Guccis on the Line

It began, befittingly, with lobster tails and champagne served to picketing Hollywood writers by the secretaries of Warner Brothers studios. In the first weeks of the strike called by the 3,000 members of the Writers Guild of America against movie and television producers and the three major networks, both sides assumed the bemused air of adversaries in a genteel farce. Executives at Disney studios provided storage for picket signs in their conference room. Some writers reported to the picket line outfitted by Gucci and Cardin. One rain-shy striker arrived outside 20th Century-Fox and defiantly lofted his picket sign through the slightly open window of his Rolls-Royce.

But as the strike wore on, Gucci soles and tempers wore thin. Now in its 14th week, the writers' strike threatens to play havoc with fall television schedules.

Indeed, NBC has already announced that the start of its new season will be postponed for at least two weeks; the other networks could be forced to follow suit. Such favorites as The Odd Couple, Mannix and Mission: Impossible are likely to be affected. Others, however, will not be, since they are produced by independent production companies. Some 150 independents-- which produce from 25% to 50% of prime- time programming -- have settled with the writers. As a result, such shows as All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Maude will be ready to start the fall season on time.

Among the writers grievances is the fact that there has not been an increase in the going rates for scripts since the last Guild strike in 1960. Present rates are $4,500 for a one-hour TV script, $3,500 for a half-hour. Hefty enough sums, it would seem, but the writers are asking for an increase to $6,000 and $4, 150 a show. "Most people think Hollywood writers are wealthy," scowls Freelancer David Rintels. "But most have to take part-time jobs to survive."

While some writers like Stirling Silliphant regularly earn over $100,000 a year, Rintels estimates that a significant majority of writers make less than $ 10,000. Unemployment in the Writers Guild runs as high as 80%. "It's the only union where millionaires and guys who are starving are walking the same picket line," notes Guild President John Furia Jr.

Padded Season. Aggravating the writers' plight are two recent develop ments: the cutback in network prime-time shows, which reduces the demand for scripts, and the growth of 90-minute or two-hour programs that often employ only one writer, instead of several for four half-hour shows. Most depressing, for viewers as well as writers, is the pathetically truncated, rerun-padded season. The networks now routinely air only 22 original shows, instead of 36 as in earlier years. The shortened sea son has meant that nearly one-third fewer scripts are needed.

While pay increases are crucial to a settlement, by far the stickiest point in the strike is the question of "supplemen tary markets"-- inflight movies, pay and cable TV, and cassettes. Presently allot ted no share at all, the Guild is demanding 1.2% of the gross revenues from such supplementary markets. The Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the networks are offering only .6%. With the costs of developing the markets estimated in the millions of dollars, the studios argue that the invesment would hardly be worth it if they must share any larger portion of the po- tential profits with the writers-- particularly since no one really knows how big or small those profits will be.

As negotiations dragged on, nobody was optimistic about a speedy settlement, which could mean the networks would have to rerun reruns into the fall.

Last week the Directors' Guild, its own contract negotiations just begun, declared support for the writers and issued its own demand for a cut of "supple mentary market" grosses. The dreary prospect looms that viewers may be able to follow the new season with last year's TV Guide.

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