Contract talks are expected to kick off between Hollywood directors and
studios, although labor negotiations remain stalled in the film and television
writers' strike, which has been spelling troubles for the entertainment industry
in last two months.
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and
Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents movie studios and television
networks, said yesterday in a joint statement that the two organizations will
begin their talks today. The DGA's contract expires June 30.
Talks had initially been delayed while the AMPTP negotiated with the Writers
Guild of America, which has been on strike since November. The WGA talks,
however, broke off early last month and no new discussions have been scheduled.
Meanwhile, the WGA announced yesterday that it would not picket outside the
Beverly Hilton hotel tomorrow, when the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
holds a news conference to announce winners of the annual Golden Globe Awards.
The 65th Golden Globes Awards ceremony was canceled when nominees and
presenter said they would not cross WGA picket lines to attend the event.
The HFPA announced yesterday it was assuming full control of tomorrow's news
conference -- which was originally being handled primarily by NBC. That change,
which will give all broadcast and print media full access to cover the event,
prompting the WGA to give the organizer assurances that there would not be any
picketing at the event.
