Nothing's changed in the WGA/AMPTP situation since last night but I thought it might be useful to summarize where everyone is at the moment…
The WGA Board and Negotiating Committee are meeting, probably right this minute, to decide when to strike. Everyone assumes it'll be a.s.a.p. but one thing our leaders have managed to be in this whole matter is Not Easily Predictable. There may be some kind of other strategy in play, like trying for a time to keep the town just on the cusp of a strike. I haven't heard anything about this; just suggesting that one of the WGA's strengths may be in being fast on its feet, whereas the Producers are more or less committed to doing things the way they always do. There are six major, multi-national corporations who have to agree on a change of battle plans for their side, and we all know how tough it can be for even one of those corporations to alter the way it does business, especially when it thinks those methods have generally worked.
The Producers say they are ready to continue discussions and that "a deal could be closed this weekend." But as far as I know, that's only possible from their point of view if the WGA will walk in and say, "Okay, let's forget that nonsense we were spouting about getting a better share on DVDs and other new technologies." More likely, that would be phrased as, "Okay, let's accept a token, meaningless increase in those areas and let's agree to a three-year study to determine how that marketplace will work, and then we'll fight this same battle in the next contract but in the meantime, you'll have three years more of getting to keep all that dough for yourself." However it would be stated, the WGA ain't about to say it.
Various studios are scrambling to plan what, if anything, they're going to tape or film next week. Most shows probably have two schedules and they're waiting for the WGA announcement this afternoon to see which one will prevail. On many, it may be possible to continue for another week or so with material that's already been through much of the pipeline. The networks are probably continuing to order up episodes of "reality" shows and game shows that they don't really want to broadcast.
And a lot of peripheral folks are worried. Script coordinators and people who run TelePrompters and guys who deliver croissants to the set are all wondering if and when their income streams will be halted. This is one of the real tragic aspects of all this. The people who are responsible for the strike — the studio heads and corporate execs — won't be missing any mortgage payments. Some writers might but, of course, they're doing this for their own livelihoods and they feel forced into it by the Producers' actions. The Wardrobe Assistant who may be laid off if and when their show goes dark…that person is like collateral damage.
In truth, some of the non-writers whose jobs may be affected do stand to gain from all this, at least in indirect ways. There are many unions in Hollywood where the members do not receive residuals directly or share in home video revenues but they do indirectly. In many cases, the employers contribute to the union's health and pension plans via a formula based on the kind of residual structure that the WGA is out there defending. Others profit in other ways from the WGA upholding the idea that those who do the hiring must respect the dignity and importance of those they hire. Still, there will be those who will suffer during a battle in which they have no self-interests and that's regrettable. You really wish there could be a better way to do this but unfortunately, the folks who have the real power in the industry think they do jes' fine with this one, most of the time. This is not going to be one of those times.