Writers, studio talks hit pause button
FROM VARIETY: Negotiations will resume on Tuesday
By Dave McNary of Variety -- Video Business, 11/30/2007
NOV. 30 | FROM VARIETY: With the writers strike in its fourth week, the companies on Thursday put forth what they consider to be a "groundbreaking" proposal -- and the writers have blasted it.On the fourth day of closed-door negotiations both sides lifted the news blackout as the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers unveiled its proposal that would deliver more than $130 million in additional compensation to scribes over three years.
The WGA rejected the math and dubbed the proposal both a "massive rollback" and a "bad deal."
The WGA also said it had presented on Wednesday a "comprehensive economic justification" for its proposals, asserting that its entire package would cost $151 million additional over three years.
"That's a little over a 3% increase in writer earnings each year, while company revenues are projected to grow at a rate of 10%," Verrone and Winship said. "We are falling behind."
Read the full story, including the studios' stand on Internet and DVD residuals, at Variety.com.
