Is That The Finish Line I See?

It came down to the last hour, but the deal language got resolved, and the WGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP.

The deal will be discussed in general assembly meetings in both NY and LA.

The board will decide tomorrow (Sunday) whether to lift the Strike or continue, based primarily on their belief that the deal will or will not be ratified by the Membership.

The deal points can be read here.

The biggest problem this contract faces is Hard-Liners' hatred of the 17-day promotional window for streaming reuse.  My guess is that, though truly hated, this provision will not be enough to derail the deal.

The argument will be "do we really want to strike for another 4 months just to get that down to 10 days?  Let SAG be the bad guys now -- see if they can get it."

Fingers are crossed.  This should be a deal good enough (especially with Verrone and Young's endorsement) to get the Strike lifted tomorrow.

Writers will be back to work on Monday.  Crews should be back days later.

The Moment (err... Weekend) Of Truth

On Saturday, the WGA will present the new proposal to the general membership at meetings on both coasts (assuming the legalese is properly worked out by midnight tonight -- which is not a foregone conclusion).

Strike Captains were shown the proposal today and, per an article on United Hollywood, this is the state of affairs:

Patric Verrone, Michael Winship, David Young, and John Bowman are all recommending the deal. They think it’s a good one – not perfect – but a good solid deal that we would never have gotten if we hadn’t have gone out on strike. They believe we got every last penny on the table. 

The negotiating team will go over the proposal, point by point, with the Membership.

If a majority of the assembly seems happy with the Terms of Agreement, and will likely ratify it – the greater board will take this into consideration when they meet on Sunday. Then, on Sunday they will vote on whether or not to lift the strike, and send everyone back to work on Monday. They will only vote to lift it if they feel that the majority of membership likes the deal and will ratify it. If that's the case – we go back to work on Monday.

It is now up to the Writers.  If the Hard-Liners sway enough people, the Strike will continue until at least June 30.  If the moderates prevail, the Strike That Never Should Have Been will finally be over.

The most important thing right now is for 1) the lawyers to finish up by midnight and 2) for all those Writers who swore by Verrone and Young at the beginning to be true to their words now.  Even if you aren't crazy with the deal, you have to trust your leadership.  Believe it or not, they may actually have a better understanding of how the negotiations have been going than you do.

Hopefully, clear minds and level heads will rule the day.

And then everyone else can get back to work.  Finally.

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Note: I have edited this post to remove a line about Verrone and Young which, though I still stand behind it, I felt was distracting from the point at hand and was looking at a possible outcome which I do not feel is likely.

WGA To Present Terms Of A Deal This Weekend

The WGA is going to present terms of a deal to the Membership on Saturday.  

This really could be "it"....

From Verrone and Winship, in the latest official WGA email to members:

As Negotiating Committee Chair John Bowman wrote you last night, we are continuing to negotiate the terms of a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. We anticipate that we will be able to present the terms of that agreement to you in the next few days.

While the Los Angeles meeting will be at 7:00pm on Saturday, the New York Meeting will be at 2:00pm local time.  Which means we will likely have word about the terms of the deal by noon on the West Coast.

It has been reported that, as part of the negotiations, the WGA will call off the Strike when the NegCom agrees in principal with the deal, as opposed to after an official Membership vote.

This means that, if things go well, Friday may be the last day of the Strike.  Cross your fingers, but don't count your chickens...

I have heard from several sources that production for most shows in the 2007-08 season will resume within a couple weeks of the Strike's end.  I've heard most shows will be looking to do anywhere from 5-8 episodes to finish out a truncated season.  It is likely, however, that some shows will not return this year.

For shows that do return, it is likley that SitComs will start shooting about 2 weeks after the end of the Strike and Dramas will take a week longer to start shooting.  Each show is unique, however, and some will take longer to get back up to speed.

Best of luck to everyone, and may cooler heads prevail.