An Interim Agreement: Like a Tattoo, Only Less Permanent

By Steven Zeitchik

A  DVD of "Mutual Appreciation" and a lunch date with Bingham Ray are so last Sundance. The latest sign of indie-film cred ? That little piece of paper known as a WGA interim agreement.

Paula Wagner has one. The Weinsteins now have one too. And if you believe, well, the people seeking interim agreements, plenty of production companies without studio roots are on the cusp of landing one.

Of course saying you want a deal and getting one are two very different things. It's almost like playing with house money to say you're "in talks" for a waiver. It sends the message that you're "artist-friendly," positioning that will pay off even after the strike. (We've always waited for the studio that would tout itself as artist-hostile, or sculptor-friendly.) And unless you're big or ideological, concerns about alienating AMPTP leadership are limited, at least judging by the reaction to the side deals in '88.

So who can we expect to push hard for a waiver? Companies with slate needs or fidgety investors, mainly, companies for whom the biggest strike worry isn't "Lost" reruns but the sound of a clock ticking.

Like, perhaps, a certain Gotham-based company that was once housed at Disney.

Overture's also been mentioned, though with lucrative television and homevid deals, it has a financial cushion that make new box office -- and new scripts -- less urgent. ("We're going to carefully consider our options," CEO Chris McGurk told Risky Biz earlier this week, sounding in no particular hurry).

Less mentioned in interim talks but maybe more eager: outfits like Summit, Groundswell, MGM and Legendary, all of whom are relying on cash from outside the entertainment industry. Wall Street doesn't wait forever, and Wall Street doesn't like strikes - almost as much as it doesn't like tattoos.

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