Directors Guild agrees to start contract talks with studios

Source: LA Times

Formal negotiations could help influence the outcome of the writers' strike.
By Richard Verrier and Claudia Eller, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

The Directors Guild of America and the major studios agreed Friday to begin formal negotiations on a new contract today, embarking on high-stakes talks that could determine when Hollywood gets back to work.

People familiar with the talks said a deal could be reached within days, in contrast to the standoff between the studios and writers that has resulted in a two-month strike. The dispute is over how much writers should receive when their work is distributed online.

Although the directors' contract doesn't expire until June 30, they have long been laying the groundwork for negotiations. In the last month, they have held informal talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to establish economic parameters for a deal. Those discussions escalated over the last 10 days, when DGA leaders met with News Corp. President Peter Chernin and Walt Disney Co. Chairman Bob Iger to narrow the terms on new media.

In a letter sent to DGA members Friday, President Michael Apted said: "We would not enter negotiations with the AMPTP unless we were within shouting distance of an agreement on our two most important issues: jurisdiction for our members to work in new media and appropriate compensation for the reuse of our work on the Internet and other new media platforms."


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dga12jan12,1,2139572.story?ctrack=2&cset=true

Where they said a deal could be reached in under a month. Days sounds so much better.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3idd0532362d72a12231de7ae1adb57e39

The directors get what they want but the writers get shafted?

"We would not enter negotiations with the AMPTP unless we were within shouting distance of an agreement on our two most important issues: jurisdiction for our members to work in new media and appropriate compensation for the reuse of our work on the Internet and other new media platforms."

That's exactly what the writers want and the AMPTP told them to take a hike.

I will hunt around...

Word is that the DGA's new-media study largely supports the AMPTP's claim that new-media businesses are still works in progress, a finding that could shape the directors' approach to negotiations with the studio group.

Reports suggest the protracted preliminary discussions between the DGA and AMPTP swung in part on dicey subject new media. But with just the prelims stretching over two weeks, some believe the DGA was also anxious to convey the sense of being a tough negotiator.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3idd0532362d72a12231de7ae1adb57e39?imw=Y