Alas, There May Be Hope...

As We Look To The DGA~

(Announced January 17, 2008 By The Directors Guild Of America)

The DGA and the AMPTP announced that they have reached a tentative agreement on the terms of a new contract.

In addition to solid wage increases, the DGA has come up with preliminary guidelines over new-media and residuals rates-- some of the main issues in the current lockdown between the WGA and AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.)

The AMPTP released the following statement:

"We hope that this agreement with DGA will signal the beginning of the end of this extremely difficult period for our industry. Today, we invite the Writers Guild of America to engage with us in a series of informal discussions similar to the productive process that led us to a deal with the DGA to determine whether there is a reasonable basis for returning to formal bargaining."

Bargainers will submit the tentative deal with a recommendation for approval on Jan. 26. If approved, a member vote would follow.

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In reaction to the DGA/AMPTP tentative agreement, the WGA released this statement:

"Now that the DGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP, the terms of the deal will be carefully analyzed and evaluated by the WGA, the WGA's Negotiating Committee, the WGAW Board of Directors, and the WGAE Council. We will work with the full membership of both Guilds to discuss our strategies for our own negotiations and contract goals and how they may be affected by such a deal...We hope that the DGA's tentative agreement will be a step forward in our effort to negotiate an agreement that is in the best interests of all writers."

*Please see official guild websites for full statements and breaking news about industry contract negotiations*