SAG, studios feel the pressure
Negotiations expected to intensify
By DAVE MCNARY
4/24/08
Will the Screen Actors Guild blink, now that it has an extra week at the negotiating table?
As SAG negotiations with the majors enter their ninth day, the town's still waiting to see if the guild will compromise enough for a deal to be reached by next Friday -- the new deadline for completing this round of bargaining. Talks will resume at noon today at the headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
SAG still hasn't backed off proposals that include several nonstarters for the companies. Most notably, the guild's still insisting on increased DVD residuals and a shorter period of free usage for promotional purposes for streamed content than the 17- and 24-day windows in the DGA and WGA deals.
After sending a mixed message Wednesday -- that "significant gaps" remained but that it wanted to extend the talks for a week -- the AMPTP refused to make any further comment. But people familiar with the situation remain mildly optimistic that a deal can emerge over the next week.
For that to occur, both sides will need to begin moving toward give-and-take bargaining in the next few sessions. Negotiations, which have been notable for the absence of hostility, are expected to intensify in coming days.
SAG's contract expires June 30, and guild leaders have insisted they don't want to strike. But the town remains on yellow alert, with major studios unwilling to commit to starting a feature until the guild's new deal is wrapped up.
SAG's also facing pressure from AFTRA. If the guild can't make a deal by next Friday, it may face the prospect of seeing AFTRA sign its own deal on primetime shows and then using that to expand coverage in areas of shared jurisdiction.
AFTRA ditched its 27-year joint bargaining agreement with SAG in late March following a series of bitter disputes over jurisdiction and strategy. But it agreed Wednesday with the AMPTP's request to delay the start of its own negotiations for a week.
In a related development, SAG gave a general briefing to its members Thursday on the new-media proposals, noting that more than 9 billion videos are watched online per month.
"This year the leading 100 media companies will realize an estimated $20.7 billion in Internet revenue," SAG said. "And advertisers will spend $2.9 billion annually on online video ads by 2010. All this adds up to tremendous opportunities for actors."
The guild also noted that some shows are being streamed live multiple times before the episode is scheduled to broadcast and that some series have their entire catalog of episodes available for ad-supported streaming. It gave few details about its proposals, however, saying that it's asking for "reasonable" minimums, residuals and protections.
"SAG is not asking for jurisdiction in new media to be granted by the AMPTP because we already have jurisdiction," it added. "In fact, through our new-media organizing efforts, we have already signed over 400 independent producers to SAG new-media contracts, and the number is growing daily."
AFTRA goes its own way
In a move that underscores the differences between AFTRA and SAG, AFTRA announced Thursday that president Roberta Reardon has appointed a special committee officially charged to study proposals that would limit member voting for major AFTRA freelance performer contracts to those who meet a work requirement. That panel was ordered to report to the national board meeting in June.
SAG's national board split on the issue two weeks ago before 60% of that panel voted to refer the matter to a committee with no deadline for reporting back.
By limiting voting to SAG members who work regularly, the "qualified voting" proposal probably would have resulted in less support for a possible strike when the contract expires June 30. But opponents have asserted that the idea is elitist and goes against the democratic principles of SAG.
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Indie films said to be getting work guarantees from Screen Actors Guild as talks continue
By RYAN NAKASHIMA , Associated Press
April 22, 2008
LOS ANGELES - The Screen Actors Guild has reached separate deals that will allow the completion of 95 independent movie productions if actors go on strike, a person with the union said Tuesday.
The disclosure came as formal contract negotiations between SAG and Hollywood studios entered their second week.
The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the deals and requested anonymity, said representatives of the productions have signed guaranteed completion contracts with the guild that clear the way for film companies to raise financing and start work.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, declined to comment on the deals.
Both sides have been tightlipped about their formal contract discussions, which began April 15. They are trying to avoid a replay of the 100-day strike by Hollywood writers.
"I think (the guild) has taken a very reasonable approach vis-a-vis the independents," said Bob Yari, a producer of the Oscar-winning film "Crash" who is applying for guarantees on two films. "They're not penalizing us by striking us, basically."
Yari said the guild told him work could continue as long as his productions did not have ties to major studios such as Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros.
His production company was set to start work on "Killing Pablo," a $40 million project about Colombian drug czar Pablo Escobar starring Christian Bale, and "Governess," a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez. Filming for both is expected to begin in September.
The deals guarantee the companies would be able to keep actors working during a strike if they abide retroactively by the terms of the long-term contract eventually reached with the major studios.
Jonathan Handel, an entertainment attorney and former writers guild lawyer, called the independent production guarantees "ankle biters" that would not undermine the actors' negotiating power.
"The studios are independently and collectively the 800-pound gorillas in the business. Those independent pictures don't make that level of difference," he said.
Roaring Leo Productions also received a guarantee on its $1 million production, "Shifting the Canvas," a film about a group of artists living in Brooklyn after the Sept. 11 attacks, producer Robert Zimmer Jr. said.
"I don't want to shut down in the middle of my production. It would be a disaster," Zimmer said. "I'm sure whatever deal is struck by the actors and the studios will be fair, and we'll be happy to abide by that."
The talks with SAG are scheduled every day through Saturday. Separate talks with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists are scheduled to begin April 28.
In an e-mail sent Tuesday to members, SAG asserted that actors' compensation was decreasing, and that residuals — the fees actors earn for reruns or DVD sales — fell 7 percent from 2003 to 2007 after adjusting for inflation.
"You are not earning the same income that you did several years ago for the same work," the e-mail said.
Increased minimum fees for performers, and compensation or pre-approval rights for product placement endorsements within scenes are among its contract demands, the guild said.
Meanwhile, ripples were felt from the Writers Guild of America strike.
The producers alliance, in a filing with the National Labor Relations Board, alleged that the guild violated federal labor law by identifying 28 writers who sought so-called "financial core status," which constitutes resignation from the guild but allows them to work under its contract.
Go fi-core and the producers will stand up for you. Personally, I’d like to see SAG do the same thing. All our members need to know those members who have gone over to our employers’ side. Each and everyone is a nail in the coffin of unionism. 
In a statement Tuesday, the alliance alleged the guild, by "naming names" and encouraging other union members to avoid them, is seeking to deny the 28 writers employment in the future.
"That is a direct violation of federal labor law, and as the employers of those writers we have a responsibility to defend them and the rule of law in this case," the alliance said.
Any party can file such a claim, which will go through the board's investigation process before a decision is made on whether there's enough evidence to proceed to a hearing, said Brian Gee, supervisory attorney for the board's regional office in West Los Angeles.
"The charges filed by the AMPTP are legally baseless and represent an intrusion by the studios into an internal union matter," the Writers Guild of America's West Coast branch said in a statement. "Contrary to the studios' claim, the guild has not encouraged anyone to refuse to hire a resigned former member."
A.L. Miller SW Editor & Chief
SAG signs on for interim indie deals
Guild, studios resume negotiations
By DAVE MCNARY
As contract talks with the majors enter their second week, the Screen Actors Guild has amped up pressure on the studios by signing interim deals on 95 indie features that allow actors to continue working -- even if SAG strikes this summer.
The development came with negotiators for SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers huddled Tuesday at AMPTP headquarters in their seventh negotiating session with neither side commenting. Talks, which have been proceeding with an absence of saber-rattling, will resume today.
The interim deals, dubbed "guaranteed completion contracts," are based on producers agreeing in advance to adhere to terms of the guild's final contract agreement in exchange for being able to use SAG actors in the event of a strike. The completion contracts are available only to indie productions that have neither financing nor distribution deals with any AMPTP-repped company.
SAG and the AMPTP had no comment about the completion contracts. But top execs have emphasized that such deals won't impact major studios much since they're holding off on starting any projects until SAG reaches a deal with the AMPTP.
SAG's strategy in signing the interim deals is similar to that of the Writers Guild of America, which signed 21 such pacts in the last six weeks of the writers strike.
The first announced SAG deals came a week ago, when the Film Department disclosed it had pacts with SAG for nine pics and Roaring Leo had signed a SAG deal for "Shifting the Canvas."
The prospect of an actors strike after the current SAG feature-primetime contract expires June 30 has spurred feature production at the majors, with schedules designed so that shooting is completed by mid-June.
SAG and the AMPTP have four more days set for negotiations through Saturday -- probably enough time to complete a deal if negotiators can engage in hard bargaining and compromise. The majors will then launch talks on primetime with rival actors union AFTRA on Monday.
If SAG hasn't reached a deal by then, it faces the prospect of the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists signing a deal with the majors and using that to expand coverage in areas of shared jurisdiction. AFTRA angrily split its negotiating partnership with SAG in late March.
SAG also reiterated its talking points in an email sent Tuesday to members, notably leaving out its demands for improved DVD residuals and new-media terms that are better than those in the DGA and WGA pacts. Both those positions are non-starters for the majors.
SAG asserted that average annual TV/theatrical earnings for members are $52,000 a year; overall compensation and session earnings are decreasing; and residuals fell 7% from 2003 to 2007 after adjusting for inflation; changes in the broadcast biz model mean fewer employment opportunities; reality TV has taken a big bite out of residuals and initial compensation.
"One of our top priorities in our current TV/theatrical negotiations is the plight of middle-income actors," the email said. "We've heard it over and over again ... you are not earning the same income that you did several years ago for the same work."
The email said SAG's asking for increased minimum fees for performers, increased major roles minimums and compensation or pre-approval rights for product placement endorsements within scenes.
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AFTRA Delays AMPTP Talks
AP
Smaller actors union delays contract talks to May 5
Wednesday April 23, 5:28 pm ET
By Ryan Nakashima, AP Business Writer
Smaller actors union delays contract talks a week to allow Screen Actors Guild to proceed
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said Wednesday it will delay the start of its contract talks with Hollywood studios for a week to give negotiations by the larger Screen Actors Guild a chance to succeed.
The move put off the beginning of talks from April 28 to May 5.
But the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said on its Web site that it was not close to reaching a deal with SAG.
"At this time there remain significant gaps between the two parties, and we hope to use the extra time to narrow these gaps," it said.
AFTRA said it made the move at the request of the major studios and believes it will not hurt its members.
"We believe we can best serve our members' interests by briefly postponing our negotiations," the statement said.
The federation, which has 70,000 members and mostly represents broadcast performers, previously decided to negotiate separately with studios for the first time in 27 years.
SAG, which represents film and prime-time TV talent, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
That union and Hollywood producers started talks on a new contract on April 15 with the hope of avoiding a replay of the 100-day strike by Hollywood writers that shut down production of dozens of TV shows.
AFTRA and the producers have both stressed that they are seeking to reach a deal quickly and avert another strike.
SAG, however, had been expected to push for a better deal than writers and directors received in previous negotiations with studios.
The delay by AFTRA may signal that the Screen Actors Guild is prepared to accept a deal similar to the one accepted by writers in mid-February, said entertainment lawyer Jonathan Handel.
"This is a great move, definitely reducing the possibility of a strike," he said.
SAG, which represents 120,000 members, and the studios are negotiating a new three-year deal covering movies and prime-time television. The current three-year contract expires June 30.
Improved compensation for DVDs and content distributed online is a key issue in the actors negotiations, just as it was for writers and directors.
The two actors' unions had been set to conduct joint talks until AFTRA President Roberta Reardon blasted SAG in late March for what she called its "relentless campaign of disinformation and disparagement" aimed at enticing actors in the soap drama "The Bold and The Beautiful" to abandon the federation in favor of the guild.
SAG President Alan Rosenberg responded that his organization had no desire to woo daytime soap stars away from the federation. He called the suggestion that SAG was trying to poach the actors an excuse by AFTRA to hasten the end of their partnership.
SAG, studios extend negotiations
AFTRA agrees to postpone talks
By DAVE MCNARY
Though big gaps remain between SAG and the majors, negotiators have made enough progress toward a feature-primetime deal to keep negotiations going for an extra week until May 2.
Wednesday’s announcement - the first substantial positive sign from eight days of talks - came a few minutes after AFTRA disclosed that if had agreed to postpone next week's start of its primetime negotiations unitl May 5, in response to a request by the AMPTP.
“We made our request because we owe it to our entire industry to give the current SAG-AMPTP talks every opportunity to result in an agreement,” the AMPTP said in a posting on its Web site. “At this time there remain significant gaps between the two parties and we hope to use the extra time to narrow these gaps.”
The AMPTP didn’t elaborate as to where the gaps lie but the move by the majors to seek another week of negotiating time with SAG should serve to cool down the town’s fears of a SAG strike this summer.
The moves came a few hours after SAG and the AMPTP launched an eighth day of negotiations at AMPTP heaquarters in Encino. Unitl Wednesday’s announcement, both sides had adhered to an unofficial news blackout that had served as a stark contrast with the vitriolic atmosphere of attack during last year’s WGA negotiations.
SAG's contract expires June 30. Guild leaders have asserted repeatedly that SAG doesn't want to strike but those proclamations haven't stopped studios from stockpiling features as a hedge against a work stoppage.
For SAG to make a deal, it will almost certainly have to back away from its demands for improved DVD residuals and new-media terms that are better than those in the DGA and WGA pacts. Both those positions are non-starters for the majors.
In a sign that SAG may be willing to concede on those points, SAG sent an email to members earlier this week that omitted any mention of DVD or new media. Instead, the missive highlighted the need to improve earnings for middle-income actors and stressed the need for language dealing with the “forced endorsement” issued via compensation or pre-approval rights for product placement endorsements within scenes.
Wednesday’s move by AFTRA comes three weeks after it angrily split off the Phase One negotiating partnership with SAG in late March, following a series of jurisdictional disputes that culminated in actors on "The Bold and the Beautiful" attempting to decertify AFTRA as their bargaining rep in favor of SAG.
AFTRA said Wednesday it's agreed to the postponement in hopes that the SAG negotiations will lead to a deal before AFTRA starts its own talks.
"The AFTRA Negotiating Committee would like to give the negotiations already underway between the AMPTP and the Screen Actors Guild a chance to succeed, and while AFTRA is ready to begin negotiations now, we believe we can best serve our members' interests by briefly postponing our negotiations," the union said. "AFTRA remains focused on achieving important gains for our members."
AFTRA had been scheduled to start its talks Monday over its primetime network shows including "Rules of Engagement," "Cashmere Mafia," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Flight of the Conchords," and "Til Death." If SAG had not been able to reach a deal by this weekend, it might have faced the prospect of
AFTRA signing its own deal and using that to expand coverage in areas of shared jurisdiction.
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AFTRA Agrees to Delay Their AMPTP Talks 
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