Jan 22, 2008 6:27 am US/Pacific
WGA, Producers Start Informal Negotiations
HOLLYWOOD (CBS) ―
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Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) rally outside FremantleMedia North America to call attention to conditions for writers working on game shows and so-called reality television programming Dec. 7, 2007 in Los Angeles, Calif.
David McNew/Getty Images/Getty Images
Informal negotiations between WGA leaders and several moguls are set to start Tuesday with the goal of mimicking the process used by the Directors Guild of America to reach a deal with producers last week, according to an entertainment newspaper.
Tuesday's talks could serve to lay the groundwork for an agreement while identifying potential deal breakers prior to going into formal bargaining, Daily Variety reported.
Even the most optimistic believe it will take at least two weeks to work out a Writers Guild of America deal -- a scenario that would allow the Oscars to proceed Feb. 24 without WGA picket lines, according to the newspaper.
Screen Actors Guild National Executive Director Doug Allen warned on Monday that actors will not cross WGA picket lines to attend the Oscar ceremonies at the Kodak Theatre. He also downplayed optimism about the DGA deal being used to reach pacts with the WGA and SAG.
"The rush to anoint this agreement as the `solution' for the industry is premature," Allen said in remarks reported by Daily Variety.
The two front-and-center players at today's talks are expected to be WGA negotiating committee chief John Bowman and News Corp. chairman Peter Chernin, the newspaper reported.
WGA West President Patric Verrone and Executive Director David Young,
Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger and CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves also are expected to be involved, according to Daily Variety.
Neither side confirmed the timing of the get-together, and both maintained no-comment responses Monday. But optimists see the lack of polarizing rhetoric -- previously employed with vigor -- as a sign that both the guild and the major studios want to give the informal talks a chance to succeed, according to Daily Variety.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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