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Yet another writer believes the AMPTP has a firm deadline, and that deadline is approaching:

Before negotiations with the Writers began, the Companies said to their negotiator, Nick Counter: "This is how much of our future profits we are willing to share with the Guilds, and this is how long we can wait before we have to get back to work." And then they concluded, "between now and that certain deadline, get the Guilds as far below our maximum as you possibly can."

--Roger Wolfson: The Stakes Are Far Larger Than Most Will Admit - Entertainment on The Huffington Post

Wolfson believes the deadline may be as far off as September, and also sees the Writer's Guild as collateral damage in an assault on SAG, the Screen Actors Guild, which costs the studios three times more in residuals than the writers.

What's clear is that companies that have made deals already, like United Artists and the Weinstein Company, have a huge advantage. They can be producing content and making money and when a deal does get signed, they get the more favorable terms. So their competition, the AMPTP member companies, are essentially working for them.

If I was Jeff Zucker, Peter Chernin, Les Moonves or the other few dinosaurs who control the AMPTP, I'd be royally steamed (which, apparently, they are).

UPDATE: Craig Mazin calls for patience.

About J. Ott

John Ott is a writer, filmmaker and futurist. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.