Author: Ambrose Heron

For some reason Rambo won’t be showing at Odeon cinemas in the UK due to a dispute between the distributor (Sony Pictures UK) and the chain.

Variety report:

Odeon, the U.K.’s biggest exhib chain, will not show Sony’s new release “Rambo” at its theaters this weekend, citing undisclosed “commercial reasons.”

News has sent shockwaves around the local industry as “Rambo” is the frame’s most significant new release in the U.K. News has also enraged online Sylvester Stallone fans, especially those who live in rural areas where their only local cinema is an Odeon.

Decision by Odeon not to play the testosterone-fuelled pic will likely see its opening U.K. B.O. haul dented considerably even though Sony has spent much of this week scrambling to get other chains, including other market leaders Vue and Cineworld, to pump up their “Rambo” showings.

Odeon have released a statement on why they won’t show it:

“Owing to commercial reasons, Odeon has made the decision not to screen the film Rambo across its cinemas in the UK.

As the UK’s largest cinema chain, Odeon offers its guests a wide range of film genres to appeal to many different audiences.

As such the decision not to screen Rambo will free up screens to show alternative popular new films such as Jumper, Be Kind Rewind and Juno. We are unable to comment further on this issue.”

The Times have quoted Phil Clapp, the chief executive of the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association, as saying:

“Odeon haven’t pulled the film, they have refused to show it. It’s very rare for this to happen with a film of this profile. I understand that Odeon were not happy with the terms the distributors were asking.”

Variety speculate that the reason was financial and quote a rival cinema chain on the affair:

An exhib source told Variety that Odeon’s decision to pull “Rambo” must be “over a disagreement over the terms. But to us, the film rentals rate seems reasonable enough for a release such as ‘Rambo.’ ”

“There has to be a time when neither player steps down. Both companies have their budgets and both are playing the game,” commented Andrew Turner, Cineworld director of film booking, adding that “I can’t remember the last time this happened in the multiplex era.”

It all seems a bit strange and I can’t recall a similar situation in recent memory.

That said Rambo is still likely to claim the Number 1 or 2 spot at the UK box office this weekend.

> Variety on the story
> Check out which cinemas are showing Rambo at Google Movies

The WGA strike is now officially over.

Variety say:

“The strike is over,” Patric Verrone said, dispassionately but with the hint of a smile. “Our membership has voted. Writers can go back to work.”

The WGA West prexy announced the news, something the town had taken as a fait accompli, shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. Some 92.5% of the 3,775 ballots cast were in favor of ending the 100-day strike, with 3,492 members voting yes and 283 die-hards ready to tilt at the windmill of continuing the work stoppage that began Nov. 5.

The vote on lifting the strike concluded a mere three days after the WGA cinched its contract agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in the wee hours of a Saturday morning. The strike vote was held over a 48-hour frame, with members able to vote in person at the WGA Theater and at Gotham’s Crowne Plaza Hotel, or via fax.

The WGA have announced it on their website:

On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th. The strike is over.

Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday. If you’re not employed at an office or other work site, call or e-mail your employer that you are resuming work.

If you have been told not to report to work or resume your services, we recommend that you still notify your employer in writing of your availability to do so. Questions concerning return-to-work issues should be directed to the WGAW legal department or the WGAE’s assistant executive director.

The decision to begin this strike was not taken lightly and was only made after no other reasonable alternative was possible. We are profoundly aware of the economic loss these fourteen weeks have created not only for our members but so many other colleagues who work in the television and motion picture industries.

Nonetheless, with the establishment of the WGA jurisdiction over new media and residual formulas based on distributor’s gross revenue (among other gains) we are confident that the results are a significant achievement not only for ourselves but the entire creative community, now and in the future.

We hope to build upon the extraordinary energy, ingenuity, and solidarity that were generated by your hard work during the strike.

Over the next weeks and months, we will be in touch with you to discuss and develop ways we can use our unprecedented unity to make our two guilds stronger and more effective than ever.

Now that the strike has ended, there remains the vote to ratify the new contract. Ballots and information on the new deal, both pro and con, will be mailed to you shortly. You will be able to return those ballots via mail or at a membership meeting to be held Monday, February 25th, 2008, at times and locations to be determined.

Thank you for making it possible. As ever, we are all in this together.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone
President, WGAW

Michael Winship
President, WGAE

The media titans – who include Peter Chernin (Fox), Bob Iger (Disney), Brad Grey (Paramount), Jeff Zucker (Universal), Barry M. Meyer (Warner Bros), Leslie Moonves (CBS), Harry Sloan (MGM), Michael Lynton (Sony) – in a collective statement, say:

This is a day of relief and optimism for everyone in the entertainment industry. We can now all get back to work, with the assurance that we have concluded two groundbreaking labor agreements – with our directors and our writers — that establish a partnership through which our business can grow and prosper in the new digital age.

The strike has been extraordinarily difficult for all of us, but the hardest hit of all have been the many thousands of businesses, workers and families that are economically dependent on our industry.

We hope now to focus our collective efforts on what this industry does best – writers, directors, actors, production crews, and entertainment companies working together to deliver great content to our worldwide audiences.

BBC News crunch out some numbers:

• The strike, which lasted 14 weeks, was the most damaging period of industrial action to hit Hollywood in 20 years.
• Some 10,500 writers stopped work on 5 November, a few days after their old contract with studios ended.
• If writers return to work on Wednesday, the thousands of production staff who were put of out of work as scripts dried up will take weeks to mobilise while new material is prepared.
• The strike is said to have cost Los Angeles’ film and TV industry around $733m (£374m), with the wider economy losing around $1.3bn (£663m).
• Studio executives say it will take about two months for new TV programmes to emerge.
• Studios will have to decide which of the 65 affected series will come back, with hits House, CSI, Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives likely to get priority.

So, although the strike is now over, important questions still remain:

1) Who came out as the winner?
2) In future, wouldn’t it be healthier for both sides to communicate with more frequency and depth?
3) Is a more bitter and longer repeat of this strike, three years from now, inevitable?

> Variety report on the end of the strike
> Nikki Finke with more on the strike at Deadline Hollywood Daily
> More on the strike at Wikipedia

Roy Scheider died yesterday at the age of 75.

The New York Times reports:

Roy Scheider, a stage actor with a background in the classics who became one of the leading figures in the American film renaissance of the 1970s, died on Sunday afternoon in Little Rock, Ark. He was 75 and lived in Sag Harbor, N.Y.

Mr. Scheider had suffered from multiple myeloma for several years, and died of complications from a staph infection, his wife, Brenda Siemer, said.

Mr. Scheider’s rangy figure, gaunt face and emotional openness made him particularly appealing in everyman roles, most famously as the agonized police chief of “Jaws,” Steven Spielberg’s 1975 breakthrough hit, about a New England resort town haunted by the knowledge that a killer shark is preying on the local beaches.

Mr. Scheider conveyed an accelerated metabolism in movies like “Klute” (1971), his first major film role, in which he played a threatening pimp to Jane Fonda’s New York call girl; and in William Friedkin’s “French Connection” (also 1971), as Buddy Russo, the slightly more restrained partner to Gene Hackman’s marauding police detective, Popeye Doyle. That role earned Mr. Scheider the first of two Oscar nominations.

For a generation of people he will be best remembered for his role in Jaws, but he was also memorable in films like The French Connection and All That Jazz.

His most famous line? That would be the one about the size of the boat:

> Roy Scheider at the IMDb
> Dave Kehr’s report in the New York Times
> The London Times with an obituary

Here are my predictions for the major categories at the BAFTAs tonight:

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Although its a strong field – Tom Wilkinson could have an outside shot – I can’t see anything other than a win for Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: A tough one to call. Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There) is the Oscar front runner but I think all candidates have a reasonable shot here. I’ll play safe and go for Cate Blanchett.

BEST ACTOR: The red hot favourite here is Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood) and I see no reason to disagree.

BEST ACTRESS: A large chuck of the British media would love a win for glamorous Kiera Knightley (Atonement) but I think Julie Christie (Away from Her) will deservedly get it.

BEST DIRECTOR: Another tough one to call. If Atonement starts picking up awards Joe Wright definitely has a chance and Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood) is also a strong contender. But I think The Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men) will get it.

BEST FILM: With this being a British event, logic would appear to dictate a win for Atonement but I think (and hope) the sheer quality of No Country Old Men will prevail.

BEST BRITISH FILM: Atonement has to win here if it doesn’t pick up Best Film although watch out for This is England. (This has always struck me as a dodgy category – wouldn’t it just look silly if Atonement won both?)

I’ll post the winners as soon as they come through.

> Check out the full list of BAFTA nominations

It looks like the writers’ strike will soon be over.

If the WGA members approve the agreement below, then they could be back at work this week. It will also mean that the Oscars ceremony will go ahead on Sunday 24th February.

Below is a summary of the tentative basic agreement the WGA has worked out:

SUMMARY OF THE TENTATIVE 2008 WGA THEATRICAL AND TELEVISION BASIC AGREEMENT

This is not a complete summary. The Memorandum of Agreement shall prevail in the case of any inconsistency.

Term of Agreement: From resumption of work through May 1, 2011.

Minimums

Minimum rates generally increase 3.5% each year. The exceptions are: network prime time rates and daytime serial script fees increase 3.0% each period; program fees and the upset price increase once by 3% in the second year; and clip fees increase once by 5% in the third year.

Writing for Made-for New Media

Coverage: The WGA is recognized as the exclusive bargaining representative for writing fornew media (such as Internet or cellular technology). Writing for new media is covered by the MBA if:
(1) it is written by a “professional writer” (anyone with a single TV or screen credit, 13 weeks of employment in TV, film or radio, a professionally produced stage play credit or a published novel) or
(2) the program is derivative of an MBA-covered program or
(3) if the budget is above any of three thresholds: $15,000 per minute; $300,000 per program; or $500,000 per series order. If initially not covered due to the projected budget but later costs exceed a threshold, the program/series is covered retroactively.

Compensation: If a new media program is derivative of an MBA-covered program, minimums for initial compensation apply. The minimum for derivative dramatic programs is $618 for programs up to two minutes, plus $309 for each additional minute. The minimum for derivative comedy-variety and daytime serials is $360 for programs up to two minutes, plus $180 for each additional minute. The minimum for all other types of derivative programs is $309 for programs up to two minutes, plus $155 for each additional minute. Regardless of the length of the program initial  compensation can be no less than the two minute rate. For original programs initial compensation is negotiable.

Pension and Health Insurance: MBA pension and health provisions apply to all covered writing for new media programs.

Credits: The Guild shall determine credits on all covered new media programs. Credits must appear on-screen (or on a link to the program) if anyone else receives such credit.

Television Reuse: If a covered new media program is reused in traditional media, the usual residuals for a television program apply with minor modifications.

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Writing for Made-for New Media (cont’d)

Separated Rights: Creators of original new media material are protected as follows:
(1) If you create an Internet program that becomes a TV series or feature film which you write, traditional separated rights apply.
(2) If you write original material for an Internet program and the Company wants to use it for a TV series or feature film to be written by someone else, the Company must purchase rights from you. The Company may acquire the rights at any time, but separate compensation must be paid. If you want to sell those rights to another studio, the Company has a right of first refusal.
(3) If you create an Internet program that is the equivalent of a traditional TV series (over $25,000 per minute and 20 minutes in length) you are entitled to the same rights as in (2) above, plus sequel payments for each Internet episode based on your program.

Internet Residuals: Initial compensation covers writing services and 13 weeks of availability in new media when the viewer does not pay, and 26 weeks of availability in new media when the viewer pays. After those periods, certain residuals are payable: (i) if a new media program derived from an MBA-covered program or an original new media program with a budget higher than $25,000 per minute is reused in new media, the new media reuse provisions described below apply, except that electronic sell-through is paid at 1.2% of distributor’s gross receipts; and (ii) for original new media programs, the residual for ad-supported streaming is negotiable, while reuse where the viewer pays is compensated at 1.2% of distributor’s gross receipts.

Other Guild Provisions: A number of standard guild provisions apply to all covered new media programs: Guild shop (writers must join the WGA), no-strike/no-lockout, grievance and arbitration, and timely payment.

Reuse in New Media

Distributor’s Gross Receipts: All revenue-based residuals in new media employ a definition of “distributor’s gross” which eliminates the accounting uncertainty inherent in the concept of “producer’s gross” as found in the home video/DVD formula.

Download Rentals: If the viewer pays for limited new media access to a program, residuals are paid at the rate of 1.2% of distributor’s gross receipts.

Download Sales (Electronic Sell-Through): If the viewer pays for permanent use of the program, residuals are paid at 0.36% of distributor’s gross receipts for the first 100,000 downloads of a television program and the first 50,000 downloads of a feature. After that, residuals are paid at 0.7% of distributor’s gross receipts for television programs and 0.65% for feature films.

Theatrical Ad-Supported Streaming: Ad-supported streaming of feature films produced after July 1, 1971 is payable at 1.2% of distributor’s gross receipts.

Television Ad-Supported Streaming (Library): Ad-supported streaming of television programs produced after 1977 (and a small number produced prior to 1977) are payable at 2% of distributor’s gross receipts.

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Reuse in New Media (cont’d)

Television Ad-Supported Streaming (New Programs): Ad-supported streaming of television programs is payable at 2% of distributor’s gross receipts one year from the end of an initial streaming window.

Initial Streaming Window: There is an initial window of 17 days (24 days for episodes of the first season of a series, one-off television programs, and MOWs) with no residual. This window must include or occur contiguous to the initial television exhibition.

Residual Payment (Network Prime Time): In the first and second years of this contract, after the initial window, for network prime time television programs, a fixed residual of 3% of the residual base (“applicable minimum”) is paid for each of up to two 26-week periods. For an hour program, this fee is $654 per period in the first year of the contract; $677 per period in the second year. For a half-hour the figures are $360 and $373. In the third year of this contract, the 2% of distributor’s gross formula is applied immediately after the initial streaming window. The contract sets an imputed value for up to 26 weeks of such distributor’s gross at $40,000 for an hour program and $20,000 for a half hour program. So, for the third year the formula pays a residual of $800 for an hour program and $400 for a half hour program for each potential 26-week period in the year after the initial streaming window. If the Network’s exclusivity expires prior to one year after the end of the initial window, the 2% of distributor’s gross receipts begins without the imputed value. In the case of a 26-week period being truncated by the end of the year after the end of the initial streaming window, the payment is prorated.

Residual Payment (All Other Programs): After the initial streaming window, a fixed residual of 3% of the residual base (the “applicable minimum”) is paid for each of up to two 26-week periods in the first two years of this contract. In the third year of this contract, the payment rate rises to 3.5% of the residual base.

Fair Market Value: New media residuals based on transactions between related parties are subject to a test of reasonableness when compared to transactions between unrelated parties. Access to Information: The companies agree to provide the Guild with access to new media deals and distribution statements, without redaction, and usage data during the term of the contract.

Clips: Clips are defined as excerpts of less than five minutes for episodic TV or ten minutes for features or long-form TV. A company can use a clip for a promotional purpose without payment. Where a clip is not promotional and the viewer does not pay, the fee for the clip in new media is paid at the rate of the lesser of $50 or the residual payable under the Reuse
Sideletter for a clip under two minutes; the lesser of $150 or the residual payable the Reuse Sideletter for a clip between two and four minutes; and for a clip longer than four minutes, the residual payable under the Reuse Sideletter. Where the viewer pays, the fee for use of a clip is 1.2% of distributor’s gross receipts.

Promotion: A clip can be used without payment to promote theatrical, television or new media exhibition if the clip contains “tune-in”, rental or purchase information. No payment is due for non-commercial “viral” release of clips from a theatrical or television motion picture. Promotion does not include the use of clips if the primary purpose of the exhibition is to permit viewing of archived or aggregated clips on a new media site (e.g., dailyshow.com).

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Pension and Health Fund Provisions

Health Fund: The contribution rate shall continue to be 8½% from the start of the contract through September 30, 2008. The contribution rate shall be 8% for the period of October 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009. Thereafter the rate shall return to 8½%. A sideletter resolves a pending dispute about the Health Fund contribution rate.

Pension Fund: The contribution rate remains at 6% for this contract.

Contribution Caps: For theatrical motion pictures and long-form television motion pictures, the ceiling on which Pension Plan contributions are based is increased to $225,000 ($450,000 for team of 3). For long-form television motion pictures, the ceiling on which Health Fund contributions are based is increased to $250,000 ($500,000 for a team of 3). A cap of
$350,000 ($700,000 for a team of 3) is established as the ceiling on which Pension Plan and Health Fund contributions are based for daytime serial writers.

Other: The Guild and the Companies will jointly fund a study of new IRS regulations. We agreed how contributions will be paid when a writer is employed on a development deal under Article 14.E.2. and, under the same contract, is employed to perform Article 14.K. services on a series for which the writer receives additional money which is not creditable.

Other Provisions

Made-for Pay TV Residuals: The annual residual payments increase from $3,000 to $3,500 for a half-hour program and from $5,000 to $6,000 for an hour program.

Product Integration: The company will consult with the showrunner when a commercial product is to be integrated into the storyline of an episode of a dramatic series.

Showrunner Training Program: The AMPTP and Networks will increase funding for this program to: $225,000 for year 1 of the MBA; $150,000 for year 2; and $150,000 for year 3.

Television Recap Clips: The total length of clips that can be used to recap the story in a 60-minute or longer program is extended from 90 seconds to 3 minutes before requiring payment.

Tri-Guild Audit Fund: The companies renew the funding of the Tri-Guild Audit Fund. Residuals Reporting/Electronic Data Transfer: Each company shall meet with the Guild to establish a method of transfer for electronic reporting of residuals information.

Lists of Arbitrators: Arbitrators were added to the lists by both the Guild and the companies.

Foreign Remakes: Alternative terms were agreed for foreign remakes of MBA-covered scripts.

Limited Syndication of Half-Hour Programs: A little-used sideletter specifying a discounted residual for half hour series in limited syndication was renewed.

Television Separated Rights for a Derivative Theatrical Film: The company has an opportunity to match an offer to purchase feature film rights from the separated rights holder.

Committee on Alternative Digital Broadcast Channels: The Guild agreed to participate in a committee to explore the use of alternative digital broadcast channels.