Studios Prepare for a Strike -- Two Years From Now

Given the tougher positions being taken by the newly elected heads of the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America, Hollywood is already drafting preparations for a possible strike when current contracts expire about two years from now, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. J. Nicholas Counter III of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, who negotiates for the studios, told the newspaper, "The truth is we have no choice but to prepare for the worst possible scenario in the next round of bargaining." Responded WGA-West President Patric Verrone: "If they are preparing for the worst, I'm not sure they know what the worst is." All of which has led University of Texas professor David Prindle, who wrote a history of SAG, to tell the Times: "It's definitely a possibility that we're heading into an era of management labor conflict within Hollywood. ... There's a new tone, a tone of 'We're fed up and we're not going to take it anymore.'"
2005-12-20 17:41:22