AP R I L 2 0 0 8 (Continued from Cover) Writers’ Strike To Be Listed in VideoAge’s L.A. SCREENINGS Guide COMPANY ADDRESS TEL: FAX: e-MAIL: SCREENING LOCATION ARRIVAL DATE IN L.A. BUYER DISTRIBUTOR KEY EXECS IN ATTENDANCE WEBSITE L.A. SCREENINGS2008 .................................................................................. Fill out this form and, at MIP-TV, return it toVideoAge at Booth 09.37 or Fax it to: +1-212-734-9033 300 producers. Because the 15-week strike started on November 5, 2007 — in the midst of the new TV season development cycle — it was more problematic than the 22-week strike of 1988, which began in August. Verrone spoke with VideoAgethe day after the strike about the ups and downs of the negotiations, the future of the TV industry and whether or not the networks are bluffing about scaling back pilot production. during the strike? PMV: There was an AMPTP website parody that was very well done and our members made a lot of short films for YouTube that were both satirical and very funny. You had great writers out there who were unable to use their craft and were forced to turn to the Internet. The strike turned into an incubator for people to learn how to make their own Web content. VAI: Were there any unexpected events? PMV:Every step of the way is a series of unexpected events during a strike. It was a nice surprise to see [former U.S. presidential candidate] John Edwards and [civil rights activist] Jesse Jackson join us on the picket line along with so many Screen Actors Guild (SAG) members. It was also very disappointing when the late-night talk show hosts were forced back to work. VAI: What was the most difficult concession the WGA had to make? PMV: What was important and heartbreaking for me was our inability to get animation and reality TV covered in our contract. VAI: Is this issue going to be raised next time? PMV:What you’re going to see is we’re going to make progress with these issues between negotiations. Outside negotiations we can enforce our own working rules to get animation and reality TV covered, plus you’ll see that there will be animation in new media that we will also cover. VAI: How will the results of the strike change the industry in the long term? PMV:The legacy of this strike is going to be the connections that writers developed with new media delivery providers so that they can produce and distribute entertainment outside the traditional conglomerates. VAI: What effects will the strike have on the upcoming TV season? PMV:It certainly put it in jeopardy and that’s one of the reasons the CEOs entered into negotiations, but there’s enough elasticity in our industry that we can make up a lot of ground quickly. VAI: In 1988 the strike lasted 22 weeks, why was it over faster this time when the stakes were actually higher? PMV:The imminent or impending loss of the 2007-2008 season as well as the 2008-2009 pilot season and the Academy Awards [i.e. the Oscars] were all considerations. Plus, there comes a point, which was fast upon us, where you can’t greenlight a picture if you think that SAG is going strike at the end of June. [SAG’s contract expires June 30.] We were planning on handing them the baton in terms of improving on those issues. They still might strike. There is an absolute sense that they are going to fight as hard as we did. VAI: What do you think of the announcements that some networks will cut back drastically on pilot production? PMV: Most of those statements were made in the midst of bargaining and they were designed as a bargaining position. Pilot season is their research and development, and drastically reducing would be a self-defeating move. VAI: So do you think the networks’ scaling back will stick? PMV:I hope not and I doubt it. VideoAge International: What did you learn from the negotiations that can be used in the future? Patric M. Verrone: Something was confirmed for us in the resolution of the strike, which is that negotiating with the AMPTP was unproductive in the extreme and it wasn’t until the decisionmakers and the CEOs got involved that progress was made. This is reflective of comments that [president and CEO of CBS] Les Moonves made, that in order to avoid this in the future we need to have direct contact with these decisionmakers. VAI: How were negotiations different this year than in the past? PMV:This time we were not willing to take bad deals. The AMPTP was there to say no, and usually we’d say okay — but not this time. We said no and they didn’t have another playbook to turn to. VAI: Were there any humorous moments
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