WGA chiefs are serious about ending the strike before Oscar time. That doesn’t guarantee a Hollywood ending, but hopes are high. And there are few signs that point to a non-resolution, except…

If the pending WGA contract is to reflect the one signed by the Directors Guild (as most think it will), then the WGA must bend over a little further. While the directors agreed to a deal that offers .7% in TV internet residuals and .65% for online film downloads, the writers are asking for more than 3 times that amount: 2.5% for TV and 2% for film. That’s a healthy margin. If the WGA is serious about ending it soon, they’ll ask for less. If the producers are serious, they’ll offer more.

The WGA made a huge step towards resolution last week, when they withdrew two major contract proposals (those demanding jurisdiction over reality TV and animation). The studios were pleased. Informal talks commenced a week ago, and no one’s pissed anyone off enough yet to end it all.

With the demands for reality and animation jurisdiction officially kaput, the big spotlight is on internet residuals. That issue could determine the fate of LA’s economy. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. estimates the strike has already cost our county $1.5 billion in wages and related economic activity. That doesn’t count studio expenditures (lumber, craft services, town cars, etc). If the strike continues for 60 to 90 days, the amount lost in spending could reach $3 billion. According to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, a loss in $3 billion in LA totals a loss of $8.4 billion when we consider production spending in New York, Vancouver, and other hubs.

Score one for the writers.

Meanwhile, the WGA has signed interim deals with a total of 13 non-studio entities, including Lionsgate, RKO, and Marvel. These interim pacts allow for companies to hire writers during the strike, under terms dictated by the WGA (the irony here is that most of the films produced under the deals will end up being distributed by major studios).

Regarding the interim pacts, the Producers Alliance issued this statement: “These one-off agreements are meaningless because the companies signing them know they will not have to abide by their terms for very long, since they’ll be superseded by whatever final industry-wide accords are reached. If companies truly had to live by the terms of these one-off agreements, we are confident none would ever be signed.”

Photo from Infinite Wilderness via flickr

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