WGA Seeks Individual Negotiations with Studios

LOS ANGELES, December 17: The Writers Guild of America is
looking to negotiate individually with each of the studios, instead of with the
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP); the studios,
meanwhile, have issued a statement of unity, noting “Different Assets…
Different Businesses… Different Companies… One Common Goal.”

The WGA’s Negotiating Committee, in a statement to its
members late Friday, said: “We want to do everything in our power to move
negotiations forward and end this devastating strike. We have therefore decided
to reach out to major AMPTP companies and begin to negotiate with them
individually.

“As you may know, bargaining on a multi-employer basis
through the AMPTP is an option for the WGA, not a legal requirement. Each
signatory employer is required to bargain with us individually if we make a
legal demand that it do so. We will make this demand on Monday December 17 and
hope that each company responds promptly, in accordance with the law.”

Explaining its decision, the WGA said: “The internal
dynamics of the AMPTP make it difficult for the conglomerates to reach
consensus and negotiate with us on a give and take basis. We believe this
multi-employer structure inhibits individual companies from pursuing their
self-interest in negotiations. We nonetheless continue to hope that the AMPTP
will return in good faith to negotiate a fair contract with writers, as two
television seasons and numerous feature projects are currently at great risk.”

The move comes amid news that David Letterman’s production
company, Worldwide Pants, is looking to ink an “interim agreement” with the
guild on its own.

The major studios, however, remain committed to negotiating
collectively. A statement posted on the AMPTP site states: “Different Assets…
Different Businesses… Different Companies…One Common Goal. To Reach a Fair and
Just Agreement with Writers and Get Back to Work.” It is signed by Peter
Chernin, the chairman and CEO of the Fox Group; Brad Grey, the
chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures; Robert A. Iger, the president and CEO
of The Walt Disney Company; Michael
Lynton, the chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment; Barry
M. Meyer, the chairman and CEO of Warner Bros.; Leslie
Moonves, the president and CEO of CBS Corporation; Harry Sloan, the
chairman and CEO of MGM; and Jeff
Zucker, the president and CEO of NBC Universal.

—By Mansha Daswani