Hollywood Writer Talks Come Down to Wire
Posted on: Saturday, 1 May 2004, 06:00 CDT
LOS ANGELES - With their contract set to expire at midnight, Hollywood writers were bargaining with producers on Saturday to gain a larger share of profits from the $15 billion DVD market.
A news blackout was in effect as representatives of the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers met for a sixth straight day. On-and-off negotiations began April 5.
"We're not commenting at all on what's being said at the table or the tone," guild spokeswoman Cheryl Rhoden said.
The contract covering 11,000 TV and movie writers was to expire at midnight but the WGA has indicated it might be willing to extend talks.
Producers, however, likely want a contract in hand to show advertisers by May 17, when the sale of time for TV commercials begins for the next season.
The WGA has not asked members to authorize a strike but the possibility is still there.
"Obviously the potential of a strike underlies any of our negotiations," WGA West President Daniel Petrie Jr. wrote Thursday in a message to members.
In a recent mailing to members, the union said a typical DVD sells for $16. The studios make a $10.55 profit on the sale, while writers get 5 cents, the union said.
"Your share of the $15 billion DVD gold mine is enclosed," said the mailing, which was printed on a DVD-sized cardboard sleeve and contained a nickel.
Producers concede they have reaped millions of dollars from home video sales, and that DVDs have become a major source of revenue.
But they argue that on the TV side, DVD revenue is merely replacing money that had come from international markets that have dried up, syndication deals and licensing fees that had been increased after shows became hits.
A number of creative issues are also on the table, including rewrites. The WGA wants to banish the "one draft deal," in which a screenwriter gets paid for a first draft and is expected to deliver numerous rewrites for free.
The last strike in 1988 delayed the start of the fall TV season. This season, however, thanks to the success of series such as "The Apprentice," networks might be able to compensate by offering more unscripted reality shows.
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On the Net:
- Writers Guild of America: http://www.wga.org
- Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers: http://www.amptp.org
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