Hollywood at war: Thousands of writers told to axe agents at midnight [April 12, 2019]

Axios ^ | April 12, 2019 | Sara Fischer

[Jyotishi]

The Writers Guild of America says it has instructed its 13,000 members to fire their talent agents at midnight on Saturday, unless their agents sign a new "Code of Conduct" agreement that promises they will do away with packaging fees and their stakes in production companies.

The bottom line: Most of the Guild's writers agree with the Code of Conduct, but most of the agents who represent them don't. The hope was that the 2 sides would come up with a compromise before the current negotiations expired on Friday. Without a deal, Hollywood is stuck in a messy limbo that could leave thousands of writers without work and could put hundreds of studio projects on hold.

Details: The unprecedented move comes after several rounds of negotiations have fallen flat between the Guild and the Association of Talent Agents (ATA), a trade group that represents Hollywood's biggest talent agencies.

- The 2 groups have been struggling to renegotiate a decades-old talent agreement called the Artists’ Managers Basic Agreement (AMBA) that basically says agents agree to fairly represent writers during talent negotiations with studios.

- The heart of the dispute centers around the Guild's assertion that Hollywood's biggest talent agencies are undercutting the writers they represent by moving from a long-standing percentage cut payout model to a model focused around packaging fees and production.

- The deadline for an agreement was pushed back a week, which gave both sides time to meet and discuss new terms. But after several meetings, the Guild informed its members Friday that no deal had been struck.

Yes but: Talent agencies did at one point during negotiations this week offer writers a 1% cut of their production fee money, but the Guild says that proposal was unacceptable.

- "They insist on continuing to produce and be our employers," the Guild said in a letter to its members.

- ATA Executive Director Karen Stuart said in a statement on Friday that the Guild's leadership "declared a pathway for compromise doesn’t exist," and that the unresolved outcome "was driven by the Guild’s predetermined course for chaos."

The big picture: The dispute is largely based on the changing business dynamics in Hollywood, that are mostly being caused by the disruption of the tech industry.

- Talent agencies like WME, CAA and UTA have been investing heavily in production arms that writers think unfairly pit their interests against the writers they represent.

- Agencies have expanded their portfolios from representing just talent to owning production operations as the value of individual talent declines due to saturation of opportunities in Hollywood. Last year, for example, the number of original scripted series reached nearly 500, an increase of more than double since 2010.

- Most of those new series are coming from online streamers, which are pouring billions of dollars into original content.

What's next: The Guild says that in a strike situation, "we all know that we are to refrain from crossing the picket line or writing for a struck company, and we’re asked to show our solidarity by picketing, which is the public and moral face of our dispute."

[Jyotishi]

The Big Picture: Looking forward to a new Hollywood in more ways than one.

[reg45]

So we won’t have a bunch of writers writing a pile of anti-Trump crap. Big win.

[Nothingburger]

A plague on both their houses.

[aquila48]

For some reason, I’m having trouble working up any sympathy for either side.

[Fresh Wind]

Rats fighting in the dumpster.

[frank ballenger]

Mentions “talent”. Since when does the current Hollywood have talent?

Whiny anti-Trump slandering, yes.

[JohnnyP]

Just what question are they going to axe their agents?

[thoughtomator]

I’m working up enthusiasm to see a bloody turf war.

[Secret Agent Man]

popcorn time

[Raycpa]

Stop and shop might be hiring.

[Nateman]

What is the point of a picket line when a scab can merely email in a script? Given the collectivist output of these writers , I suppose it's no surprise they act like collectivists as well. Give Mudero in Venezuela a call, I'm sure he could use some talented propagandists about now.

[fella]

"Rats fighting in the dumpster."

Perfect description.

[EasySt]

Who needs Hollywood?

We have the US Security Forces and our own battle to fight
in the Human Social Communications Domain.

Here's a 4 Star Active Duty Army General with a message for us about that.

The Future of War and how it affects YOU Multi-Domain Operations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOTYgcdNrXE

Here's a link to just before the General starts talking:
https://youtu.be/qOTYgcdNrXE?t=647

Be sure to note Destin's comments at the end.

"Political Grace"
"Intentional Unity"

Here's another General. Same topic.

Michael Flynn, talking about a
civilian army of digital soldiers...
Citizen journalists...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=V2MgTd3LgB0

[ronnie raygun]

Hollywood is the drek of society feeding our families garbage that influence our children in all the wrong ways

[EasySt]

[Nothingburger]

Amen to that

[Hardastarboard]

LOL! They’re writers. Should be easy for them to learn to code. As long as they realize that computer code doesn’t know or understand any “gay characters”. :-D

[yldstrk]

Let them destroy each other.

[Raycpa]

If A<>0 then print global warming, if b<>0 then print Trump is Hitler

[samtheman]

Rats fighting in the dumpster.
—
Perfect image