Hollywood agents and the Writers Guild make little progress in discussions – Variety



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Hollywood executives and the Writers Guild of America made little progress at Tuesday's meeting to negotiate proposed revisions to the rules on how agents represent writers.

The WGA said after the meeting – the fifth since Feb. 5 – that talks would resume later this week, but did not give a specific day.

"The agencies have provided us with information today," WGA said. "The Guild will review it carefully and provide an answer to the ATA when the parties meet later this week."

The badociation presented at the meeting answers to the WGA's questions on the financing of films. The two-hour session included the presentation to the guild of 17 questions from agents and their writing clients on topics such as guild leaders claiming that members will have to dismiss their agents if they do not accept the new rules before April 7th.

Sources said the WGA leaders did not react to suggestions during the session that the two sides would split into small groups to discuss the details of the proposals. Both parties have published alarming reports in recent days, with WGA accusing Hollywood's major creative agencies of numerous and illegal conflicts of interest, while agents have claimed that writers would lose $ 49 million a year if packaging were prohibited.

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The WGA will hold a vote between March 27 and March 31 on the implementation of a "code of conduct" for agents, which includes the elimination of the agency's packaging and the ownership of the production. The guild also announced the organization of three membership meetings in the Los Angeles area: March 26 at Beverly Hilton; March 27 at Sheraton Universal; and March 30 at the Writers Guild Theater – with a meeting on March 27 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York.

Karen Stuart, ATA Executive Director, opened Monday's session by referring to the March 12 "declaration of choice" which emphasized that client writers had to decide if they wanted to work on a packed show and that They had the choice to work with. an "affiliated entity".

She said in her speech Monday that the agents were frustrated by the lack of specific response from the WGA.

"We expected to see your new counterproposals in response to the work and concepts we provided as a well-developed starting point," she said. "Instead, your original code of conduct was presented to us, simply reformatted with a new title. In essence, it contained all the same conditions and did not meet any of our new offers. And, it even included additional cumbersome provisions – and you had to know that it would be totally unacceptable – for the agents. "

Stuart said the code of conduct would deprive WGA members of all decision-making and choice.

"It's a one-sided mandate that says writers can not make good decisions for themselves," she said. "It erases the financial confidentiality of writers. And, this gives the guild an unprecedented and inappropriate level of power and control over the agency's operations. "

More soon…

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