This time, the core members of the Producers Alliance meeting was held in the White House Building in Century City, which is also the daily residence of the alliance.

The news in Hollywood spread very quickly, even if it was a small meeting with less than 20 participants, on the day of the meeting, a large number of entertainment reporters and even social and political reporters still gathered at the door.

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

Perhaps only these journalists want a general strike to happen, because it means that the whole world will be in the news.

The Hollywood giants who participated in the conference, such as Ronan, Kevin Tsuhara, Shirley Lansing, Harvey Weinstein, Steven Spielberg and James Murdoch, did not give interviews to media reporters, and all entered the White House Building with a strained face and a serious face.

The meeting, moderated by Del Potro, president of the Producers Alliance, focused on the recent engagement with Hollywood's three major unions and the reasons for the breakdown of the initial negotiations.

In a word, the Producers' Alliance agreed that members of the three major unions would participate in revenue sharing such as DVDs and online new media, but they were extremely dissatisfied with the percentage they demanded.

In the end, it is a problem brought about by the distribution of benefits.

Founded more than 50 years ago, the American Producers Alliance was originally formed by producers in the American film and television industry to protect the rights and interests of producers, and has gradually evolved into a community of interests for the employers.

It is naturally in opposition to trade unions, which represent workers' rights.

"Each of the three unions is asking for a 15 percent share of the revenue from the new channel, which is impossible!"

As the current leader of Hollywood's performance, Kevin T'Sohara is very resolute: "Only three members of the union want to take half of the revenue from DVD and new media channels, and we will not invest in film and television projects in the future, and we will simply 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 concession is huge, what about the next contract period?"

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

Even Harvey Weinstein, who has always been at odds with Warner Bros. and has publicly sprayed Kevin Tessohara several times, also opened his mouth in support: "Such a request will make us go bankrupt directly!"

Even George Lucas, who is more peaceful and about to retire, said: "We have to think about the future of the whole industry, and compromise is never the most appropriate way to deal with it." ”

In a sense, these people here are the majority shareholders of the Producers Alliance, or the kind with the heavyweight voice, and Del Portman is more like an operating officer.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the current situation is not very favorable for us. Del Potro is well aware that if he wants to prevent the three major unions from striking at the same time, these people here will have to make some concessions, saying: "The three major unions are now tightly hugging each other, saying that they are advancing and retreating together, and we are very passive. ”

None of the stupid people present understood that Del Potro was a subtle reminder and thought about countermeasures.

Ronan's position was very clear, saying: "I propose that the three major unions be divided. ”

"Good idea. James Murdoch reacted that as a newcomer to Hollywood's vanity fair, he felt the need to make his presence visible on such occasions: "We approached the directors' union, the actors' union and the screenwriters' union separately to negotiate and offer different prices. On the most important side, the directors' union and the actors' union, we can make appropriate concessions, and they are very likely to compromise in the face of real interests......"

Everyone else nodded, and this strategy of fragmentation and disintegration was undoubtedly perfect for the current situation.

James Murdoch's words continued: "In the end, there is only one Writers Guild left, and we will do our best to suppress it, and it is better to keep the general framework of the 1988 agreement unchanged, even if they are going to strike, the impact will be much smaller." ”

Shirley Lansing agrees: "That's a good idea. However, I would like to add that the minimum term of a grand agreement must be 20 years, and 10 years is absolutely not allowed!"

Others chimed in.

Although Ronan did not speak again, he would not have any objections, and everyone here had the same interests in the treatment of the three major unions.

The Producers' Alliance, which is the employer, will sign a long-term agreement with the major labor unions represented by the laborers, and then negotiate within the framework every three years to revise the specific terms.

The meeting did not last long, and the contradictions between the major companies could not be seen in the meeting at all, and in the face of the trade unions that wanted to grab the profits, the company owners or actual operators present almost reached a consensus as quickly as possible out of common interests.

The Producers' Union has changed its previous negotiation strategy, and while continuing to negotiate with the delegations of the three major unions, it will also actively engage with the directors' union and the actors' union in private, and strive to get the two unions together first with some appropriate concessions, so as to avoid the worst Hollywood industry-wide strike.

At that time, there will only be one screenwriters' union left, and it will be much easier to deal with.

When it comes to dealing with the three major unions, all companies, including Ronan's Relativity Entertainment, are surprisingly consistent.

The director's guild can give more sweet dates appropriately, followed by the actors' guild.

As for the Writers Guild, it would be better to keep the previous agreement intact.

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

At the same time as the meeting was underway, hundreds of members of the trade unions gathered in front of the main entrance of the White House Building to protest, holding signs calling for better pay and shouting slogans such as "Shut down! Hollywood is the world of trade unions!"

Among them, the Screenwriters Guild has the largest number of people.

Screenwriters have a low status in Hollywood, and their incomes are lower than those of the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild, and except for a few gold medal screenwriters, the vast majority of screenwriters are unable to enjoy revenue sharing such as DVD and new media channels for films.

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

In addition to asking for a share of the proceeds, the Writers Guild also put forward other conditions, such as the price of the script for members, the minimum price of the film project cannot be less than $150,000, and so on.

In fact, many screenwriters earn much more than that, with major studios paying at least $500,000 for movie scripts, while well-known screenwriters may earn $3 million per film.

The average annual income of screenwriters in the Writers Guild last year was $200,000, which is already high compared to the average annual income of Los Angeles County residents, as well as most Americans.

Still, screenwriters certainly don't look down, staring at actors, directors and producers, who compare their earnings with those of actors, directors and studio executives and find claims for significant pay increases.

According to the Writers Guild, union screenwriters are not increasing their earnings at a rate of less than half of the profits of the entertainment industry as a whole, and many screenwriters complain that they are dispensable in the eyes of large companies.

In fact, this is not unreasonable, Hollywood studios do not pay attention to ordinary screenwriters, and even because of the 1988 agreement, they often use non-screenwriters from the screenwriters' union.

Relativity Entertainment has statistics that in the 90s, 95% of the screenwriters in the film and television industry were occupied by members of the screenwriters' union, but now this proportion is less than 65%!

The massive use of cheap non-union screenwriters to produce films, cartoons and reality shows has also deepened tensions between the two sides.

The Writers Guild believes that the average annual income of ordinary members is less than $40,000, which is below the average income of American citizens, so it calls for an increase in their salaries, shares, and especially in terms of new media profits.

As we all know, the DVD market in the United States and the emerging online pay-per-demand are quite huge, in fact, this is the main source of interests of the major Hollywood manufacturers, how can the major film and television companies behind the producer alliance easily compromise.

After the meeting, Ronan chatted with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for a while, and went downstairs to the hall together, and was about to say goodbye and leave, when James Murdoch, who was waiting in the hall, suddenly walked over.

"Can you talk a few words, Ronan?" said James Murdoch.

Ronan nodded slightly: "Of course." ”

When the two came to the rest place, James Murdoch said directly: "I heard that your company has just decided on 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 of you are, James?"

James Murdoch was meant to be tentative: "The two directed by Ridley Scott and Roland Emmerich. ”

The related news has long been on the entertainment news, 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 signed a directing agreement with Ridley Scott and Roland Emmerich. ”

James Murdoch said deliberately: "Ronan, as an old friend, remind you that the collaboration between Twentieth Century Fox and these two has just experienced a miserable failure, Roland Emmerich's "10,000 Years Before History" failed at the box office, and Ridley Scott has already screwed up two first-line big-budget projects in "Heavenly Dynasty" and "Pharaohs and the Gods" one after another. ”

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

James Murdoch never understood why Ronan was so confident to use two losers?

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

Ronan said, "Yes, we are friends. ”

The two then walked out of 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 Prologis to come over, I have something to talk to him." ”

Twentieth Century Fox has been digging into the corner of Relativity Entertainment, and now Relativity Entertainment has suddenly dug into the corner of Twentieth Century Fox, and even two losers feel a little uncomfortable.