As if we didn’t already have one major arm of the entertainment industry shut down with a strike, of course I’m speaking of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, now the Directors Guild of America (DGA) is set to start negotiations with AMPTP, the organization representing studios and television networks.
Talks haven’t even begun and already the friction between the DGA and AMPTP is already getting heated. The DGA told representatives of the studio and television group that negotiations must begin immediately after the first of the year and no later, putting increased pressure on the AMPTP to resolve its problems with the WGA.
DGA leaders said they’re willing to hold off negotiations until next month in order to give the majors and striking writers one last chance to make a deal — in a nod toward recent WGA lobbying to hold off negotiations, according to the entertainment trade paper Variety.
Speaking of the WGA, on Thursday of this week that group filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the AMPTP with the National Labor Relations Board.
“We are deeply disappointed by the breakdown of talks between the WGA and the AMPTP, with no end to the strike in sight,” DGA president Michael Apted and negotiating committee chief Gil Cates said in a press statement. “Like everyone else in the industry, we had hoped that the two parties would be able to reach a fair and reasonable deal that adequately compensates talent for the work they create.”
The chance of an amicable agreement happening any time soon grows less likely with each passing day with both sides biting at the heels of the other. Productive talks between the WGA and AMPTP have completely broken down with no healing in sight.
On the other contract front the DGA is ready to negotiate with the AMPTP if they are willing to meet the director guild’s first demand of beginning no later than next month.
“The WGA-AMPTP impasse has cost the jobs of tens of thousands of entertainment-industry workers, including many of our own members, and more lose their jobs every day the strike continues,” they added. “With so much at stake and no end to the standoff in sight, we can no longer abdicate our responsibility to our own members. Because we want to give the WGA and the AMPTP more time to return to the negotiating table to conclude an agreement, the DGA will not schedule our negotiations to begin until after the new year and then, only if an appropriate basis for negotiations can be established.”
The contents of the DGA’s points of negotiation have been kept under wraps, but one sticking point is the same as that for the WGA — proper monetization from the digital and DVD market. If the AMPTP is not budging on this issue with the other guild, it seems unlikely they will do so for the DGA.
“We look forward to talking with the Directors Guild of America in an atmosphere of professionalism and respect,” said a spokesperson for the AMPTP. “But no one should be under any illusions: this will still be an extremely difficult process. All of us – producers, directors, writers and everyone working in the entertainment business — need to get this right, because in the rapidly evolving new media marketplace, there is little margin for error.”
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