Optimism Surrounds SAG Negotiations

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced Tuesday that it would begin its contract negotiations with the Hollywood studios on May 15, less than seven weeks before the expiration date of July 1. However, many in Tinseltown are optimistic that the talks will succeed.

Nick Counter, President of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) and chief negotiator for the studios, said that there was a 50/50 chance or better that the discussions would be resolved by the deadline. "With reasonable minds, we should be able to do it by June 30," he said.

"We've got the template," continued Counter, referring to the recent resolution of the writers' contract. "We know where the deal is. We just have to figure out a way to mold that deal to fit the needs of actors."

Media analysts share Counter's optimistic views. "The writers can't claim to have gotten any spectacular economic wins. It's an OK settlement. It's a realistic settlement," said Peter Bart, editor-in-chief of the Daily Variety. "So what is the incentive for the actors to go after big numbers?"

Daniel Mitchell, a professor of labour relations at the University of California in Los Angeles, agreed that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) deal has drastically reduced the likelihood of an actors strike. "They're looking at a situation now where they won't be part of a larger strike movement," he said.

Despite these encouraging predictions, most studios are still aiming to have their major film projects completed by the end of June. "We have hit that imaginary point of no return, where feature starts are going to stop," said Morrie Goldman, spokesman for Entertainment Industry Development Corp. (via Inside.com).

Columbia Pictures is one of those studios hedging their bets that there won't be a strike. Production on the sequel to the hit film Men In Black begins on June 4, and runs until October 9. A source at Columbia told Inside.com that "if the strike happens, they stop working. But they're definitely forging ahead with production."

Meanwhile, the new WGA agreement was approved unanimously by the boards of both WGA East and West last Friday. The contract now only needs final ratification by the guild's 11,000 members, with ballots to be returned by June 4. This new deal includes a $41 million pay rise for the writers over three years, including increased residuals.

Hopefully, the reduced threat of a SAG strike and final resolution of the WGA negotiations will mean that film and television projects will be able to continue without interruption over the summer. This is especially important for Series V, which is tipped to start shooting on May 14. A strike by the actors could severely hamper its ability to consistently deliver new episodes come Fall.

Further details can be found in these Reuters and Variety reports and in this Inside.com article.

Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
 Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!