N.Y. Times reporter Michael Cieipley is reporting that several Hollywood honchos are calling for the end of the industry’s decades-old system of paying residuals to writers, actors and directors for the re-use of movie and television programs after their initial showings. As Warner Bros. cheif executive Barry Meyer put it, “”There are no ancillary markets any more — it’s all one market. This is the time to do it.”
Cieipley said the suits “stopped short of saying they would demand an immediate end to residual payments in the upcoming, probably difficult negotiations with writers, actors and directors.” (A strike is looming.) “But they were emphatic in calling for the dismantling of a system under which specific payments are made when movies and shows are released on DVD, shown abroad or otherwise resold. Instead, they want to pool such revenue and recover their costs before sharing any of the profit with the talent.”