On Thursday night, close to 3000 Writers Guild of America (WGA) members met to discuss taking the drastic measure that has had all of Hollywood in a panic: strike. In an official statement today, the writers announced that they’ll begin their walkout at midnight next Monday.
The strike had been looming of late as word of negotiations breakdowns came earlier this week, making the stand-off between Hollywood’s 12,000-strong writers union and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) appear to be a widening rift. At issue were negotiations over payment contracts, most notably how writers should be paid in residuals for work that is aired via “new media” channels like the internet and iPods; in another major point, the “DVD issue,” the WGA lobbied to double the current $0.04 per DVD sale residual fee that writers currently receive.
At last night’s standing-room only event at the L.A. Convention Center — the WGA’s largest members’ meeting in history — the negotiating committee reported on the status of the talks and recommended that the WGA West Board and the WGA East Council call a strike. Three hours of discussion followed. One source tells us that many members expressed anger at the AMPTP’s refusal to negotiate and that the meeting ended with unanimous support for the strike.
Many others showed their support as well, including Alan Rosenberg, president of the Screen Actor’s Guild, who attended the meeting and offered the support of SAG. That guild’s members may join writers on the picket lines come Monday even if their own contract renegotiations won’t happen until summer of 2008. Also showing their solidarity were more than 100 show runners, who took out a full page ad in yesterday’s Variety, entitled, “Pencils Down Means Pencils Down.” In the ad, the show runners — including powerhouses like Tina Fey and Matt Groening — vowed to stop writing in the event of a strike. They further agreed to refrain from allowing any staff members to break down any stories. This means that any scripts which were turned in before the strike would not be altered in any fashion prior to taping. This would be a huge blow to many major television shows, which are normally re-written constantly before taping.
In a press conference today, the WGA announced that the strike will be in effect as of Monday at 12:01 am, when all writing on television and film projects by guild members must stop. Guild leaders stressed that negotiations are still possible within the next 48 hours, if the crucial DVD residual issue can be properly resolved (read our strike breakdown for more on the dispute). Behind-the-scenes talks are currently going on, which, although not likely, might bring about a last minute reprieve. WGA Captains are expected to brief members on the picket lines that will most likely begin on Monday.
In response to the strike announcement, the AMPTP voiced their disappointment at the decision, adding their own thinly veiled barb: “Their [WGA] press conference was full of falsehoods, misstatements and inaccuracies and we’ll respond at an appropriate time.”
For our earlier report on the writers’ strike, check out To Strike, Or Not To Strike — What’s The Deal as Hollywood’s Clock Runs Down?
