Dan Glickman, Motion Picture Association of America CEO, said last weekend what we’re all thinking: that the new contract between AMPTP and DGA offers a template for deals with the WGA and SAG (contract expired 6/30).
"I’m not telling any of the parties what to do, but I do think that looking at what the directors were able to negotiate, it offers a pretty good template for the other guilds as well," Reuters quoted Glickman saying at a Sundance Film Festival Internet panel.
The DGA deal addressed how directors should be compensated for work in new media, including provisions that double the rate paid for Internet downloads of movies and TV shows, WGA said.
It also set new fees for the reuse of material in the form of ad-supported online streaming and video clips, and required AMPTP studios to work with DGA directors on content produced specifically for the web. Glickman said DGA and AMPTP also agreed to look at the issue again in three years.
TVBR observation: Essentially there is a lot of optimism right now, as the DGA contract addresses much or what WGA has been asking for. We’ve heard WGA will probably push for nothing less than a flat fee of 2.5% of distributors gross across non-broadcast distribution platforms, including internet and DVD. However, much of the tiered payment structure with DGA is based on how long something runs, or is offered on the internet, so it can get complicated. The wild card may still be jurisdiction over animation and reality shows.
