The 800 Pound Gorilla

Dave McNary in today's Variety talks the talk in "Ready to bargain or will rhetoric rule?". WGA and AMPTP at loggershead. But McNary's talk is all about not-talking.

Not seen in public, the AMPTP hunkers down wherever they hunker down, while the WGA takes its case public on the streets and outside the studios, with famous politicians (the Rev. Jesse Jackson) and lots of famous actors/actresses.

And the 800 pound gorilla: the DGA. Silent, unseen, the DGA waits in the wings for its time on stage. Dave McNary hints darkly about the DGA's potential role in this story of disfunctionality:

"As of late Thursday, no new talks had been scheduled. And Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, has indicated that he expects to be negotiating next with the DGA rather than the WGA...The DGA had no comment Thursday."

So who has cast the DGA as the spoiler? The AMPTP, enabled by Dave McNary. What are we to make of journalism that allows one side to use it in the war of words? McNary from his own account didn't talk to the DGA, but that didn't stop him from quoting Nick Counter as though Nick Counter could speak for the DGA (wink, wink).

What's really up with the DGA? I'll make my disclaimer as clear as McNary's: the DGA had no comment for me either.

I have talked to a lot of director and AD friends.

From what I hear, those members don't want Nick Counter to use them as shills. They think the WGA is on the right track: expecting to be paid for their work. They're bewildered by the sophistry of the AMPTP that the internet and all digital media are just for "promotional use".

If that redefinition can be applied to new media, why not to old media? When a feature film plays on television, why isn't that for "promotional use"? And when a network tv series plays in syndication, that's "promotional use" again.

No one can second-guess the DGA any more than we can second-guess SAG or IATSE or the Teamsters. They are all our creative partners. We may fight about a lot of issues, but what family doesn't? We are in this together. A screenplay is just a thing with a lot of pages until a director, the actors, and the crew bring those pages to life.

I'm not going to get all sentimental about our creative family, but I'll be honest, I don't like the divide-and-conquer game Nick Counter plays. He's trying to turn the DGA into a Judas Goat when I'm hoping it'll really be a stalking horse.

If he entices the DGA to the negotiating table, I hope he finds himself surprised that the DGA is not about to be taken advantage of anymore than the WGA, SAG, IATSE, or the Teamsters. Does he really think the DGA will sell out its members and bargain away its future in the digital world for a few perks in the here and now.

Something's up, but Nick Counter and Dave McNary aren't telling that story.

To be continued....