LOS ANGELES, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc DWA.N, said on Tuesday he was "fearful" the gap between writers and studios in current contract talks could spark a strike in Hollywood.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wider gap in the bid and the ask on where we are today. A lot of it is emotional and rhetorical and a lot of it is substantive,” he said at the Merrill Lynch Media and Entertainment Conference.
Hollywood’s writers and producers are engaged in negotiations over new contract proposals for a three-year pact covering 12,000 members of the Writers Guild of America, whose agreement expires on Oct. 31.
The two sides remain divided on proposals to revamp the decades-old system by which TV and film writers are paid extra when their work goes beyond initial broadcast or theatrical release into reruns, DVDs, the Internet or other outlets.
“I’m fearful that the gap is too great. Everybody would be impacted by a strike, us included,” he said, but added the company has made provisions enabling it to weather a months-long strike if one occurs.
Katzenberg added, however, that problems may arise for DreamWorks if a strike extended beyond six months.
The outcome of the writers guild talks also sets the stage for subsequent negotiations with actors and directors, whose separate contracts run out next summer.
“If we didn’t have our actors, it would impact us,” Katzenberg said. (Reporting by Sue Zeidler)
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