No Negotiations Watch: AMPTP to Meet with Mediator Thursday

November 10, 2008 by admin.

Two weeks after a first and rather brief session, mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez will head back to the AMPTP offices Thursday, or so says Variety. McNary’s suggesting this could be a step towards restarting formal negotiations, which broke off in July.

We’d like some of whatever he’s drinking, please. 

Here’s an interesting set of stats buried in the Variety story.

Uncertainty over a possible SAG strike — which would require 75% support in an authorization vote by guild members — has slowed feature production in Hollywood in recent months. Stats released Monday by the FilmL.A. permitting agency showed that October off-lot feature production slid 36% to 408 days, following a 37% decline in the third quarter.

October TV production stayed steady, however, with dramas shot off lot edging down 2% to 758 days while reality shows jumped 10% to 1,134 days. Overall third-quarter TV production was the second highest ever, soaring 17% to 6,959 days.

We’re not sure it’s the uncertainty over what the union might do - the economy and the bad film market may have more to do with it.

Here’s a stat we view as equally unsettling. The AMPTP running estimate of the losses in wages to SAG members from working under the old, expired contract has now passed $30 million.

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