Writers, Studios Extend Contract Negotiations

Although reportedly still far from a settlement, writers and studios said Friday they will continue talks next week on a new contract in a sign that at least some progress is being made.

Both the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced late Friday they will continue full talks Monday. This week, the two sides split into subcommittees for discussions.

Both sides officially are sticking to a news blackout on any progress. But according to sources familiar with the talks, none of whom would speak for attribution because the negotiations remain sensitive, substantial progress has not been made.

Meanwhile Friday, outspoken “Law and Order” producer and Writers Guild member Dick Wolf issued a stinging rebuke to the union for filing an unfair labor practice against him. The WGA is alleging Wolf is refusing to disclose information on whether writers are being leaned on to produce more scripts so they can be stockpiled in anticipation of a possible strike.

“Clearly, I am being targeted because I am one of the only people who is willing to speak on the record about the ultimate cost of a strike to working writers,” said Wolf, a Writers Guild member for more than 20 years.

Believing they have been shortchanged for years, writers want increases in pay when their work airs on foreign TV, cable TV, the Internet, the Fox network and when videocassettes and DVDs are sold. They also want expanded “creative rights” such as more access to film sets and limits on the awarding of “A film by” credits given directors.

Studio executives say their profits are being increasingly squeezed by high costs.

The two sides began talks Jan. 22 and have continued those talks on a day-to-day basis. The contract expires May 2.