In the midst of the Writer’s Guild (WGA) strike, another union, The Director’s Guild of America (DGA) has begun their negotiations with the Producers (AMPTP) in an attempt to get a new deal in place long before their current contract, which expires in June, runs out.
The big difference between the WGA and DGA situations is that it looks like the DGA and AMPTP are already close to a deal, and industry experts say they expect a full deal announced within a month, maybe less. That’s good news for everyone.
Bolstering the optimism is that DGA President has publicly said that they wouldn’t even START negotiations until: “(W)e would not enter negotiations with the AMPTP unless we were within shouting distance of an agreement on our two most important issues — jurisdiction for our members to work in new media and appropriate compensation for the reuse of our work on the Internet and other new-media platforms,” Well, they’ve officially started negotiations… so we know they’re close, and all reports from both sides are that those negotiations are going smoothly.
So why are negotiations with the DGA going so well and so smooth, and the negotiations with eh WGA aren’t? One member of the AMPTP suggests one reason: “I’m optimistic,” a high-ranking industryite said. “Bottom line, I think we’ll make a deal (because) the directors will be more reasonable.”
So what does it say about the WGA strike situation if the DGA and AMPTP are able to sit down, hammer out a deal quickly and not have any of the public rhetoric volleyed around like the WGA situation? Are the AMPTP really just the big bunch of unreasonable, greedy, labor oppressing pigs that the WGA is trying to make them all out to be if the Directors Guild can just walk in, sit down and deal with them so easily???
Is the WGA suggesting that the Directors are just a bunch of idiots? That’s they’re naive?
At the same time, if the AMPTP is able to sit down the with DGA almost 6 months in advance of any potential strike… then why the FUCK can’t they at least sit down with the WGA when a strike is actually going on? Yes I know that the Producers are unwilling to budge on a couple of the extra things the writers want… but don’t refuse to sit at the table until they come off! Sit down! Argue. Scream. But at least talk. Nothing will get accomplished until you at least do that!
Anyway, the WGA is insisting that any DGA deal won’t affect them at all… but every major industry expert is suggesting otherwise. The WGA can not hold out until June for the actors to potentially join them (I suspect a deal with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) will come rather quickly after a DGA deal is reached anyway), and if the DGA do deal quickly the with producers, then the pressure will solidly be on the WGA leadership to get a deal done soon.
henrik you are spot on. it is 2 completely different beasts. that is part of the problem as well….the directors and actors are always seen as being more important that the writers if anything if the amptp are seen to just give the directors what they want that may just embolden the writers even more. the wga for years have been angry at the way they are treated as if they are lesser. and slowly they have moved to change things.
like go and watch credits from say the 70’s and 80’s. for the most part it would go in this order on front end credits
Written by/Screenplay By….so and so
produced by so and so
and then directed by so and so
but some time in the 90’s the wga had it changed and you watch films now…
produced by so and so
written by so and so
directed by so and so
its a little change but important I feel.
they have been trying to get rid of what they call “vanity”credits as well but the DGA will not budge on it…they want “A FILM BY (directors name here)” and “A so and so FILM” to be outlawed unless the director wrote the script. they have a fair point i guess…it does give the impression that the director wrote the film when you see that sitting above the title. i agree that a film, by should be gone unless the director write it but a steven speilberg film is a steven speilberg film no matter who wrote it. i don;t mind that one but i think they have apoint with a film by…
anyway I am rambling here…
oh yeah…john you don’t think the writers will hold out until june?? of course they will. they are not on strike just hoping the actors will join them.
and I believe these interim deals are only going to help the wga in the long run.
when UA and other small studios start to fill up their slates and go back into production that puts the pressure on the studios not the writers…they won’t be able too sit back and let these studios take all the money thats to be made.thats what these interim deals are about..
and why do have such an issue with the “cute little videos” the writers put together.
especially that great one with the studio heads all talking about how digital is a gold mine and how awesome it is…their eyes sparkling with delight at the money. now of course that the people responsible want a cut it isn;t such a gold mine and no ones lnows what its going to do. like home video in the 80’s. come on john…it is hilarious.you have to admit its pretty funny to hear them claim they are unsure of how much money they can get of digital only to have a clip of the head of disney say without a doubt or hesitation that disney over the past year will make one and a half billion dollars from the digital downloading. it is pretty funny. surely you see the humor in that.
Yeah this whole article completely ignores the differences between writers and directors, treating both unions as the same minion to be dealt with by the AMPTP. There are reasons why the DGA is easier to deal with for the AMPTP, it’s because the AMPTP already has budged on some of the things they won’t budge on with the WGA. Like the reality payments for example.
Perhaps is has something to do with the fact that directors are not shut out in the “reality” area the way writers are. The WGA is rightfully demanding that writers work be acknowledged and compensated fairly instead of using the pretense that no writing is done on reality shows as a cost savings measure the way the Producers do now. If someone writes for a show they should be fairly compensated and allowed to have their work count towards union membership.
There are some suggestions that the DGA talks aren’t as picky as far as residuals go, that -at least what the WGA claims -most of thier members get paid up front. I don’t know what to make of that, since there are also some directors who also write and/or are also WGA members.
I also don’t like it when the WGA is demonized; I don’t like it when the AMPTP is looked at in a negative light. I do think that if the DGA works out a good deal (and then SAG), it may influence the WGA.