Hollywood writers could dismiss all their agents in a week and a half: LAist

The vote on whether television and film screenwriters will be forced to fire their agents starts today. If the editors approve a new agency code of conduct and the agencies do not accept it (which they have refused to do so far), the 15,000 guild writers will forced to dismiss their agents as of 7 April.

WGA leaders said they expect the code to be approved by an overwhelming majority after several meetings with members over the last two months.

The Guild recently unveiled a plan to help writers advance without agents, if necessary. But it is a particularly scary time for writers to be without an agent. They are in the middle of the recruiting season on television – and it is the agents who would help them get a job (and be well paid for those jobs).

The plan includes keeping a list of agencies that agree to subscribe to the new code of conduct and launching online tools to help writers find jobs and employers to find them. Writers' lawyers will face great difficulty in getting good deals, although the guild offers them help.

The reasons why writers risk firing their agents are complex. We have analyzed the problem in depth with representatives of the Writers Guild (representing writers) and the ATA (Agents 'Representatives), but it boils down to this: writers are fighting to eliminate what' s wrong. they call conflicts of agency interests, while agencies struggle to defend some of their biggest sources of revenue.

The Code of Conduct (the one voted on by the writers) contains provisions that would prevent agencies from holding a stake in production companies – which means that they could not earn all their money by working as producers in movies and television shows – as well as the prohibition of packaging fees.

Packaging charges involve agencies receiving payments from a film show or budget. Writers say that agencies have two major conflicts of interest: taking the cost of packaging and running as producers. The Guild says it prevents agents from defending their interests.

Rhetoric on both sides was heated. ATA Executive Director, Karen Stuart, today accused the Writers Guild of not having discussed in good faith and said in a statement that writers were trying to throw the industry into chaos . Stuart said today that the WGA would not agree before the last minute.

The latest agreement between WGA and the movie studios was not agreed less than an hour before the expiry of the previous agreement, notes Variety.

In the meantime, the Writers Guild said yesterday that the agencies had ignored their proposals.

"We hope to reach an agreement before the expiry, but we will not be intimidated by another agency threat," WGA said in a statement. "Their position" your guild will not negotiate "is a calculated ploy, but it will not replace a serious conversation about the damage done to writers by conflicting practices – we are ready to talk.

Nearly 800 screenwriters and TV screenwriters signed a statement of support last week and that number has risen to more than 800. JJ Abrams issued his own late statement, signing today, saying he "missed my luck "to sign last week, but he would not miss his chance to vote yes. He encouraged others to do the same.

The current contract with the agents of the Writers Guild has been in place since 1976. They have notified the agencies one year of their intention to negotiate something new last year, and the time has come.

We will know what is happening in the week of Sunday.

Correction: An earlier version of this story did not describe the title of Karen Stuart. LAist regrets the error.