Hollywood Braces For Strike

With the threat of a writers strike less than 24 hours away, the WGA and the AMPTP reconvened negotiations this morning. Federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzales joined the discussions yesterday, and again, the WGA is claiming that no progress has been made.

Among other things, Variety is reporting that the WGA will most likely delay the beginning of a strike until late next week. The article says this would be an advantageous move for the WGA because having the ability to walk at a moments notice would empower them in the negotiating room. Also, they say that waiting would be a good PR move for the Guild, and would give writers a few extra days to finish up projects they are racing to finish.

Frankly, the threat of a strike seems just as viable today as it would be next week. It seems that little headway has been made so far. 12th hour bargaining could certainly be beneficial to the WGA, but the bottom line is, we will either wake up tomorrow with progress or not.

Public relations is certainly important to everybody involved, and you can be sure that the information you are hearing is exactly what the WGA and the AMPTP want you to hear. It’s always nice to have more time to finish a project, but Variety’s claim that a delay in the strike is a good thing for that reason is silly. Writers have to operate as if there will be a strike tomorrow. Once a strike is called, nothing can be turned in, which means there will be a flurry of activity today.

As talks resumed this morning, the WGA was expected to present the AMPTP with a comprehensive package proposal. Stay tuned.

photo of Hollywood sign by laughing squid via Flickr