This past week I was asked a few times as I paced back and forth pumping my picket sign with each passing horn honk…”So…what do you think about the talks this week”? My answer was the always the same…it’s a sham. They are posturing and stalling with absolutely no intention whatsoever to end talks anytime soon. I always added…I really hope that I’m wrong…I really do.
It’s times like these when I hate that I’m right.
Of course I wasn’t the only one. Nikki Finke even pretty much wrote the script and timeline when this was going to happen here.
I was at a function the other night when I was approached by someone who assists a well known director in town. They told me that I should feel more comfortable that someone like Bryan Lourd is helping mediate the talks. You know…someone who is actually skilled in the art of the deal. Uh huh…okay.
My reply was simple…and one the other person didn’t seem to like to hear. “Sure…but it wont matter…the AMPTP just hired a high profile, high cost PR firm. There is absolutely no reason to do that at this juncture if they planned on continuing talks to reach a deal.
And not to beat a dead horse…I still believe there is no reason to even contemplate a settlement if force majeure can kick in soon. If you were running a studio…why on earth would you not take advantage of a golden opportunity to trim fat.
When you are dealing with an 800lb public gorilla…there is only one weapon in your corner…Wall Street.
Pithy signs are great, theme picketing breaks up the boredom and public opinion polls certainly help…but fiduciary responsibilities to stock holders is the beat all trump card.
Now, that it is very clear that breaking the WGA union is the main tactic…pissed off stock holders will be our only ammunition. And that folks means…here it comes…a shitty Christmas and an unhappy new year…because in order to bring wall street into the picture…we have to dig our feet into the trenches and wait through March and possibly into May or June.
The AMPTP is just like the mafia…they understand that everybody knows they do underhanded things to make money…but the last thing they want is Joe public talking about it. Guess what…Joe public owns shares in affected companies…get them talking about it…and why Wall Street is down grading the stocks due to HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS in lost ad revenue…and right there folks is the WGA’s hail of titanium bullets.
But the only way to load that gun is to wait…and wait and wait.
Talk about a suck ass prognosis. But unless by some miracle (they have been known to happen) something motivates them to sit down to an agreement sooner than later…it usually only takes one HUGE MEDIA blunder by one side…let’s hope it’s theirs. The only way we can walk away with something that we can swallow…is to stick it out and stick it to them. Then let the Billion lb Wall Street Dinosaur fuck the 800lb AMPTP gorilla in the ass. And believe me…when it gets to that…the stock holders will want more accountability then “just how are you going to end this and make it up to us”. That’s a path none of these companies want to go down.
And for God’s sake…somebody please check to see if this guy has some hidden accounts somewhere that have recent huge deposits.
Somebody has this asshole in their pocket.
jsg
Aye, the studios are planning to stall until the WGA crumbles. That’s been their plan for months now.