• Silicon Alley Insider, Friday, December 21, 2007 11 AM

Talks are off until January, but former Writers Guild of America attorney Jonathan Handel on Thursday revealed an interesting (albeit complicated) scenario that he believes could put an end to the union's six-week deadlock with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Meanwhile, L.A.'s economy is losing $220 million a month to the strike.

Handel says the Directors Guild of America, set to begin negotiations with the Alliance in the new year, should do a deal on new media residuals (directors don't currently make much from them) mirroring what the WGA wants. Then, he says both the WGA and the Screen Actors Guild should reject the DGA's deal as a template for them, scaring the Alliance into working with both organizations for fear of two striking unions. The WGA should also drop its reality and animation demands, which won't happen. Together, he says the unions can create the necessary leverage to get the Alliance to budge.

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