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LOS ANGELES — Film and TV writers who've been on strike for nearly a month are mulling a new contract offer from Hollywood studios. Producers said the offer they presented Thursday, dubbed the "New Economic Partnership," would pay writers millions of dollars extra for work shown on the Internet, a central issue in negotiations.
The writers asked for a recess in the talks until Tuesday to consider their options, but called on members to continue picketing Friday and Monday.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said it was willing to offer $130 million in extra pay over the life of the proposed three-year deal. The offer is "above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year," the alliance said in a statement.
The Writers Guild of America countered with a lengthy response, saying the producers' proposal only dealt with advertising-supported programs streamed for free and jurisdiction over shows created for the Web "and it amounts to a massive rollback."
The writers said their plan, also presented Thursday, would cost producers $151 million over three years.
"That's a little over a 3 percent increase in writer earnings each year, while company revenues are projected to grow at a rate of 10 percent," the statement said. "We are falling behind."
No further details of the terms were released in the first statements since both sides imposed a media blackout Monday.
The conflicting details and tone of the statements is confusing, said Jonathan Handel, an entertainment lawyer who served in the 1990s as an associate counsel for the writers guild.
"None of this computes," he said. "It's very difficult to analyze this in any rigorous way."
The tone of the writers' statement seems angry, Handel said, while the producers' statement seemed more upbeat.
He said both sides should end the confusion by publishing the full details of the proposals.
Meanwhile, about 30 protesting writers converged on NBC's studios in suburban Burbank on Thursday night to rally against restarted production of the late-night show "Last Call With Carson Daly."
Several people said Daly circled the lot before entering a gate with no pickets.
"Last Call" was the first late-night show to resume production since the strike began on Nov. 5. The walkout has also idled production on many scripted television series.
Daly has defended the move, saying he still supports the writers but did not want to see all 75 members of his staff and crew lose their jobs because of the work stoppage.
Conan O'Brien has promised to cover the salaries of about 75 nonstriking "Late Night" staffers next week, an NBC spokeswoman said Thursday.
"He's paying the staffers' salaries out of his own pocket," Rebecca Marks said.
Through this week, NBC had been covering the salaries of its nonwriting staffers, along with those of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Last Call," which are also in reruns.
But the network thus far has not said whether it intends to continue paying employees of any show on hiatus. All three programs are owned by Universal Media Studios, which, like NBC, is owned by General Electric.
About two weeks ago, staffers of CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" were promised continued payment at least through December by Letterman, whose production company, Worldwide Pants, owns both shows. They continue in reruns.
Staffers for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" continue to be paid by ABC, according to a network spokesperson.
As news of the producers' new offer went around, the protesters gave their initial impressions.
"It's sad that the producers aren't coming forward with a real offer," said David Grae, a writer for "Gilmore Girls."
David Kidd, a screenwriter from Glendale, said he was hopeful, but not overly optimistic, about what he described as an apparent "sweet offer" from producers.
"I don't know what sweet is until I taste it," Kidd said. "Nobody wants to go in and accept a bad offer."
___
AP Television Writer Frazier Moore in New York and Associated Press writer Solvej Schou in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Raquel Maria Dillon in Burbank also contributed.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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 | O'Brien to Pay Nonstriking Staffers | Associated Press | Thu Nov 29 | 0 |
| `Tonight Show' Nonwriting Staff Laid Off | Associated Press | Fri Nov 30 | 0 |
 | Conan O'Brien to pay nonstriking staffers | Yahoo! News | Fri Nov 30 | 11 |
| Striking writers reject new offer | BBC News | Fri Nov 30 | 0 |
| Late-Night TV in Limbo As Daly Returns | Associated Press | Wed Nov 28 | 1 |
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{"commentId":1228738,"authorDomain":"PamelaDrew"}
"The entire value of the New Economic Partnership will deliver more than $130 million in additional compensation above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year," the statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said.
The $130 million sum was over the life of the proposed three-year deal, producers said.
Give me a break,"New Economic Partnership," , the name is right out of the West Wing with Blue Skies and No Child Left Behind. The lousey CEOs who collapsed the banks housing debt, walk away with severence packages of $130 million or more. Excuse me, it was termed "retirement" so technically there was no bonus, recorded with the SEC rules for that!
Give all the writers for 3 years a measly 130 million more, of what the studio couldn't make without the writers. How much are the studio execs making here when one of their bonus packages can cover every writers raise in revenue sharing for three years.That amount for all the writers to share for next three years as the dollar goes into the dirt and the studios pay with fat Euros from overseas distributions. Dirtbags and tight wads is what the suits are here.
If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage. Writers make it all, substitute mediocre anywhere else and you get by, no writer, nothing at all. The "talent" gets way too much. like the sports folks, and all the talent that makes it work gets dirt. That is insulting, but then my feeling is that to silence the Presidential Campaign and political critics and comics and is the bigger goal. Think how much people miss without Leno and Letterman and the late Nights along with the Political icons of newsiness Stewart and Colbert, no its all upside for the corporate side.
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#1 - Fri Nov 30, 2007 1:43 AM EST{"commentId":1229081,"authorDomain":"ISPY"}
Now I want you all to get up from your seats now. Go over to the window, hang your head out and calmly say " I am as complacent as the next person and I'm prepared to take this indefinitely"
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{"commentId":1232849,"authorDomain":"ticketsmyway"}
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