| Writer's Strike Averted |
By Steve Gorman Friday May 4 2001 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood was spared a potentially crippling strike on Friday when screenwriters reached a tentative contract with film studios and television networks that if approved will give the Writer's Guild's 11,500 members a $41 million increase over three years. Guild negotiators said it was the best deal the union had won for its members since 1977 and it sets a pattern for Hollywood's remaining major negotiation of the summer -- between studios and the two unions representing 135,000 actors. The Writers Guild contract was called ``groundbreaking'' by negotiators as it also won new rights for writers to visit the sets of the pictures that are being made from their work. But the writers, who were seeking greater creative control and more respect in the production process, did not win the elimination of the so-called possessory credit -- such as ``a film by,'' that is often given to directors for movies. Michael Mahern, co-chairman of the Guild's negotiating committee, speaking at a hastily called press conference in Los Angeles, said that writers have gained $41 million over the 3-year life of the contract, including better residual payments when their work enters secondary markets such as overseas distribution, the Internet and reruns -- the main issues of the negotiations. The deal produced a collective sigh of relief from the industry and favorable reaction was swift. Writer/producer Dick Wolf, creator of such programs as ``Law and order,'' said, ``I am extremely pleased and gratified that the guild and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have managed to reach an agreement. On a personal level, I would like to thank (the) negotiators for avoiding what would have been a devastating work stoppage for the entire industry.'' Fox To Be Treated As Fully-Fledged Network The pact comes two days after the previous Writers Guild contract expired, but negotiators have been bargaining intensely since then under pressure from industry players, local businesses and Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan to reach a deal. One highlight of the new agreement is that the Fox TV network will now be treated as a full-fledged network like ABC, CBS and NBC, which means it will pay more money to writers when reruns air on Fox. The contract also took caps off foreign TV residuals -- increasing the amount of money writers can expect from abroad. Sources close to both camps told Reuters as talks resumed Friday morning only a handful of key points remained to be hammered out before negotiators could reach a deal. They described the past few days of talks as a ``roller coaster'' that veered repeatedly from the verge of a settlement to the brink of collapse. Going into the latest round of negotiations last month, the two sides were roughly $100 million apart. A settlement greatly eases the tension that has gripped Hollywood this year over the possibility of back-to-back strikes by writers and actors as their contracts came up for renewal this spring and summer. Such strikes would bring television and film production to a virtual standstill, idling tens of thousands of workers -- from grips and cameramen to caterers and truck drivers. A deal with the writers is seen as greatly lessening the chances of a strike by the two unions representing 135,000 actors. The actors unions, whose current labor pact runs out July 1, are tentatively set to begin their own talks with studios May 10. |
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