Guild, Studios Set the Stage for Contentious Contract Talks

Studio representatives and writers remained far apart Monday as they began a two-week bargaining session on a new contract with opening remarks summarizing their positions and an exchange of formal proposals.

The two sides, which agreed to not talk publicly about details, will spend the next two weeks attempting to make progress, a period insisted on by the Writers Guild of America.

WGA President John Wells told reporters that if progress is being made, talks could continue beyond the two weeks. He emphasized that the deadline was intended to put pressure on negotiators.

Opening remarks from both Wells and Walt Disney Co. President Robert Iger, representing the studios, portend difficult talks. Wells said, “We want to make a deal, but to ask our members to ratify a contract that does not address these important issues will doom it to failure again.”

Writers want more money for TV programs that run in foreign markets, on cable TV, on the Fox network, when programs eventually run over the Internet and for sales of movies on videocassette and DVD. They also want more “creative rights” that will involve them more in the filmmaking process.

But Iger said the companies are facing an entertainment industry that has seen huge shifts that bode ill for the business, including an erosion in network audiences, a decline in TV syndication, a fragmented cable market and slower foreign sales.

The writers’ contract expires May 2.