The Best Entertainment Era

This time, the meeting of the core members of the producer alliance was held in the Bailou Building in Century City, which is also the daily residence of the alliance.

News from Hollywood spread very quickly. Even though it was a meeting with less than 20 people, on the day it was held, there were still a large number of entertainment reporters and even social and current affairs reporters gathered at the door.

The Hollywood labor union strike not only affects the film and television industry, but also affects all aspects of society.

Perhaps, only these reporters hope that a general strike will happen, after all, this means that there will be hot news that the whole world will pay attention to.

Hollywood bigwigs who participated in the meeting, like Ronan, Kevin Tsujihara, Shirley Lansing, Harvey Weinstein, Steven Spielberg and James Murdoch, did not One was interviewed by media reporters, and all of them entered the Bailou building with sullen faces and serious faces.

The meeting was chaired by Del Potro, chairman of the Producers Union. He mainly introduced the recent contact with the three major Hollywood labor unions and the reasons for the breakdown of the initial negotiations.

In a word, the Producers Union agrees that the members of the three major trade unions participate in the revenue sharing of DVD and new online media, but they are extremely dissatisfied with the ratio they demand.

After all, it is a question of benefit distribution.

The Producers Alliance of America has been established for more than fifty years. It was originally composed of producers in the American film and television industry, aiming at protecting the various rights and interests of producers.

It is naturally at the opposite end of the trade union organization that represents labor rights.

The three trade unions each demand 15% of the new channel's revenue share, which is impossible!

As the current leader in Hollywood performance, Kevin Tsuhara's attitude is very firm: Just three union members want to take half of the income from DVD and new media channels, and we will not invest in film and television projects in the future. , I might as well become actors and screenwriters.”

This may seem like a joke, but it has been widely recognized.

We must not make such a big concession!

This time the concession is huge, what about the next contract period?

Don't forget, they are only going to sign a ten-year contract!

Even Harvey Weinstein, who has always been at odds with Warner Bros. and publicly criticized Kevin Tsuhara several times, also expressed his support: Such a request will make us go bankrupt!

Even George Lucas, who has a relatively peaceful personality and is about to retire, said: We have to consider the future of the entire industry. Compromise is definitely not the most appropriate way to deal with it.

In a sense, these people here are the major shareholders of the Producers Union, and they still have a heavyweight right to speak. Del Portman is more like an operating officer.

Everyone, the current situation is not very favorable to us. Del Potro knew very well that in order to prevent the three major trade unions from striking at the same time, these people present must make certain concessions, and said: The three major trade unions are now tightly united. , which means advancing and retreating together, making us very passive.

There is not a single idiot present here, and they also understand that Del Potro is cryptically reminding them, and they have considered countermeasures.

Ronan's position was very clear, and he said, I suggest that the three major labor unions be divided.

Good idea. James Murdoch reacted. As a newcomer to officially enter the Hollywood Vanity Fair, he felt that it was very necessary to show his presence on this occasion: We contacted the Directors Union, Screen Actors Union and Screenwriters Union separately. , conduct negotiations, and offer different price tags. We can make appropriate concessions on the most important aspects of the directors' union and actors' union.

In the face of real interests, they are very likely to compromise...

Everyone else nodded. This strategy of differentiation and disintegration is undoubtedly very suitable for the current situation.

James Murdoch's words continued: In the end, there is only one screenwriters union left. We will suppress it with all our strength. It is best to keep the general framework of the 1988 agreement unchanged. Even if they want to go on strike, the impact will be much smaller.

Shirley Lansing agreed: This method is good. However, one more thing to add is that the minimum period of the big agreement must be twenty years, and ten years is absolutely not allowed!

Others joined in.

Although Ronan didn't speak out again, he didn't have any objections. In dealing with the three trade unions, everyone present has a common interest.

As the producer union of the capital, the major trade unions representing the labor will sign a long-term agreement with a large framework, and then negotiate within the framework every three years to revise the specific terms.

The meeting did not last long, and the conflicts between the major companies could not be seen in the meeting. In the face of the trade union organization that wanted to rob profits, the company bosses or actual operators present, out of common interests , reached a consensus almost at the fastest speed.

The Producers Union has changed its previous negotiation strategy. While continuing to negotiate with the delegations of the three major trade unions, it will actively contact the directors' union and actors' union in private, and strive to make some appropriate concessions. Get rid of these two unions and avoid the worst industry-wide strike in Hollywood.

At that time, only the Screenwriters Guild will be left, which will be much easier to deal with.

In terms of dealing with the three major trade unions, including Relativity Entertainment represented by Ronan, all companies are surprisingly consistent.

The directors' union can give more sweet dates appropriately, followed by the actors' union.

As for the screenwriters union, it is best to keep the previous agreement unchanged.

Although this war without gunpowder has not yet officially broken out, preparations for the war have already begun.

While this meeting was going on, hundreds of members of trade unions in the industry successively gathered in front of the main entrance of the Bailou Building to hold protests. They held up slogans to improve wages, and shouted from time to time, Shut up! Hollywood is the world of unions. !” and other slogans.

Among them, the screenwriters union has the most members.

The status of screenwriters in Hollywood is low, and their income is lower than that of the actors' union and the directors' union. Except for a few gold-medal screenwriters, most screenwriters cannot enjoy the revenue share of the film's DVD and new media channels.

The uneven distribution of benefits is arguably the biggest reason for the strike that is brewing.

In addition to asking for revenue sharing, the screenwriters union also put forward other conditions, such as the selling price of members' scripts, the minimum film project should not be less than 150,000 US dollars, and so on.

In fact, many screenwriters earn far more than that, with major studios earning at least $500,000 for screenplays, and well-known screenwriters perhaps earning $3 million per film.

The average annual salary for screenwriters in the Writers Guild was $200,000 last year, which is high compared with the average annual income of Los Angeles County residents and most Americans.

The eyes of the writers are certainly not looking down, though, they are on the actors, directors and producers, who compare their earnings to those of the actors, directors and studio executives, and see an interest in big raises .

According to the Writers Guild, unionized screenwriters' earnings have grown at less than half the rate at which profits in the entertainment industry as a whole have risen, and many writers complain that they are dispensable in the eyes of the big companies.

In fact, this is not unreasonable. Hollywood film companies do not pay attention to ordinary screenwriters, and even because of the 1988 agreement, they often use screenwriters who are not from the screenwriters union.

According to statistics from Relativity Entertainment, in the 1990s, 95% of the screenwriter positions in the film and television industry were occupied by members of the screenwriters union, but now the proportion is less than 65%!

Major companies use a large number of cheap non-union screenwriters to produce film and television dramas, cartoons and reality shows, which also deepens the contradiction between the two parties.

The Screenwriters Guild believes that the average annual income of ordinary members is less than 40,000 US dollars, which is below the average income of American citizens. Therefore, they call for an increase in their wages and share, especially in terms of new media profits. , the most obvious manifestation is the percentage of DVD and Internet on-demand dividends.

As we all know, the DVD market in the United States and the emerging online pay-on-demand are quite huge. In fact, this is the main source of interest for major Hollywood manufacturers. How can the major film and television companies behind the Producers Alliance compromise so easily.

At the end of the meeting, Ronan chatted with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for a while, and they went to the lobby downstairs. When they were about to say goodbye and leave, James Murdoch, who was waiting in the lobby, suddenly walked away. come over.

Can I have a chat, Ronan? James Murdoch said.

Ronan nodded slightly: Of course.

The two came to the rest area, and James Murdoch said directly: I heard that your company has just confirmed two projects?

Two projects? Ronan smiled and said, There are too many movie projects that have been confirmed recently. I don't know which two are yours, James?

James Murdoch was trying to test it: The two directed by Ridley Scott and Roland Emmerich.

Relevant news has been on the entertainment news for a long time, and Ronan has nothing to hide, saying: It turned out to be The Martian and Doomsday Collapse. There are two film projects, and Shahai Entertainment has partnered with Ridley - Scott signed a directing deal with Roland Emmerich.

James Murdoch deliberately said: Ronan, as an old friend, remind you that the cooperation between Twentieth Century Fox and these two people has just experienced a tragic failure. Roland Emmerich's Ten Thousand Years Before History Box office flop, Ridley Scott has already screwed up two big-budget projects, Kingdom of Heaven and Pharaohs and Gods.

Ronan was unmoved, and just smiled and said, Thank you for your reminder, this is very important, and I will strengthen the management of these two projects.

James Murdoch still couldn't understand why Ronan was so confident to use two losers?

But there are some things that I can't say: You're welcome, we are friends.

Ronan said, Yes, we are friends.

The two then left the main entrance of the building together, shook hands and said goodbye, and got into their respective cars.

Back at the Fox Building, James Murdoch said to his assistant, Tell Jim Prowse to come over, I have something to talk to him about.

Twentieth Century Fox has been poaching the corners of Relativity Entertainment, and now that Relativity Entertainment has suddenly poached the corners of Twentieth Century Fox, even if there are two losers, he feels a little uncomfortable.