WIth the abrupt move just reported in Variety, the Producers may have backed themselves into a corner. Federal labor law requires that parties bargain in good faith – which means that you cannot just put a single position on the table and stick to it come hell or high water. But with the choice of a new media study or the net profit approach gone, now all that is left is the proposal to completely toss the current residual based system. Unilateral demands to revamp entire compensation systems rarely succeed. Even the U.S. auto industry – far more troubled than the film business – has fought for decades about compensation structures without much change. One is tempted to imagine the discussions inside the AMPTP: tell me, Mr. Counter, you do have other arguments? (Yes, I admit it, I did recently watch a re-run of The Verdict.)

Variety.com – WGA negotiations still combative