Thursday, December 6, 2007

Report: AMPTP Planning to "Sucker Punch" Writers?

Uh oh. Never trust the smile of a crocodile?

Alex Ben Block of Hollywood Today reports that the AMPTP's public gestures of reconciliation may mask a plan to derail negotiations and cancel Christmas.
There are signs the writers unity is working � reports of dissention among the ranks of the AMPTP�s key members; a softer stance by management in PR and negotiations in the past few days; and comments suggesting that management proposals are flexible.

However, what I am hearing is that this could be another sucker punch for the writers, who think they have finally broken though into a new level of negotiations where the two sides talk things over instead of talking at each other.
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In its public utterances, the AMPTP continues to use its indoor voice, no doubt fine tuned by a new PR team.
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Management has laid back so far but their hatred for the WGA proposal will bubble to the surface, and will be an obstacle to any deal. There were signs of progress and real hope that a deal could be done before Christmas earlier this week, but don�t get out the tinsel too quickly.
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So seething moguls are waiting to spring their surprise on the writers, and knock them back down to earth; and when the inevitable happens, there will be little left to cheer this holiday season.
I'd like to remind the AMPTP that the Grinch's heart eventually grows two sizes, and he's considered a pretty okay guy after that. You have the means to do the right thing, but do you have the will? You've put yourselves out on a limb with calm and rational words, now let's see the actions to match. Let's get this done by Christmas and get back to the business of leading our industry into the future. The alternative is not pretty.

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