Inside UTA’s Writers Guild Deal: No Packaging Fees – But With a Catch

After a two-year battle to block Hollywood talent agencies to collect packaging fees from film and TV projects in addition to client commissions, the Writers Guild of America on Wednesday scored a major victory in settling with UTA, one of the four major agencies in the standoff. But there’s a big catch in the settlement, which follows the union’s deals with more than 80 talent agencies for whom packaging is less of a factor. UTA agreed to eliminate packaging fees by the end of June 2022– but only if the guild can reach an agreement with one of the three other top major agency holdouts: CAA, WME, or ICM Partners. UTA and the WGA were under no pressure to sign the deal now, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap, but there was an added desire to unite the writers and unify the industry that has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Also Read: UTA Agrees to Deal With WGA, Resume Representation of Writers UTA had no comment beyond UTA Co-President Jay Sures’ memo to staff on Wednesday detailing the settlement. “UTA reached out to the WGA leadership, as we have done numerous times throughout this dispute”...

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