Hollywood strikes could compromise quality
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070808/film_nm/strikes_dc_1
By Carl DiOrio
Wed Aug 8, 5:59 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - As Hollywood plays beat the clock,
rushing films into production amid fears of industrial action by actors,
writers and directors, there's a rising concern: Will haste make waste?
"The critical thing is whether anybody has loosened their standards
about what they are making," a top studio boss warned. "For those for
whom panic has set in, it could be bad."
Panicky productions or not, there are few sedate executives in Hollywood
as studios and key unions begin their kabuki-like dance around the
bargaining table.
So far, there has been little to suggest a speedy or happy outcome to
negotiations between the studios and the Writers Guild of America (SAG),
whose contract expires October 31. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the
Directors Guild of America (DGA) will be holding similar talks
eventually, with their contracts for film and TV set to expire June 30.
Each union will negotiate with the Alliance of Motion Picture &
Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the employers.
Movie-permit agency Film L.A. and the Los Angeles County Economic
Development Corp. each recently cited a dramatic surge in production
because of studio stockpiling prompted by concerns over a strike threat.
And with such a buildup of studio inventory, there is sure to be a sharp
fall in entertainment employment next year regardless of whether a
strike actually occurs, the forecasters warned.
"You can feel the stress," a top production executive confided. "The
agents are feeling it, the studios are feeling it and the actors are
feeling it."
Much of the concern involves a heated competition for top talent, fanned
by early frenetic activity that has gained intensity during the past few
months. Once even one major studio started accelerating production, the
others had to do so or risk finding actors unavailable when projects
would finally get going.
"I don't care if you're talking about Jim Carrey or Tom Hanks or anybody
else, there are a finite number of (acting) slots and a finite number of
people you want in these slots," a studio chief said. "And all the
agents in town are playing that game."
Frank Mancuso, who was chairman and CEO at Paramount during the 22-week
writers strike in 1988, said the rush to sign talent could "create
imprudent moves." But he added that filmmakers had little choice "when
you see the potential shutdown of the industry taking shape."
Industry woes didn't end with the conclusion of the writers' walkout,
Mancuso added. Their return to work theoretically allowed a resumption
of production, but first studios had to sort through built-up inventory,
dust off projects in development and then decide which projects should
proceed and when, he recalled.
"It's kind of like the after-effect of being out half of the night and
having to get up early for an appointment," Mancuso said. "There's a
hangover that you have to deal with as you try to start up the whole
apparatus again to its full moving-forward potential."
Of course, the worst possible mistake for studios would be greenlighting
a film before a strike but failing to wrap the shoot before a walkout
occurs.
Currently, studios executives are aiming to get as many films into
production by March 1- February 15 if possible to allow for potential
postproduction snags on complex projects. They figure that will give
them four months to complete movies before a possible June 30 actors
strike.
But what that doesn't account for is the question of how to promote
those completed films.
"If there is a strike, that probably means even if movies are finished,
the actors can't go out and promote the movie, as that would be in one
way or another a violation of their guild agreement," a top production
executive said.
But that's just one of the potential pitfalls in Hollywood's mad race
against the clock, some believe.
"You really have to have the discipline," said Chris McGurk, a former
vice chairman and chief operating officer at
MGM.
"You have to step back and not do anything differently because of a
pending strike. When you try to force something or rush something, it
really can lead to sub-optimium conditions. You have to approach things
just as if you did not have the specter of a strike hanging over you."
Potential mistakes include approving a script before it's truly in "go"
condition or failing to adhere to the usual mechanics of the film-
budgeting process, he said.
"And rushing the casting process is never a good thing," McGurk added.
"Overall, accelerating production (because of strike features) just
leads to a much higher level of execution risk."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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