The Wall Street Journal-20080116-Striking Writers Look To Directors for Cue
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Striking Writers Look To Directors for Cue
Nearly three months into the writers' strike, the leadership of the Writers Guild of America says it is at a critical juncture in its contract stalemate with the major Hollywood studios and television networks.
In an interview yesterday, WGA West Coast President Patric Verrone and Executive Director David Young said the guild will closely examine whatever deal the Directors Guild of America reaches with the major studios. The directors' guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which negotiates on behalf of the studios, have been quietly negotiating a labor contract since Saturday and are expected to reach a deal soon. Mr. Young expressed hope that studio negotiations, which broke down Dec. 7, could restart in the wake of a directors-guild deal and a new labor contract could be reached weeks before the annual Academy Awards telecast scheduled for Feb. 24.
Messrs. Verrone and Young said they "can't afford to pre-judge" any deal the directors' guild makes with the studios, and the writers will "take an extremely close look at any deal the DGA makes."
The guild leaders said that in examining any deal made by the directors, a key issue will be not just how much money is paid for reuse of movies and TV shows on the Internet, but whether the creation of original work for the Internet comes under the auspices of the guild. Mr. Young said that in the near future, the Internet could become a "pilot playground" for the testing of new shows, and if the work is created by non-union writers, it could dramatically undercut the union's strength over the long term.
The men concede that a directors-guild deal would test the solidarity of the roughly 12,500 writers who have been firmly behind a work stoppage that has paralyzed the television industry, damaged the annual industry-awards season and threatens to spread malaise into the feature-film sector. Key to the strike is the support of A-list screenwriters and the so-called television showrunners, writers who also produce and coordinate programs. Now, Mr. Young said, the writers' guild faces a "moment of truth" in retaining support from those factions, but he added that the guild has "had a number of those moments so far."
"What has made the strike so effective so far is the total support of the television writers who quickly brought TV production to a halt," Mr. Verrone said. Both men say the continued support of the influential showrunners as well as film writers will be crucial in the days and weeks after a directors' guild deal is announced.
Such support from most quarters of the writers' guild could be tested in the wake of a deal with the directors. "Those A-list screenwriters and showrunners are absolutely a critical community of support that we need to maintain," Mr. Young said.
As the strike drags on, the guild says it is pursuing disciplinary proceedings against an unspecified number of writers for various violations of strike rules, including everything from quietly polishing scripts to outright scab work with producers. The guild hasn't acted against any members. Mr. Verrone said he doesn't think such violations are "pandemic."
