Variety is reporting this morning that negotiations between the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) and the WGA (Writers Guild of America) will resume after Thanksgiving. However, the WGA will remain on strike, even though the AMPTP had originally insisted that they would only resume negotiations if the striking writers temporarily went back to work.A joint statement was released late Friday night, reading: "Leaders from the AMPTP and the WGA have mutually agreed to resume formal negotiations on November 26."
Patric Verrone, president of the WGA-West, sent the following email to the WGA membership: "This announcement is a direct result of your efforts. For 12 days I have repeated that a powerful strike means a short strike. ...Now it is equally important that we now prove that good news won't slow us down, either. We must remember that returning to the bargaining table is only a start. Our work is not done until we achieve a good contract and that is by no means assured. Accordingly, what we achieve in negotiations will be a direct result of how successfully we can keep up our determination and resolve."
A lot of this strike has played out in the press, with public sentiment siding mostly with the writers. However, both sides have agreed to a news blackout, stating, "No other details or press statements will be issued."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-17-2007 @ 10:21AM
Ytoabn said...
I'm confused by the meaning of media black out. Will blogs like United Hollywood continue to report from the picket line? Will we get updates on the negotiations? Will regular news agencies be able to report on the strike still?
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11-17-2007 @ 10:53AM
Kenban said...
Media Blackout just means no official statements will be made by either side. It does not prevent unofficial statements from people who have information and it does not prevent any coverage of the strike.
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11-17-2007 @ 11:23AM
mj said...
I just want to say that I am really miffed at all the people who are whining because Ellen is on the air, during the strike. Why is no one complaining about The View, Oprah, or Dr. Phil? The writers are due perks, granted. But why diss the people who make it possible for YOU to work? The Desperate Housewives cast gave pizza to the strikers, and were BOOED because they HAD to go to work because of their contracts. And gee, the late night guys are going to go back on the air, 'winging it,' huh? Will they get jumped like Ellen? I doubt it.
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11-17-2007 @ 3:01PM
Geoff said...
Hey, it's a start. Hopefully there will be a resolution coming from this so we can enjoy our favorite TV shows without worrying about whether or not there will be shortened seasons or at the very least prolonged production delays.
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11-17-2007 @ 3:01PM
Joey Geraci said...
Although I am pretty uniformly in support of the writers, I do think that their sabotaging of the Desperate Housewives shoot was misguided, and all the hullabaloo over Ellen doesn't make much sense if all the other daytime talkers are similarly doing shows.
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11-17-2007 @ 4:32PM
Dave said...
I read on another blog that Ellen treats her writers poorly (going all the way back to her sitcom days), so that may be why she's been getting a lot of flack from the WGA.
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