As talks are back on track yesterday, Patric Verrone, head of the WGA West called on producers earlier this week to break ranks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, who he said is allowing "hard-liners" to obstruct negotiations. "If any of these companies want to come forward and bargain with us individually, we think we can make a deal," Patric Verrone, head of the WGA West, told The AP while talking to picketing writers at NBC’s studio in Burbank.
Verrone criticized the AMPTP, saying, "I don’t really feel like they’re negotiating, and part of how they operate is the AMPTP allows bottom-line hard-liners to rule the day." The alliance is set to run full-page ad set to appear in trade newspapers today, the industry group struck a conciliatory tone, saying it had not given the guild a "take it or leave it" offer.
The alliance’s offer calls for writers to accept a flat fee of about $250 for a year’s reuse of an hour-long program shown on the Internet. The guild is seeking a percentage of gross revenues for new-media distribution.
