Post by jag11 on Jan 28, 2009 14:39:47 GMT -5
WHERE does the Screen Actors Guild go from here?
Hollywood tried to get its head around that question on Tuesday after the firing of Doug Allen, the guild’s executive director and chief architect of its hard-line approach to labor negotiations. Is a strike now off the table? Is the guild ready to accept a contract offer from the studios? Is anyone even running the place?
David White, installed on Monday as interim executive director, at least provided some clarity on the last question, posting a letter on the guild’s Web site. “As I enter my first full day,” the statement started, “you have my pledge that I will direct all my energies to steadying this historic organization.”
While S.A.G. and its 120,000 members have certainly proved themselves capable of wild plot twists, it is hard to imagine that the guild would not now immediately seek to resume long-stalled talks with producers — and approach those talks seeking quick settlement. You do not go to the trouble of ousting your executive director and chief negotiator just to step back into the same box.
Some board members, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they have been told not to speak to reporters, said they see talks resuming with producers as early as next week. The faction of the S.A.G. board that forced out Mr. Allen is eager to conclude the studio negotiations before talks begin late next month on another potential headache: the guild’s contract with advertisers for commercial work.
“I see them trying to settle quickly now and then start working really early for the things they want the next time around,” said Hillary Bibicoff, who represents actors as a partner at the law firm of Greenberg Glusker.
Despite their nonchalant public stance, studios badly want to wrap up the conflict with S.A.G. and will probably make some concessions to speed the process (and make Mr. Allen look bad). Producers are not expected to budge on compensation for online productions — a major demand of Mr. Allen’s — but they may yield on actor compensation in the event that a strike by another union halts productions.
A spokesman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the organization that negotiates on behalf of studios, declined to comment.
Mr. Allen’s dismissal will not do much to squelch the internal rancor at S.A.G. Left behind are staunch supporters, including Alan Rosenberg, the guild’s president. In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Rosenberg said he had no plans to resign or even back down, despite being weakened. (The S.A.G. board went so far on Monday as to strip Mr. Rosenberg of his authority to speak to the press on behalf of the guild.)
“Doug Allen is one of the best things that ever happened to this guild, and he was beloved by staff and became a personal friend to me,” Mr. Rosenberg said, making it clear he was speaking for himself only. “This despicable, underhanded action to remove him will result in us throwing ourselves at the mercy of studios. I am angry.”
Mr. Rosenberg, whose term expires in September, added that opposing board members have “consistently cut the legs out from under us, which is just beyond despicable.” He was referring to a flip-flop earlier this month involving whether to send a strike authorization vote to members: at first, an overwhelming majority of the board agreed to allow the vote; then, propelled by more moderate members, the board moved to squelch it.
Mr. Rosenberg said he was unsure how negotiations would unfold should they restart as expected. “I will be there as a witness, but I don’t know if I will be permitted to speak,” he said.
On a broader level, the dismissal of Mr. Allen says something about how the machinery of Hollywood grinds. The entertainment business remains a very insular club — and, as an outsider, Mr. Allen’s fate was clear to many from the start.
Upon arriving in 2006 from the National Football League Players Association, Mr. Allen made it clear that he considered himself a new sheriff in town. He talked brashly about plans to bring a backbone to S.A.G. and demand deals with everyone.
When talks between the guild and studios broke down last June, personality played a big role: The studios were not about to be bossed around by somebody who was not an insider.
The naming of Mr. White, formerly general counsel, to replace Mr. Allen as executive director was telling, but the naming of John McGuire to take Mr. Allen’s place at the negotiating table even more so. Mr. McGuire is the consummate insider, participating in or leading more than 30 contract negotiations in his 40 years with the guild.
“John has a long and rich history of negotiating these contracts successfully,” said Ned Vaughn, a S.A.G. member who helped lead the effort for Mr. Allen’s ouster. “I have confidence he will achieve what we need.”
Hollywood tried to get its head around that question on Tuesday after the firing of Doug Allen, the guild’s executive director and chief architect of its hard-line approach to labor negotiations. Is a strike now off the table? Is the guild ready to accept a contract offer from the studios? Is anyone even running the place?
David White, installed on Monday as interim executive director, at least provided some clarity on the last question, posting a letter on the guild’s Web site. “As I enter my first full day,” the statement started, “you have my pledge that I will direct all my energies to steadying this historic organization.”
While S.A.G. and its 120,000 members have certainly proved themselves capable of wild plot twists, it is hard to imagine that the guild would not now immediately seek to resume long-stalled talks with producers — and approach those talks seeking quick settlement. You do not go to the trouble of ousting your executive director and chief negotiator just to step back into the same box.
Some board members, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they have been told not to speak to reporters, said they see talks resuming with producers as early as next week. The faction of the S.A.G. board that forced out Mr. Allen is eager to conclude the studio negotiations before talks begin late next month on another potential headache: the guild’s contract with advertisers for commercial work.
“I see them trying to settle quickly now and then start working really early for the things they want the next time around,” said Hillary Bibicoff, who represents actors as a partner at the law firm of Greenberg Glusker.
Despite their nonchalant public stance, studios badly want to wrap up the conflict with S.A.G. and will probably make some concessions to speed the process (and make Mr. Allen look bad). Producers are not expected to budge on compensation for online productions — a major demand of Mr. Allen’s — but they may yield on actor compensation in the event that a strike by another union halts productions.
A spokesman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the organization that negotiates on behalf of studios, declined to comment.
Mr. Allen’s dismissal will not do much to squelch the internal rancor at S.A.G. Left behind are staunch supporters, including Alan Rosenberg, the guild’s president. In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Rosenberg said he had no plans to resign or even back down, despite being weakened. (The S.A.G. board went so far on Monday as to strip Mr. Rosenberg of his authority to speak to the press on behalf of the guild.)
“Doug Allen is one of the best things that ever happened to this guild, and he was beloved by staff and became a personal friend to me,” Mr. Rosenberg said, making it clear he was speaking for himself only. “This despicable, underhanded action to remove him will result in us throwing ourselves at the mercy of studios. I am angry.”
Mr. Rosenberg, whose term expires in September, added that opposing board members have “consistently cut the legs out from under us, which is just beyond despicable.” He was referring to a flip-flop earlier this month involving whether to send a strike authorization vote to members: at first, an overwhelming majority of the board agreed to allow the vote; then, propelled by more moderate members, the board moved to squelch it.
Mr. Rosenberg said he was unsure how negotiations would unfold should they restart as expected. “I will be there as a witness, but I don’t know if I will be permitted to speak,” he said.
On a broader level, the dismissal of Mr. Allen says something about how the machinery of Hollywood grinds. The entertainment business remains a very insular club — and, as an outsider, Mr. Allen’s fate was clear to many from the start.
Upon arriving in 2006 from the National Football League Players Association, Mr. Allen made it clear that he considered himself a new sheriff in town. He talked brashly about plans to bring a backbone to S.A.G. and demand deals with everyone.
When talks between the guild and studios broke down last June, personality played a big role: The studios were not about to be bossed around by somebody who was not an insider.
The naming of Mr. White, formerly general counsel, to replace Mr. Allen as executive director was telling, but the naming of John McGuire to take Mr. Allen’s place at the negotiating table even more so. Mr. McGuire is the consummate insider, participating in or leading more than 30 contract negotiations in his 40 years with the guild.
“John has a long and rich history of negotiating these contracts successfully,” said Ned Vaughn, a S.A.G. member who helped lead the effort for Mr. Allen’s ouster. “I have confidence he will achieve what we need.”