Thursday, January 17, 2008

Fools Rush In...

Gil Cates, thinking about how awesome
the 2008 Oscars are going to be, says
"Take that Hollywood Foreign Press
Association and Dick Clark Productions!"


Last Thursday, The Directors Guild Of America signed a new contract with motion picture and television producers, throwing the ball directly into the Writers Guild of America's court.

Previously, several of the major production companies terminated the overall deals of several writers and had caused others who hadn't been let go to worry that their high-end deals wouldn't be so high-end (or even a deal) anymore after the strike ended.

Needless to say, in this kind of atmosphere, it leads to trouble in the ranks. And you can read about it here, straight from the NYT's mouth.


Now the directors cut their deal based on an independent study that concluded that digital media (the pie that everyone wants a piece of) won't be really profitable until 2010.


And what the directors are really talking about when they are talking about new media is the time when film and television content will only be available through cellphone/internet. In other words, when dvd's will be obsolete.


But what of content created specifically for the internet?


By cutting the deal now, without factoring in new content, the directors have closed off equitable consideration on webisodes, short films, animated content and anything else that is designed to be on the internet exclusively.


Just to get the 2008 Oscars on television in time.


Sounds crazy? Look who one of the chief negotiators are for the DGA- Gil Cates.


Cates is the executive producer of the Academy Awards.


You do the math.


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