After a mere six days of negotiations, the Directors Guild of America recently reached a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers regarding internet residuals. This is the exact same thing that the Writers Guild has been trying, and failing, to do for over 75 days, which has left us with a strike that has shut down Hollywood. Now, in an official post on his blog, Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ronald D. Moore is talking about what this quick deal could mean for the writers, and whether or not we’ll be seeing the return of our favorite shows any time soon.
Now that the Directors Guild has settled with the AMPTP, there are basically three things that can happen. “At one end of the spectrum,” Moore explains, “lies the possibility that the DGA has a deal in place that so closely achieves the WGA position that the writers essentially declare victory and go home. Negotiations resume quickly, the remaining writer-specific provisions are dealt with promptly, a new contract is submitted to the membership for ratification and the strike ends.”
That would obviously be the most ideal situation, but realistically the negotiations may be more difficult. Moore continues, “At the other end of the spectrum lies the darker possibility that the DGA comes back with a deal that is so far removed from the WGA position that the writers summarily and angrily reject it. Resentment hardens and the writers settle in for an even longer struggle.”
Of course, between those two extremes lies a middle ground. It’s possible that the writers will like parts of the DGA agreement, but want to reject other aspects of it. “Somewhere in between those extremes lies the less clear-cut (and unfortunately more probable) outcome where the DGA deal is a murky grab-bag of agreements,” Moore says, “some of which are close to what the WGA wants, but others are nowhere near writers’ goals. Then we’re in uncharted territory, the path forward fraught with danger.”
As for Battlestar Galactica, the series is set to return to the Sci Fi Channel on Friday, April 4. There were 11 episodes completed before the strike began, but the final season will not be wrapped up until the writers get back to work. After making the agreement with the DGA yesterday, the AMPTP invited the writers back to the negotiation table in hopes of making a deal. But as Moore pointed out, whether or not that will happen cannot be predicted.
“Everyone went into this with their eyes wide open and everyone knew this was going to be difficult and onerous, both financially and personally,” Moore stated. “We all walked out together and together is the only way we can walk back in.”
– Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Ronald D. Moore’s Official Blog
(Image courtesy of ViewImages.com)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
