Premium Member Hal Smith Posted February 4, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 4, 2008 By Paul Farhi and Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, February 3, 2008; Page A04 After weeks of stalled talks, negotiators in the entertainment writers' strike have suddenly made "substantial progress" in their discussions, people with knowledge of the talks said yesterday, raising hopes in Hollywood that a settlement could come as early as this week. Representatives of the Writers Guild of America and the major movie studios and TV networks appear to have tentatively resolved the major issues that led the labor union's 10,500 members to walk out on Nov. 5, sources said. Both sides have agreed to a media blackout regarding negotiations, and officials from the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers declined to comment yesterday. "No one will say it's done," a person with knowledge of the discussions said, but a "staggering amount" of progress was made Friday after nine hours of informal discussions in Los Angeles. The next step, the person said, is to get the results of the negotiation on paper. "Until it's on paper, no one is saying anything" publicly, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the no-comment agreement. A settlement would restart production of TV dramas and sitcoms, which ground to a halt not long after writers on both coasts walked out 13 weeks ago. A quick resolution would enable the broadcast networks to wind up this disrupted TV season with at least some original fare. However, industry executives say that, even if a deal is struck in the next few days, it could take a few weeks for benched series to get going again. With television production effectively shut down in Hollywood and in much of New York, the networks have filled their prime-time schedules with reruns and "reality" series, some of which had been ordered as part of the networks' strike contingency plans. Movie production has been less impaired. A more immediate beneficiary of a quick settlement would be the Feb. 24 Academy Awards telecast. The Screen Actors Guild has said that its members will not attend the event if the writers are still on strike, a move that probably would reduce the Oscars to a glamour-less, celebrity-free event. That fate befell NBC's broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards last month and sent its ratings plunging. Word of progress in the negotiations, including a report yesterday on the New York Times Web site, set off a flurry of optimistic e-mails in the entertainment industry. Although several people said a deal could be announced as soon as late yesterday, those hopes were quickly dashed. The two sides have yet to commit their agreement to writing. A member of the guild who writes TV comedies sounded a skeptical note. "I'm hopeful but wary, as these types of early, optimistic rumors have been deliberately seeded by the [producers] in the past to artificially raise and then dash our hopes as a bargaining bludgeon," said the writer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Writers Guild's negotiating committee has scheduled a videoconference for tomorrow to discuss developments. Any settlement proposal would have to be ratified by the guild's members. The negotiations got a boost on Friday, sources said, when Peter Chernin, the president of News Corp., returned from London and rejoined the talks. Chernin's company owns the 20th Century Fox movie studio and the Fox broadcast network, and he is one of the powerful moguls leading the discussions, along with Robert A. Iger, the chief executive of the Walt Disney Co., as well as Leslie Moonves, the chief executive of CBS. The studios walked away from negotiations on Dec. 7. But Chernin and Iger resumed informal talks with top Writers Guild officials on Jan. 22 after producers reached an agreement with the Directors Guild of America. Writers have been seeking bigger fees, known as residuals, from the sale of home videos, and compensation from Internet downloads and streaming of TV programs and movies. The big stumbling block has been the precise formula for Internet residuals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted February 5, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 5, 2008 Sounds pretty good. Keep those fingers (and toes for good measure) crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert duke Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I received a rumor that the impending resolution to the WGA strike was just a rumor being floated by the producers to sling mud on the wga. It was intended as the rumor goes to frustrate the below the line crew and make the WGA unpopular. any one else hear this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Sprung Posted February 7, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 7, 2008 There was an article in Variety last Friday saying that they're not as close as previously thought. But I saw a more recent headline saying the opposite. Bottom line, Variety doesn't really know, and rumors are even less reliable than that. The best advice is fuggedaboutit. -- J.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert duke Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Just starting to bite my nails a little lookin at the calender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Walter Graff Posted February 8, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 8, 2008 The strike will be over in about ten days form this post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Wengenroth Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 ...Strike? What strike? :blink: (Hey, you said forget about it!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrin p nim Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 strike over? got this from my brother (not in the industry). http://www.cnbc.com/id/23057002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Alex Ellerman Posted February 8, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 8, 2008 http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/wga-...-next-few-days/ nikki finke always seems to know what's up... sounds like this may get done, but may not. if it doesn't get done in time for the Oscars... probably not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Wengenroth Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 That guy with the sign is my favorite. Maybe we should all start a pool or something... :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted February 9, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 9, 2008 I've been hearing stuff about a 'tentative agreement' on the radio around town. Hopefully it's reliable and everyone can get abck to work soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Walter Graff Posted February 11, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 11, 2008 http://blogs.mediapost.com/tv_watch/?p=879#comments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Wengenroth Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 So how long do you think it'll take for things to get back to normal if the strike is resolved soon? I mean "things" like the whole film industry not just the writers. I wonder if there will be a big surge in production... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F Bulgarelli Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 So how long do you think it'll take for things to get back to normal if the strike is resolved soon? I mean "things" like the whole film industry not just the writers. I wonder if there will be a big surge in production... Well, I think there is going to be a lot of catch up to do so it's going to be crazy! get ready! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Sprung Posted February 12, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 12, 2008 So how long do you think it'll take for things to get back to normal if the strike is resolved soon? I mean "things" like the whole film industry not just the writers. I wonder if there will be a big surge in production... About three weeks to re-boot the TV industry.... -- J.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Wengenroth Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Haha...nice analogy! Wow, life is interesting. The strike's almost freakin' over and I guess this means I have to tell that trashy nightclub in the Village that I'm not coming back to work. ...I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Brad Grimmett Posted February 12, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 12, 2008 Wow, life is interesting. The strike's almost freakin' over and I guess this means I have to tell that trashy nightclub in the Village that I'm not coming back to work. And I guess I'll have to tell that trashy bar in Hollywood that I won't be there as much.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Paul Maibaum ASC Posted February 13, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 13, 2008 It's official: WGA strike is over 92.5% of guild vote in favor of strike's end http://www.variety.com/article/VR111798082...yid=10&cs=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Wengenroth Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Well it's about goddamn time. I mean.... werd. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted February 16, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 16, 2008 Well it's about goddamn time. I mean.... werd. ;) Now that that is over with, when are you coming out west, Annie? :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Wengenroth Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Actually, funny you ask! I am going to work in Savannah, GA for a year or so before I make my next big move. Like literally I am writing this from a motel in North Carolina, heading down there tomorrow! I went to school down there and have remained connected to their film/TV program, so now I have this job lined up. Long story short, I've become really interested in working as a camera repair technician, which is what I will be doing in Savannah at SCAD with their film cameras...I figure it'll be a good way to live cheap for a while and see how I like the work. As much as I enjoyed working there and was successful enough to more-or-less make a living, NYC just kinda wiped me out, more financially than anything else. I mean, I COULD go out to LA sooner, but I don't really have the money or the inner strength right now...and I kinda want to make life easier for at least a little while before it gets crazy again. So when this job became a possibility, I decided to follow it through. It's funny because if the strike hadn't happened, I don't think I would have come to this conclusion and I probably would've just lost my mind, so there was a silver lining for me. When I DO go to LA I am planning to get a rental house job and stay there long enough to have more of a solid life for myself and just see where that takes me. In fact, I don't want to clog up this thread too much or throw it OT, but if anyone has any ideas as to how I would eventually get to work in the repair/machine shop at a rental house, that would be cool- definitely PM me with any info because I'd love to hear from you! Anyway, I hope everyone's getting back on their feet from the strike. I suppose it could've been worse... anybody have any work lined up yet? Isn't it awesome that we won't have to live off peanut butter and jelly anymore?! Unless you're like me and you want to? :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Hal Smith Posted February 21, 2008 Author Premium Member Share Posted February 21, 2008 ................ In fact, I don't want to clog up this thread too much or throw it OT, but if anyone has any ideas as to how I would eventually get to work in the repair/machine shop at a rental house, that would be cool- definitely PM me with any info because I'd love to hear from you! I'd check into the local colleges/trade schools in Savanna and see what sort of Machine Shop courses they offer. Make certain they're teaching hands-on courses, not how to stand in front of a CNC machine and watch it do its thing. Being a CNC programmer is an entirely different proposition, the best machinist I've met can program hi-tech CNC gear and has a very nice job at Harris Broadcast prototyping manufacturing bits and pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Sprung Posted February 22, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 22, 2008 ...., but if anyone has any ideas as to how I would eventually get to work in the repair/machine shop at a rental house, that would be cool- Becoming a machinist will take you quite far from shooting. It's loads of fun to be able to design and build things. I still have the 12x36 Clausing lathe and Benchmaster mill that I learned on back in the 1960's. The actual doing of it takes a lot of time and patience, making cuts of 0.010" or less at a time. That's the beauty of CNC -- it does the boring part for you. But working for a camera rental company, mostly you'd be buying and installing factory parts. Panavision does their own manufacturing, and Clairmont has a machine shop for all the modifications they like to do. Other than that, the rental houses only have fairly minimal machine shop operations. There's usually more work available in aerospace and defense prototypes, but even that can be feast or famine. There's also a kind of underground network of really good old time machinists who have a lathe and Bridgeport mill in their garages. Some even make a living that way. http://www.hardinge.com/usr/pdf/milling/1330C.pdf http://cgi.ebay.com/BRIDGEPORT-9-X-42-VARI...bayphotohosting -- J.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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