WITH much of the na tion in a deep freeze, relations between Hollywood producers and striking writers might be ready for a thaw.
The two sides are reportedly trying to break a weeks-old stalemate with informal talks that could begin in California today, the 79th day of the Writers Guild strike that has halted TV production and threatens the development of new fall shows.
The talks, to be conducted by two officials of the Writers Guild and two studio execs, will hopefully pave the way for formal talks that would end the strike, according to reports yesterday in Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
The impetus for the renewal of negotiations appears to be last week’s agreement between the producers, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, and the Directors Guild of America on a new contract whose terms, particularly those providing for directors to get a percentage of on-line profits, could provide a template for a new deal with the writers’ union.
Writers Guild officials said they’ll study the DGA agreement as soon as it is available.
The renewal of talks comes as pressure is increasing on the TV industry to get a deal done in time to salvage the development season.
Usually, network execs at this time of year would be busy OK’ing scripts for prospective new series and the studios would be busy making those scripts into pilots for the networks to consider for their new fall lineups.
With no such activity underway, due to the strike, at least one network – CBS – said it’s cutting back on the number of spec scripts it will consider in the short time frame that will be available if and when the strike ends.
The network reportedly terminated about 20 such projects, including one drama from “Will and Grace” actor Sean Hayes’ production company.
“This year’s pilot season, at best, will be played out in a very compressed time frame,” CBS said in a statement. “In this landscape, we are better served creatively, financially and strategically by focusing our development on a more targeted number of projects.”
Network sources believe the current season and the development season can be saved, but only if a new Writers Guild agreement can be reached in the next few weeks.
After that happens, viewers could see newly produced episodes of their favorite shows about four weeks later, but that’s only according to the most optimistic estimates.
Meanwhile, at least one network exec – NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker – said last week that NBC might cancel this May’s annual “upfront” presentation in New York, when the network unveils its fall programs for ad agencies, if the writers’ strike continues long enough to derail the development process.