Author: Peter Indall
Just as reality programming seemed poised to take over the television landscape, the 14-week Writers’ Strike came to a resounding halt. The Academy Awards were saved from cancellation and worries about the stoppage of film production were relieved. Word of a tentative deal between writers and producers began in early February. Rumors were confirmed on Feb. 9, when Writers Guild of America (WGA) President Patric Verrone, announced a tentative agreement via email. Writers voted overwhelmingly to return to work, and many shows resumed production by Feb. 13. The final vote to approve the agreement-which will last until May 2011-will take place on Feb. 25. In comparison, the 1988 Writers’ Strike lasted over 21 weeks and had a much more debilitating effect throughout the industry.
After weeks of stalemate, the WGA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers resumed talks in late January. The negotiations followed the quick agreement by the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) to a new contract that pressured the writers to return to the bargaining table. On the side of the studios, many industry insiders credit Fox’s Peter Chernin and Disney’s Robert Iger for helping to broker the deal after the strike became increasingly acrimonious on both sides. According to the new compromise deal, writers will receive access to revenue from new media (internet downloads, etc.), albeit a small share. The studios maintained control over most media, a main sticking point that they refused to negotiate. Acknowledging the unclear outcome of the strike, WGA President Patrik Verrone said, “Nonetheless, with the establishment of the WGA jurisdiction over new media and residual formulas based on distributor’s gross revenue (among other gains), we are confident that the results are a significant achievement-not only for ourselves, but the entire creative community, now and in the future.”
However, viewers should not let out a sigh of relief too soon. Despite the writers return to work another industry strike looms on the horizon. On Feb. 13, four of Hollywood’s biggest stars, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep took out an advertisement in Daily Variety calling on the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) to begin contract negotiations as soon as possible to avoid a strike. The current contract for actors expires on June 30, and many fear there will be yet another strike that will only damage the entertainment industry and local economy further. In response, many studios have put projects in development on hold until a new contract is signed. Producers and actors are set to begin talks on March 31, but only time will tell if any lessons were learned from the Writers’ Strike.
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