DGA Talks with AMPTP - Studios still being Weird - Symptoms of the times...

[Brian Kalata]

Things are not going as smoothly as many thought they would between the Directors Guild and the AMPTP. Many thought that the DGA would waltz in and strike a deal - n questions asked. I have been telling people that that is what the AMPTP thought would happen. But I also told them, I think the AMPTP is in for a surmise. The DGA has spent a lot of time and money studying the issue of internet revenue and they are not uninformed. And they are not up for giving away money. And there is money to be made on the internet. A lot of money. The studios want it all for themselves. The moguls need to buy two more mansions and they don't believe that Writers, Directors, Actors, Grips, Drivers, Location manger - add anything but expenses to their bottom line. But the reality in the entertainment business - as well as all industries - is that the guys on top do not add the value that they believe they add. All across the country the middle class is disappearing. And we have all been fed the story that the leaders of corporations are the ones making money for the economy. Their decisions do not entertain audiences ( Or deliver cars, milk, shoes, television, etc) It is the labor of the worker that delivers the real value. And workers are not asking for everything (unlike the moguls) they are only asking for a fair share. A reasonable return on the value they create. And the American people have been sold a bill of goods. They have somehow been lead to believe that they have a shot at the " big time" - and most of them have been willing to forgo a fair share for the remote, infinitesimally small chance at winning the jackpot. The American Dream. It is o accident that game shows have been around for a long time. And that the people on it are " Average Joes". It's part of the big guys plan to show people - "Hey, you could be rich like us! Just make a deal!" And while for the average person - A grand prize of $50,000 won on a game show is big windfall. After paying the taxes, and buying the big purchase and loaning your sister money for her cosmetic surgery, They soon find out that they are not "like the big guys" They just have had a thrill for a moment and then were back in the same boat as they were before. The issues that are going on in the Writers Strike are just a microcosm of the bigger situation going on everywhere. The bosses come from the position of " You should be thankful you have a job and take what I give you." and the Workers are scared that Cable TV will be turned off, if they don't follow the line and lose their jobs. We have to stop trying to keep up with the Jones' and realize what really matters. Human beings are more valuable then property rights. Maybe if the DGA talks run into the same roadblocks as the WGA some of the Moguls will realize that they can' t just write off the people who generate the money for them. That these are all people who deserve a fair share and that it is right to let everyone benefit. For more on the DGA Negotiations - go to this LA Times Article http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dga10jan10,1,1222064.story?ctrack=7&cset=true