On May 1, the contract for the 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America expires. And as of this writing, negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have borne no fruit. Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists' contracts with the producers expire June 30. Writers feel this belittles their seminal contribution. The guild insists on a fair shake on residuals payments for such revenue sources as cable broadcasts, DVDs, overseas exhibition and the Internet.
Residuals also are a key sticking point with the actors' group.
If either group bails, we've got problems. There's also the cost to all the myriad specialists and crew members who would take a financial pounding from a general stoppage. The California economy isn't in such great shape as it is. LORD OF THE NET Get in line, online. The site is available in 10 languages - if you can gain access.