| This is a far cry from the situation in India where
writers are given short shrift. There are cases where people are given
their payments several months or even a year later after completing
their task. Because there is no union as such at the most what you
have are prompt but poor paymasters.
In the US on the other hand talks have been focused on a number
of issues. These include health benefits, cuts from DVDs, made-for-Pay
TV, sequel and character payments, Daytime TV, travel allowances.
The DVD arena is one of the major concerns for the parties. While
the WGA wants a larger slice of the pie the producers are said to
be flat out against it citing rising production costs. The DVD market
is estimated at $15 billion but the producers are claiming that
if it had not been for DVDs, which are outstripping theatre grosses
they would have great difficulty recouping their investments.
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