No talks yet for DGA, AMPTP
Sides remain too far apart on key issues
More Articles:
Most Viewed:
'New Moon' breaks box office records(6423 views)'Avatar' toys with augmented reality(2557 views)Spielberg, King team on 'Dome'(2464 views)Ever capable entrepreneur(1814 views)Planet 51(1636 views)'Oprah' to end run in 2011(1476 views) |
Though neither side will confirm details, recent informal talks have not yielded enough progress to justify setting an official date for the start of formal negotiations. Insiders indicate the two sides remain too far apart on key issues to go forward.
"They're not yet within shouting distance," one said.
The helmers had been expected to move with dispatch after announcing on Dec. 13 that they had lost patience with the WGA's inability to reach a deal and would wait only until the end of the year before setting up their own talks.
But the DGA has also said it would announce the start of talks only if an "appropriate" framework could be established -- an indication that it would have to be satisfied that an acceptable deal can be made.
The DGA has indicated that its proposal will focus heavily on new-media compensation issues -- one of the key areas in which the WGA-AMPTP negotiations derailed on Dec. 7.
If the DGA can make a deal, the pact's new-media terms could well be used as a template for the majors' subsequent agreements with the WGA and SAG. The DGA and SAG contracts both expire June 30.
