So, true enough, nothing is announced yet, but within 24 hours of BTL’s Friday blog posting, the Hot Rumor of the strike’s upcoming end was all over the “internets” — the NY and LA Times had it, AP, CBS, the BBC, etc., etc., everyone hearing something similar from their various sources.
Of course, by Sunday there was the backlash — the WGA’s letter saying “not so fast, buster, and just keep picketing,” and also some writer pals confiding that they hoped it wasn’t some producer mind-meld/psych-out maneuver, to get everyone’s hopes up, then to get everyone pissed off at the WGA when the settlement didn’t happen.
Even Nikki Finke talked up a near-settlement, taking the time, to boot, to post rumblings from Peter Chernin’s Fox box at the Super Bowl…
At the moment, though, while there appear to be great leaps forward, it also appears we will have to wait for anything resembling a public announcement. Indeed, the WGA announced informational meetings for its members this upcoming weekend… so maybe we got the wrong Monday? 😉
Still, the hope for a settlement soon seems not entirely unfounded — far from it. All the i’s need to be dotted now. And elsewhere in the press, in spite of the WGA wanting to slow things down below the hysteria threshold, there’s still a “fait accompli” air to much of the reporting.
To wit, the AP article:
Writers, Studios Still on Track for Deal
By LYNN ELBER
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The striking Hollywood writers guild remained on track for a possible deal with studios, but specific language of a new contract was still to be resolved, two people familiar with the negotiations said Monday.
The Writers Guild of America bargaining committee and board of directors received updates on the status of informal talks with studio executives that began on Jan. 23, said the people, who were not authorized to publicly comment and requested anonymity.
The two sides made significant progress last week on the thorniest issues concerning compensation for projects distributed via the Internet, with a deal possible by the end of this week, one of the people has said.
Specific details on the negotiations were not disclosed.
More at the link…
