I wrote this paragraph about the Writers Strike ten months ago.
"The labor dispute between the writers and studios is a simple one. The mega companies believe that they are entitled to keep all of the money that their content earns, and the writers, like other talent, want as much of it as they can get their hands on.
It is not more complicated than that.
The DGA, WGA, and AFTRA accepted a deal. SAG continues their pursuit of "we want a better deal than theirs."
The appointment of a mediator will not help one teeny weenie little bit. The actors want "more money" and the production companies are unwilling to give it to them. Simple isn't it?
Having said that, there is another important element that is hardly ever discussed and it is the one concerning the egos of the parties involved. As a young executive with a "chip on my shoulder" I would often react to situations by thinking: "They can't do that to me." That is not a good thing in a negotiation.
I have been involved in the process of buying and selling content to those who buy and sell such content. It would be an overwhelming challenge to determine what in fact is "fair and or reasonable" to me for SAG to receive in the newer technology delivery systems, and I don't believe a mediator will ameliorate the situation at all.
As a buyer, sellers would ask me for a "fair price," yet as a seller, I never used the word "fair."
There will be a time when video downloads will be an issue to deal with, but this is not the time. It remains to be seen what this market segment will mean to the studios, and how it will impact upon the remainder of their businesses.
Reason should prevail yet labor leaders have been known to ignore that adage a good deal of the time.
All of this can be translated into just one more "ritual dance" that will allow the SAG "negotiators" an opportunity to show off and speak to issues that will fall on deaf ears at the Studios.
In the early sixties my Screen Gems International boss Lloyd Burns was on the phone with the head of our Brazilian Company who was in the process of renegotiating his contract for the second or third time in a few years. Brazil was a very important and very complicated market for us and our competitors.
Following a heated exchange, Lloyd put the phone on hold, looked at me and said, "That little son of a bitch thinks he has me by the balls... and he does."
A real "dealmaker" understands that when the "other side" is playing the better hand and reacts accordingly. If someone really has you "by the balls" be very nice to them and hopefully they will "let them go,"
The specter of a looming strike, however unlikely, is not a good thing for anyone, and with the economy in the dumpster it is counterproductive for everyone.
If I was a union leader, I would go home and illegally download as many Studio movies as I could on line without paying for any of them, celebrate it and tell everyone else how to do it and then "just say YES" to the studios! Make deals, not wars!