hill, except for the part where Disney's lobbyist was following us around, including to an event across town (where there were only 15 other people in the room!). And he was furiously taking notes without saying a word; if I get blacklisted, you'll know why. Also in attendance at the mock debate was Time-Warner's guy.

The studios are used to owning those halls, and never expected us to come there and be so high profile, not to mention successful. Hopefully this will be the start of a beautiful relationship between the WGA and the Hill.

From DC
Allison Abner

Colbert and Stewart Writers Take It To D.C.

The LA Times carried the story this morning of the "debate" staged by striking WGA writers, held for the benefit of politicians in the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. The writers came to educate and inform D.C., in the way that only these guys can.

A small excerpt:

On one side, in shirts, was the striking Writers Guild of America, played by "Daily Show" writers Rob Kutner, Tim Carvell and Jason Ross. On the other side, in suits, was the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, played by "The Colbert Report" writers Michael Brumm, Peter Grosz and Tom Purcell.

Crashing out of the starting gates, the shirts argued it would cost the suits less than 1% of their total revenue to give the writers everything they wanted. For Paramount Pictures, that comes to $4.6 million, or "half the amount it takes to get Reese Witherspoon into a movie."

"I ask you," one writer noted, "which is more important to a movie -- a script, or half of Reese Witherspoon?"

The studio suits thought for a second.

"Which half?"

Now it was the studios' turn to make their case: "I had no idea what substance that was that my trainer was injecting into my buttocks," one suit boomed, getting an elbow from his colleague who mumbled, "Wrong hearing."

"Point of order!" a starving writer blurted. "I was told there would be a free buffet lunch?"

We're hoping to be able to post the filmed version soon.

The Daily Show and the Colbert Report make their points with humor; underneath the laughter is always a very serious point, whether it's national affairs, the Iraq war, or even something like the strike. Using humor doesn't mean any of this isn't deadly serious; but sometimes, it's the best way to get people to listen.

Mike Scully: Questions and Hope as Negotiations Resume

The following was submitted by WGA member and long-time "Simpsons" writer Mike Scully. -JA

To My Fellow WGA Members,

Opinions regarding how writers should react to the DGA/AMPTP agreement seem to fall into two camps: “It’s a good deal! Take it!” or “It’s a terrible deal! Reject it!” I believe there are also many writers who fall into the “Undecided” category, so at the risk of showing off the knowledge I acquired during my one day of attendance at Holyoke Community College (sadly, not a joke), I will just list a few thoughts that crossed my mind after reading the bullet points of the DGA deal over and over until my head hurt (in other words, twice) and leave the number-crunching and legalese to our representatives:

1. Regarding the 17-day "promotional use" window: Will the networks sell ad time for these "promotional" uses? If they don't, will they be profiting from a second wave of "product integration" money during this 17-day window? Personally, I don't think running an entire episode as a "promotional" tool is smart business for the writers or the studios. Movie studios don't run their films free of charge for two and a half weeks, in the hopes that it will translate into paying customers later.

In my opinion, promotional use should have a limit of 3-5 minutes of program content, just enough to get the viewer to sample the show. However, if an entire episode is going to be made available, it should not contain any ads and should be limited to a window of no more than 48 hours. If they are being paid for promotional use, so should we.

2. How will the Internet be policed? "The Simpsons Movie" is currently the number one download rental on iTunes, but I have no idea if that means it's been downloaded five thousand times or five million times (and I'm one of the writers and producers of that film). How will we get accurate figures so we know we're being paid correctly?

3. $250 for a year’s use of a TV episode was a shockingly low offer. $1200 for a year is an ever-so-slightly-less shockingly low offer. Also, if $1200 is for a one-hour show, is it 50% less for a half-hour? Regardless, I don't think these payments will replace residuals immediately as some are predicting, but over the next five years, a huge negative impact on TV writer residuals seems inevitable.

Like all of you, I want to go back to work, too. (I have four kids in college and my attempts to convince them that the DeVry institute is as good as any Ivy League school have failed miserably.)

However, unless you have the answers to the above questions and understand every other aspect of the DGA agreement, we should not be encouraging our leadership to approve or reject the deal. We simply don’t yet have the proper information to form a knowledgeable opinion. We’re certainly entitled to ask questions (and have been encouraged to do so by our leaders), but we can’t make critical long-term financial decisions based on bullet points, or the overzealous recommendations of those who may have something personal to gain by us settling quickly.

The WGA and AMPTP are partners in the entertainment business. This relationship has produced many successful films and television shows together (and maybe one or two that weren’t so good), but the bottom line is they need us and we need them. In any business relationship, there are going to be disagreements – sometimes big ones. I believe this labor dispute got uglier than either side anticipated, but now it feels like everybody is ready to put the bad blood behind them and hammer out a deal. Both sides have good reasons to want to be back in business together again. The fact that talks are resuming is a good sign for writers, studios, networks, and everyone who makes their living in Hollywood.

When a deal is finally reached, will we get everything we want? Of course not. (The AMPTP won’t either.) Striking doesn’t guarantee winning, but I’d rather go down fighting for what I feel we deserve than giving it away out of fear.

Our leadership has done a great job of unifying a divided, demoralized guild that was so used to coming up short in negotiations that we had started to accept it as a way of life. They have brought pride back to our profession and shown us that we have the power to improve our lives. Aligning us with SAG was a brilliant and empowering move, and we should not make any deal without consulting SAG first because they have been so supportive of our cause.

The DGA benefited by our stand and, to their credit, hesitated before they started negotiations. When they finally went in, they were aware the outcome would be scrutinized by everyone in town and I think they did a good job making gains in areas where they wouldn’t have been allowed to without the actions taken by the WGA and SAG.

Normally, the talent unions are only concerned with their own members’ agendas, but things are different this time and hopefully, this is the beginning of an era where the unions have learned that their real strength comes from working together with, instead of apart from, each other.

Every union starts a strike strong and unified, but it's even more important that we finish strong and unified. Three years will go by quickly, and we will be back at the bargaining table again. If the AMPTP’s last memory of us is that of a fractured guild, filled with dissension and in-fighting, that’s how we will be treated in all future business dealings.

If we are patient and continue to display the solidarity that’s been so impressive to me, while our leaders resume bargaining with the AMPTP, it won’t be long before we're all back to work doing what we love: complaining about how much we hate writing and asking "Where the hell is lunch?!"

Mike Scully