Negotiations between striking Hollywood writers and studios collapsed Friday, the culmination of a day in which the sides traded barbs and accusations.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced that the round of talks that started Tuesday had broken down, stalling efforts to end the five-week strike that has sidelined many prime-time and late-night TV shows.
The alliance said it was "puzzled and disheartened" by the Writers Guild of America's ongoing negotiating strategy "that seems designed to delay or derail talks rather than facilitate an end to this strike."
In response, the guild said the chief alliance negotiator slammed the door on bargaining after presenting an ultimatum and before the union could respond to his latest proposal regarding crucial new-media compensation issues.
"As we prepared our counteroffer, at 6:05 p.m., Nick Counter came and said to us, in the mediator's presence, 'We are leaving. When you write us a letter saying you will take all these items off the table, we will reschedule negotiations with you,"' according to a union statement.
A detailed alliance announcement on the talks' collapse was released a short time later. An e-mail message sent to the alliance requesting comment from Counter was not immediately answered.
The guild said it remained "ready and willing to negotiate, no matter how intransigent our bargaining partners are, because the stakes are simply too high."
Hopes that a settlement might be imminent were dashed just two days after the sides had expressed their first hint of optimism.
The alliance reiterated its position that its latest offer aimed at settling a central contract issue — compensation for the internet and other digital media — makes it "possible to find common ground."
Last week, the studios had proposed a flat $250 payment for a year's use of an hourlong TV show on the Web. That contrasts with the $20,000-plus residual that writers now earn for a single network rerun of a TV episode.
Friday night, the guild said producers were holding to their $250 offer and demanding that writers give up on proposals including unionization of animation and reality and, "most crucially, any proposal that uses distributor's gross as a basis for residuals."
More TV Headlines »
- CTV buys U.S. series Mad Men
- Private broadcaster CTV has added to its slate of U.S.-produced shows with the purchase of the Golden Globe-nominated series Mad Men.
- Law & Order to get British accent
- A British production company is considering creating a London version of the long-running TV crime series Law & Order.
- Expect pickets at Golden Globes, striking writers say
- The Writers Guild of America is saying no deal to Golden Globe Awards organizers, who had hoped to negotiate a ceremony without a picket line.
- Late-night hosts return to TV
- Late-night TV hosts returned to the air Wednesday after a two-month hiatus.
- Serbian Big Brother cancelled following deaths of evicted contestants
- Producers of a Serbian version of Big Brother have cancelled the latest series after three of the reality show's participants were killed in a weekend car accident.
More Arts Headlines »
- Stinky Cheese man named U.S. kids' books ambassador
- Jon Scieszka, author of such bestselling picture books as The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, has been named the ambassador for children's books in the U.S.
- Expect pickets at Golden Globes, striking writers say
- The Writers Guild of America is saying no deal to Golden Globe Awards organizers, who had hoped to negotiate a ceremony without a picket line.
- Sean Penn to head Cannes festival jury
- American actor and director Sean Penn will head the awards jury at the Cannes Film Festival this year, organizers announced Thursday.
- Artists face charges over fake nuclear blast on Czech TV
- A group of Czech artists who staged a fake nuclear blast over national television will be sent to criminal trial, a state prosecutor said Thursday.
- CTV buys U.S. series Mad Men
- Private broadcaster CTV has added to its slate of U.S.-produced shows with the purchase of the Golden Globe-nominated series Mad Men.
Arts Features
Blog Watch
Most Blogged about CBC.ca Articles
Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - link will open in new window