Writers, Producers in Serious Talks

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Putting the hyperbole on hold, the WGA and its members’ employers have gotten down to brass tacks at the bargaining table, Variety reports.


Meeting for the first time in two weeks, both sides sheathed their swords Thursday, issuing no statements other than to announce that they had met and would resume bargaining today at the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers offices in Encino.


The session — only the sixth in which negotiators for both sides have met since mid-July — consisted of discussion of proposals rather than presentation. And the decision to refrain from blasting each other could be a sign that negotiations may be moving forward despite widespread skepticism that a deal will emerge by the Oct. 31 expiration of the Writers Guild of America’s current contract.


Thursday’s lack of rancor contrasted sharply with the heated rhetoric that emerged earlier this week, when WGA leaders announced they had mailed out strike authorization ballots to its 12,000 members.


At that point, guild leaders said the AMPTP wasn’t taking the negotiations seriously and characterized its proposal to revamp residuals as “Draconian rollbacks.” The AMPTP, which is proposing a system in which talent would be paid only after basic costs are recouped, returned fire by accusing the WGA of both failing to take the negotiations seriously and lying to its members.



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