The companies have had the economic issues since September. On Friday, after another long day of bargaining on a wide range of economic issues, the two sides agreed to extend the deadline. They met Saturday and will meet again today. If the talks collapse this week, a strike still would not be inevitable. The WGA's current contract doesn't expire until May 1, and the two sides almost certainly would return to the bargaining one more time before then.
Residuals are the chief economic issue.
The WGA said the cost would be one-third that figure. Differences over creative rights issues are also proving difficult. The WGA wants contractual rights that would give screenwriters greater access to the filmmaking process. The guild, for instance, wants contract provisions that would allow screenwriters to be on the set when their scripts are being shot. The Directors Guild of America, complaining that the WGA's demands would infringe on creative rights now enjoyed by directors, has called on the WGA to drop its creative rights demands.