Separate Deals Draw Ire of Big Producers

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A deal between United Artists and the Writers Guild of America West to let the production company sidestep the screenwriters’ strike may have opened the door to a full-blown brawl, as other producers demanded to know why writers have granted some companies a special agreement but not others, the New York Times reports.


Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Golden Globes ceremony for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has been trying for weeks to reach a similar deal but has been rebuffed. That is presumably because a free pass for Dick Clark would provide NBC, which is scheduled to show the Globes on Sunday, to bring in advertising revenue and promote movies like “Charlie Wilson’s War” for its sister company, Universal.


Alan M. Brunswick, an entertainment labor lawyer with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, said the guild risks violating federal labor law if it refuses to deal with companies on an equal basis.


“If they’re willing to sign the same deal and the guild won’t give them the time of day, I think that raises an issue,” Mr. Brunswick said.



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