Sunday, December 09, 2007

Talks Breakdown - Moguls Walk Out

Talks Day #8: Moguls Walk From Talks After Issuing An Ultimatum To Writers; Both Sides Accuse Each Other Of Lying

Striking writers, studios break off talks again

TV season's down for the count

Sigh...

6 comments:

Laura Deerfield said...

Predictable. I love that they intimate that the WGA is asking for more money than they make themselves.

I just hope that the WGA really sticks this out without caving on too much, because more work will be not only replayed in New Media, but created for it.

But since the AMPTP knows that this will lead to other unions asking for a share, they are going to be very resistant.

What would happen if no agreement were reached? Would the AMPTP ever go so far as to declare that they are no longer going to recognize the WGA? The other unions would never stand for that. So what do they hope to accomplish, really, by walking out?

There is so much more to lose by conceding too many points than there is to gain by it - and there is so much at stake. Surely the AMPTP doesn't think they can fake their way out of this?

Elver said...

Joe Straczynski speaks about AMPTP's expectations. Apparently the studios are waiting for the unity of the writers to crumble, just like it did the last time.

Mim said...

I saw a very slanted article on cnn.com yesterday and I sent them a scathing comment about reporting what their owners (members of the AMPTP) wanted them to report rather than the truth.

The writers have more avenues at their disposal to report the truth this time than they did the last time. They have the internet and they are putting it to good use.

Jake Hollywood said...

What if they had a TV/Film season and nobody watched...I mean it happened with baseball, right?

Sadly, even the most horrid of shows/films have an audience and the AMPTP is about to prove just what bad Tv/film people will watch. More "reality" Tv? Yippee.

Unfortunately, TV will bounce back from this, it might take longer for films. I mean, who wants to go to a bad movie and drop $50 (including popcorn/drink) when you can wait a couple of weeks and Netflix the same movie?

Mim said...

I know, and now I feel guilty every time I miss seeing a movie in the theater because that's where the writers make most of their money.

Elver said...

Don't the studios have piles of film scripts they could already produce? I mean, I've heard talk that for every 20-30 films that go into development, only one actually gets made. Or something like that.