THE THORN BIRDS - HOW MUCH IS NEW MEDIA WORTH?

HOW MUCH IS NEW MEDIA WORTH?

Legendary producer David L. Wolper ( Roots, The Thorn Birds ) hasdisclosed that prior to its negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Pictureand Television Producers, the Directors Guild of America spent $1 million ona research report "to develop forecasts and analyze future models regardingnew media use." He implies that the Screen Actors Guild's leaders have doneno such research and are not prepared to inform its members how much theyare likely to lose if the union's new-media demands are not met. "The DGAwas ready with that million dollar research report and subsequently made thedeal they wanted," the 80-year-old Hollywood icon said in a statement postedon the liberal blog, The Huffington Post. By contrast, Wolper warns, astrike is not likely to faze the studios, which, he notes, are merely "partof major conglomerates." In fact he says, "in today's economic climate itcould give the studios an opportunity to cut down on overhead." Wolperconcludes, "In my 50 years in show business, I have never seen a worsenegotiation by a guild than that being conducted by the team of the ScreenActors Guild with the studios for a new contract."

26/11/2008