19 October 2007 1 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

Just a short blip today. I’ve only recently been following the goings on between the Writers Guild of America, West and the Producers Alliance. Seems like they’ve been in negotiations over the new agreement since July and haven’t made any headway. I do most of my industry reading during my downtime at work, which isn’t much, so maybe I misunderstood, but I think the producers tried to introduce some new clause that writers wouldn’t get any residuals from DVD sales and other revenue streams until producers recouped their investments. The WGAw of course stonewalled until that little gem was changed. Just recently it was and the PA is hoping to move forward, but I don’t believe anything is going stop a walkout this November. The current agreement ends on Halloween.

What does this mean for us? Well, for me, I’m not entirely sure yet. Will I have more or less trouble pitching my screenplay during the strike as a non-union writer? As I read, producers are not accepting any new screenplays until this mess with the WGAw is resolved. For we, the viewers, a walkout will mean at least one season of (typically bad) reality television. That outcome is actually beneficial to me, since I have a few concepts I want to see get made. Luckily, I have an industry contact looking for new ideas, so we’ll see.

Look for The Ugly Friend and Poker Protegé this winter!

René Garcia is a professional copywriter living and working in Southern California. He also freelances for regional publications, reviewing restaurants, movies and locales or covering events. René is also an aspiring screenwriter. (Read more about this Author)
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