The Weinstein Company and the Writers Guild of America Announce Independent Agreement
The Weinstein Company and the Writers Guild of America Announce Independent Agreement
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weinstein Company (TWC) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced today that they have signed a comprehensive independent agreement. While the details are not being disclosed, the deal addresses the issues important to writers, including New Media.
As a result of this agreement, Writers Guild members will now be able to work with The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, the genre division under the TWC banner.
The following is a joint statement from Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company:
"We believe this strike must be resolved now, it's that simple."
"Each day more people are losing their jobs because of this strike and a trickle down effect is impacting the entire industry. There seems to be no end in sight and this should be a concern to all of us."
"While we understand and respect both sides of this issue, this agreement is a catalyst in bringing both sides back to the table so real conversations can begin."
"We should not forget that this time of year should be a time of celebration for our industry and it won't be until this strike is resolved."
David Young, executive director of the Writers Guild of America, West and WGA chief negotiator, said: "The Guild is proud to move forward with The Weinstein Company and hopes that other studios will follow its example. The conglomerates walked away from bargaining and have refused to resume negotiations, but this shows we can sign deals that are fair for writers and the companies that employ them."
The terms of the agreement are similar to the Guild's recent deals with Worldwide Pants and United Artists. An executive summary of the Worldwide Pants agreement can be found at http://www.wga.org/contract_07/wwp_exec.pdf
About the Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) represents writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in both entertainment and news. For more information, please visit: http://www.wga.org/
About The Weinstein Company & Dimension Films
The Weinstein Company (TWC) was created by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films Corporation in 1979. TWC is a multi-media company that officially launched on October 1, 2005. Dimension Films, the genre label that was founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, is also included under the TWC banner.
During the Weinsteins' tenure at Miramax Films the company released some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful independent feature films which received 249 Academy Award(R) nominations and won 60 Oscars(R), have generated billions of dollars in worldwide box office receipts and billions more in home video sales. In its history, Dimension Films has released some of the most successful franchises including "Scream," "Spy Kids" and "Scary Movie."
Source: The Weinstein Company
CONTACT: Matthew Frankel, +1-917-617-7914,
Matthew.Frankel@weinsteinco.com, or Julie Cloutier, +1-646-862-3825,
Julie.Cloutier@weinsteinco.com, both of The Weinstein Company; or Gregg
Mitchell of Writers Guild of America, West, +1-323-782-4574,
gmitchell@wga.org
Web site: http://www.wga.org/contract_07/wwp_exec.pdf
http://www.wga.org/
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Profile: intent
posted by EntertainmentNews @ 8:15 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
EDITORIAL OPINION:
The Weinstein Company are wise in their understanding that the talent of writing is the fundamental essence of the art of the motion picture and its industry, and in its willingness to step out from the corporate conglomerate heirarchy gives respect to those who have given Miramax so many succesful concepts. The problems associated with the hierarchy, that so needs to control, due to the insecure position of its thinking, in financial concepts, rather than the Art, is willing to shoot itself in the foot for the sake of profit.
It is often forgotten that the motion picture has had life changing effects on the understanding of the direction of mankind toward a better future, and screenwriters are the source of many of the positive changes.
It is time for them to be recognized and paid accordingly.
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