The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers says the Writers Guild of America has reached out to restart negotiations, and the organization is trying to schedule the meeting next week.
“On Wednesday, September 13, the WGA contacted the AMPTP and requested a meeting to advance negotiations,” the organization said in a statement Thursday. “We have agreed and are working to schedule a meeting next week. “Every company that is a member of the AMPTP is determined and eager to reach a fair deal and work with the WGA to end the strike.”
The Hollywood Reporter has contacted the Writers Guild of America for comment.
Ongoing talks between the two organizations came to a halt in late August after WGA leaders gathered to meet with AMPTP President Carol Lombardini and company executives Bob Iger, Donna Langley, Ted Sarandos and David Zaslav. After that meeting, the AMPTP announced its August 11 offer to the writers’ union, and the WGA responded with a statement saying it was always the companies’ intention to “hinder us.”
Amid a lack of formal negotiations this month, the WGA proposed in a Sept. 8 message to members that studios break away from the AMPTP and make individual deals with the union. Meanwhile, there are several daytime shows – inclusive The Drew Barrymore Show, The conversation And The Jennifer Hudson Show – and a late-night show – Real Time with Bill Maher – announced this week that they would be returning to the air without writers.
The development comes one day before the WGA is set to meet with top showrunners who have sought a meeting to discuss negotiations. “There’s a lot of sentiment among top showrunners who say this can’t be a zero-sum game,” a source said. THR on Tuesday. “(People) are willing to take 70 to 80 percent of the way there and make a deal.”
