ROTTEN TOMATOES: Today's Negotiations To End The WGA Strike?

Today's Negotiations To End The WGA Strike?

But could the force majeure clause postpone a deal?

by Rachel Sandor | November 26, 2007

For the first time in over three weeks, things are looking up for the Writers Guild of America (WGA) negotiations. Just in time for the holidays, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the WGA are meeting today to discuss negotiations.

Both parties are hoping to make a deal in order to end the strike, which has already shut down and postponed several television shows and films. There is a news blackout in effect for today's negotiations, so eager strike followers won't know about the outcome for some time.

However, many industry insiders are worried about the probability of a deal being reached in the near future, due to force majeure clauses. The force majeure clause exists to protect all parties from contractual obligations in times of extraordinary circumstances (such as war, natural disasters, and strikes).

If the studios wait two additional weeks, they could invoke this clause -- and drop or suspend projects of their choosing. Insiders worry that the studios could benefit from waiting until the clause is effect, in order to have control over which projects would be dropped. Force majeure also allows studios to suspend actors' contracts. This could give the studios the early advantage of firing currently employed castmembers before the Screen Actors Guild contract expires in seven months.

Even without the force majeure clause in effect, many high profile projects have already been postponed or cancelled. Over the weekend, Brad Pitt announced he was dropping out of Taylor Hackford's State of Play because Universal insisted on moving forward with a script Pitt was unhappy with. Other highly anticipated films have also been delayed due to unworkable scripts, such as Oliver Stone's Pinkville and The Da Vinci Code prequel, Angels and Demons. Take a look at RT's report on some of the films that have been affected by the strike.

Related Items

Movie:	State of Play
	The Da Vinci Code
	Angels & Demons
Celeb:	Brad Pitt
	Taylor Hackford
	Oliver Stone

(1-15 of 15 posts) | Reply

hewpot writes:
on Nov 26 2007 03:52 PM

HOLY POOPY FACES!

(Reply to this)

See-Jay 420 writes:
on Nov 26 2007 03:57 PM

Good. I'll be glad when this is over. Hopefully the WGA gets what they want.

(Reply to this)

arpeggio191 writes:
on Nov 26 2007 04:05 PM

so if this ends tonight, or in the next week, does that mean that the second half of Heroes could still be a go? Please oh please let that be true!

(Reply to this)

Segkee writes:
on Nov 26 2007 04:11 PM

Not Taylor Hackford's STATE OF PLAY... Kevin Macdonald's (aka The Last King of Scotland) STATE OF PLAY...

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Mr. Bowler writes:
on Nov 26 2007 05:29 PM

Sure hope that this ends with everyone being happy and our shows and movies resuming. I don't think we have truly seen what this strike can do to a lot of these projects.

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Bardego writes:
on Nov 26 2007 08:09 PM

It will be very interesting to see which side comes out with the better deal in these negotiations...

(Reply to this)

OldSkool519 writes:
on Nov 27 2007 07:23 AM

GOOD!!! Give me back the office and The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Iunderstand power to the people and down with the man, but god damn im pissed at the writers for ****ing up my TV watching! Arpeggio I think that Heroes is still over for the year regardless

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wordweaver writes:
on Nov 27 2007 09:11 AM

writers are the most underrated people in all business ventures. They should earn ten times more than actors. When you have crappy actors like Jessica alba, Lindsay Lohan earning millions and writers are barely managing, I begin to wonder what our world is coming to. Keep striking writers till you get what you deserve. Leave those money-groping corporate demons and crappy actors to write their own crappy scripts and end their careers.

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muffin7 writes:
on Nov 27 2007 10:21 AM

writers can be in that career for their entire life. Most actors, much like Lindsay Lohan, earn millions for fifteen minutes and then have no more acting jobs offered to them for the rest of their lives. Screw these writers. There are more talented people out there and I'll be damned if I have to pay even more for a movie ticket or a dvd (both are already at outrageous prices, and we wonder why piracy is so popular)

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Ashron writes:
on Nov 27 2007 11:10 AM

Ah, the old chicken and egg dilemma. Movies need both writers and actors (and directors and gaffers, etc, etc). Should writers get paid more? Certainly. Ten times more than actors? Probably not (although some writers do). Let's face it, we don't pay to see an ugly writer on the screen, we pay to see beautiful or talented (hopefully both) actors. That's how it's always been. Nothing new there. As for crappy scripts, there are plenty of writers who do that perfectly well on their own without forcing the crappy actors or corporate demons to do it.

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High School With Money writes:
on Nov 27 2007 11:10 AM

Any leverage the studios gain should be investigated like a threat to national security. It'll likely bite writers back in their collective ace. For the Guild to concede at this point can't mean much in terms of progress.

[b]Force majeure [/b]

They should change that name. Sounds like a Jedi toilet.

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wordweaver writes:
on Nov 27 2007 01:01 PM

In reply to this comment (#1310939)
Muffin7, why don't you go and write an entire episode of Jay Leno and actually maintain its skyrocketing ratings. If you are successful, I will then believe that there are more talented people out there.

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wordweaver writes:
on Nov 27 2007 01:07 PM

In reply to this comment (#1311211)
Ashron, I'll like to see you do the same thing. Instead of Jay Leno, could you please go and write the script for The Office? when you are done and your script actually maintains the ratings, I'll take you and other detractors seriously. Thank you!

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Ashron writes:
on Nov 27 2007 01:28 PM

In reply to this comment (#1311461)
I think you misunderstand me (feel free to take that chip off your shoulder). I'm with the writers on this and I think they should definitely bargain for more. I'm a writer myself. But at the same time, it does require more than just writers to make a successful production. Shakespeare is bad if the wrong people spout the couplets. The Office would not be as big a hit without Steve Carell and the others saying those funny lines. And for every Office, there's five badly written shows that inexplicably remain hits, so it has to be because of something other than the writers.

Writers need to live in the real world like everyone else. Is it fair that actors make so much more? Of course not, but that's the reality, since most people watch a show because of the people in front of the camera. (And I'm talking about the average Joe here, who wouldn't know one writer from the other.) I also don't think it's fair that professional athletes make millions of dollars when the average teacher's salary is $30,000. But that's the world we live in, so we have to deal with it. Yes, the writers should go for as much as they can possibly get, but they also need to know they're not going to get the whole pie. That's all I was trying to say.

Viva la revolution.

(Reply to this)

Peter Parker writes:
on Nov 28 2007 07:04 AM

For the sake of LOST please end this strike, we've suffered enough.

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