I am – Hercules!!


UPDATE AT 11 A.M. PT SATURDAY: The deal draft finally arrived around 2:30 a.m. PT / 5:30 a.m. ET and the WGAe is indeed now heading into its meeting at the Crowne Plaza. As links to the deal points were issued early Saturday morning, the WGA presidents wrote:

Over these three difficult months, we shut down production of nearly all scripted content in TV and film and had a serious impact on the business of our employers in ways they did not expect and were hard pressed to deflect. Nevertheless, an ongoing struggle against seven, multinational media conglomerates, no matter how successful, is exhausting, taking an enormous personal toll on our members and countless others. As such, we believe that continuing to strike now will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks and that the time has come to accept this contract and settle the strike.

Now it's up to the WGA membership. A decision on whether or not to call off the strike is expected Sunday.

Codgerly former Disney chief Michael Eisner is apparently running around telling anyone who will listen that the writers’ strike is over. How Eisner managed to poll so many members of the WGA on a deal draft that still doesn't exist is never explained. None of my many screenwriter friends have told me the strike is over.

The Writers Guild of America leadership days ago DID schedule Saturday meetings to brief its members on the progress (or lack thereof) regarding negotiations with producers. The WGAe was supposed to meet at 2 p.m. ET at the Crowne Plaza Times Square. The WGAw was supposed to meet eight hours later, 7 p.m. PT, at the Shrine.

As I write this it’s 2 a.m. ET and the WGA and the AMPTP are reportedly still haggling over the deal draft. That is to say, the deal draft to be submitted to the WGAe membership in 12 hours apparently still doesn’t exist. Apparently AMPTP members like News Corp.’s Peter Chernin are saying one thing while AMPTP lawyers are writing down something else.

If and when a deal draft does manifest, WGA leaders may not recommend ratification. If WGA leaders do offer recommendation, the membership might still balk. (Apparently anything presented to members Saturday will call for, among many other things, a 17-day “promotional” window that will allow continued ad-embedded online episode streaming with no significant residuals paid to writers.)

If members vote down the deal, many expect the WGA won’t be negotiating with producers again until June, when the Screen Actors Guild deal comes up for renewal.