Holland
Charles Holland has thrown in the towel, resigning as WGA West prexy over worries that he would undermine writers' bargaining power at upcoming negotiations.
Move, announced Thursday afternoon, elevates Daniel Petrie Jr. to the presidency from the VP slot. It also caps a turbulent two-month tenure that started with Holland replacing Victoria Riskin, who resigned after she was found to have been ineligible when she ran last year.
"As committed as I am to fulfilling my responsibilities and to standing up for myself, the guild is more important than one man," Holland said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon. "On the eve of negotiations, I have no choice but to remove myself and clear the air for the only issue that matters --the best possible deal for the benefit of the most possible writers."
Holland's move, which surprised many, clears away what could have been a major impediment to unity among the WGA during negotiations. Those talks are expected to begin by the end of the month though no date had been set yet.
Some observers predict the guild -- which faces a May 2 contract expiration -- may strike over the issue of DVD residuals if the studios refuse to budge on the issue.
Petrie insisted the controversy over Holland hasn't lessened the WGA's leverage. "Our bargaining position has not been compromised in any way," he told
Daily Variety. "What Charles did was very statesmanlike and decent."
WGA West board member Robert King agreed, noting that he hopes the move can put the spotlight on the strong endorsement that WGA members gave to the guild's aggressive "pattern of demands" earlier this year.
"Charles put the unity of the guild over his personal interests," King added. "We had a 97% approval of the pattern of demands, so I think that he didn't want to do anything to fracture that."
The controversy over Holland -- the first African-American to lead a Hollywood guild -- centered on the veracity of statements he made in 2002 about his military and college background. Holland refused to go into detail to answer the persistent questions, asserting that events that occurred in the 1980s should not matter in how he performed as the WGA prexy.
But those questions led to a tepid 10-6 endorsement in late January by the WGA West board followed by a recall effort by disgruntled members.
Holland, whose credits include "Soul Food," "JAG" "Playmakers" and "Profiler," had come into the presidential slot with high praise for his background as a Harvard law grad, Fox business affairs exec and co-chief of the WGA negotiating team in 2001.
Controversy continued
But the controversy wasn't going away. "Navy SEALS" screenwriter Chuck Pfarrer, a former member of the commando group, had urged members earlier this month to sign the recall petition and warned that he would disclose further details about Holland.
But Holland asserted that the threat of a recall had not motivated his decision and noted that the organizers had not yet gathered the required 300 signatures from a membership of 8,000. Instead, he said he had reached the decision to step down after a series of meetings with members.
"What has emerged is that, though members lack motivation to have me removed, deep misgivings and substantial concerns lie in the minds of a great many members," he said. "I am now persuaded that the personal aspersions cast upon me will continue and that they will distract our guild's focus, hindering our negotiating position. That I cannot allow."
The questions surrounded statements Holland made during a 2002 interview about his military and college football background. Holland has only admitted he made a mistake by discussing his background publicly in a WGA West publication and insisted he could not say anything else about his claims he was a member of the Army special forces in the 1980s.
DVD dilemma
Negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP are expected to be particularly rocky given the guild's demand for a bigger slice of residuals from the booming DVD market. Studio execs have asserted they will not bend on this issue, contending that DVD revenues are crucial to keeping filmmaking a financially viable business.
The WGA West has inflamed its members by pointing out that the video/DVD residuals formula -- which excludes 80% of revenues -- has been unchanged since 1985, when the guild ended a two-week strike by agreeing to the formula in order for the nascent videocassette technology to gain a foothold. As a result, DVD payouts have been minimal for WGA members, with a mere $18 million in residuals in 2002 on DVD sales of $11 billion.
DVD residuals were a major issue at the 2001 negotiations, when guild leaders negotiated three days past the contract expiration and settled for no increase in the rate. Instead, the WGA obtained a one-time $5,000 payout for screenwriters in exchange for allowing the screenplay to be published on the DVD.
Health plan, reality key
In its most recent communications with members, the WGA has also stressed that other key issues will be a higher producer contribution to the WGA-industry health plan and expanded jurisdiction over reality TV and animation.
Petrie previously served the guild as its president between 1997 and 1999 and VP (1995-97, 1999-2001).
"I've known and worked alongside Charles Holland for many years, and I can only say that his selfless decision is entirely characteristic of someone who has served the guild with dedication, intelligence and integrity," said Petrie. "I hope that we can now put all the extraneous issues behind us and focus on the important job of securing the best possible agreement for the writers we represent."
The question of who will succeed Petrie will be addressed at the WGA West's March 29 board meeting.
Petrie said he believes the board should wait until after the negotiations are concluded before holding an election for the presidential and VP slots. He added that he favored holding such an election in September for the final year of Riskin's two-year term.
Election questions
The Dept. of Labor may intervene before then. Eric Hughes, whose campaign for the presidency led to Riskin's resignation, and campaign manager Ronald Parker have filed a 12-part complaint with the department over how the guild conducted the election and its failure to hold a new election.
The WGA West has insisted it is in compliance with labor law, citing a report from independent investigator William Gould IV, former head of the National Labor Relations Board, that found no violations.
"The battle we're fighting is over the guild's failure to allow participation by the members," Hughes said Thursday. "This is a serious issue, particularly with our third president in three months."
Parker agreed. "I respect Charles Holland's decision to act in the best interests of the WGA, but there needs to be another election," he added. "But when Dan Petrie was an elected president, he was very good, so I think we're obviously in good hands."
Contact Dave McNary at
dave.mcnary@variety.com