| Nikki Finke is going on a pre-holiday slowdown (and my brain seems to have joined her), so there isn't as much weekend catch-up to do. Plenty out there, though.
In 'negotiations' news/politickery: the SAG (screen actors guild) supports the WGA, and the DGA (directors guild) will meet with the WGA to discuss their 'New Media' positions. This would be before the DGA starts its upcoming contract negotiations with AMPTP.
Speaking (typing?) of the AMPTP, imagine this DeadlineHollywoodDaily headline being read in the resplendent, sonorous tones of, oh, James Earl Jones.
AMPTP Statement Recycles Same Old Shit
In addition to their statement, the AMPTP have released an ad (that's AMPTP.org, not .com) proclaiming "different assets, different businesses, different companies, one common goal," signed by the CEOs of Fox, Paramount, Disney, Sony, Warner bros, CBS, MGM, and NBC Universal. Here's Nikki about that:
Just one problem: legal sources tell me the ad also exposes potential issues relating to collusion, price-fixing, and anti-trust among the Big Media companies who are supposed to be business competitors. It also once and all establishes that the AMPTP, rather than a supposed umbrella group for 350 production entities as it claims, is really just what I've been saying all along: a handful of moguls who control Hollywood because of infotainment consolidation brought on by the lifting of financial syndications rules -- ... So think about it: these 8 guys have most everyone's livelihoods in their hands and all they're doing is boasting about how great their 4th quarters are going to look because of those pesky salaries and productions costs they didn't have to pay. Why, they'll probably get bigger bonuses for perpetuating the strike by walking out of the talks. And maybe -- if they're really really lucky, and their collective plan to overhaul the movie and TV business succeeds -- they'll figure out a way to provide entertainment without those expensive "assets who all go home at night" entirely.
United Hollywood did some looking into that as well:
...But the AMPTP’s "About Us" web page claims their membership is made up of "over 350 motion picture and television producers." In fact, there is a clickable list of 397 companies the AMPTP claims to be representing in the current negotiations.
So, who are the other 389 companies? I decided to do a little digging.
Some of them are owned by those eight mega-corporations – Touchstone is owned by Disney, Castle Rock is owned by Warner Bros., and, of course... {39 production companies, nearly an entire screenful -- TiaR}...all owned by Sony.
Some of the others are owned by independent film producers, actors, dead people, the WWE, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Mennonite Anabaptist Information Center ("a non-profit information center that teaches visitors about the faith and life of Amish and Mennonites, located in Shipshewana, Indiana"). Those are the key points, but there's more snark at the source. |
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