Former WGA President Patric Verrone Says Writers Are “Serious About Our Demands” Ahead Of Awards
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Writers are preparing to celebrate or commiserate at the WGA Awards and there’s plenty of talk of the looming negotiations with the AMPTP.
Patric Verrone, who was president of the WGA West between 2005-2009, knows a thing or two about how these negotiations go, given that he was in charge during the last major strike.
More from Deadline
'Everything Everywhere' Is Unbeatable, But So Was 'Brokeback Mountain'
Endeavor Is "Well-Positioned" For A Potential Writers Strike, CEO Ari Emanuel Says
Related Story
WGA West President Meredith Stiehm Talks Tough Ahead Of AMPTP Negotiations, Says Guild Is “Good Sheriff In A Bad Town”
Related Story
'Everything Everywhere' Is Unbeatable, But So Was 'Brokeback Mountain'
Related Story
Endeavor Is "Well-Positioned" For A Potential Writers Strike, CEO Ari Emanuel Says
“I hope the lesson taken from all this was that the companies realize that we’re serious about our demands and we have an active and engaged membership that agrees with the leadership and is prepared to do whatever is necessary,” he said on the red carpet at the WGA West ceremony tonight at the Fairmont Century Plaza.
Information and data seemed to be his priority. “One of the things we achieved in the 2007 negotiation and strike was access to data. We want to continue that and potentially increase that,” he added.
Verrone, who has worked on series such as Futurama and The Simpsons, didn’t want to get drawn into specifics about whether mini rooms or AI were hot topics. “There are other more recent former presidents here that you can talk to about that, including the two who were the chairs of the committee. But all the issues are important,” he said.
While he said that “everybody feels squeezed” and the guild is trying to “address everybody’s concerns,” he added that having attended a number of meetings “membership seems full well behind the leadership.”
The conversation comes comes after the WGA unveiled its Pattern of Demands last week, highlighting some of the major issues it would like to discuss with the studios ahead of the start of the negotiations March 20.
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
