It’s a given u.s. studios and independent producers are worried about potential walkouts by the Writers Guild of America May 1 and the Screen Actors Guild July 1.

‘Oh my God, yes,’ says Vancouver producer Larry Sugar, a Los Angeles transplant.

But has this concern translated into new business or increased scouting activity?

‘Not yet,’ he explains. ‘Let’s watch the next 90 days. People are concerned, but they won’t be moving production here as it’s a difficult fit. Certainly shows that can be moved easily to Canada will come here [in the event of escalating strike talk].’

So the Canadian industry – especially those with close connections with the u.s. industry – sits in limbo while contract negotiators work out their strategy for new agreements with screenwriters and drama actors.

Julie Bernard, manager of production and location services at the B.C. Film Commission, reports there has been no increase in activity at the commission that can be attributed to strike jitters. ‘We’re still seeing the same number of productions sending scripts, but we’re expecting an increase if the strikes proceed.’

Bernard does see evidence of studios being ‘pinched’ in that some series – about 25 in Vancouver alone – are working through hiatuses. ‘We’re hearing that studios want to be in production by March 1 to ensure that their films are completed [before any labor action].’

(One series with an early pickup is Sugar’s nbc teen series Just Deal, though he insists the January start on 13 episodes is not related to a pending strike.)

‘The word from the studios is they’re trying to get as much in before a strike,’ says Toronto-based freelance production co-ordinator Meredith Caplan, who is currently working on the Twentieth Century Fox mow The Pretender.

As a result, she says production in Toronto is significantly up from this time last year. ‘We can see it when we’re trying to find apartments for actors, or book hotels…booking locations and studio space is especially difficult for this time of year.’

And while production tends to slow down in the winter months, Caplan says this year the drop-off from summer has been so minor production co-ordinators are in the rare position of picking and choosing projects.

Vancouver writers and directors agent Dacia Moss, however, has seen no evidence of increased activity at home because of potential labor woes in l.a.

Canadian writers struggle against notions held by u.s. producers that they don’t have what it takes to write hit shows, she explains, citing the difficulties in getting experienced Canadian writers on u.s. shows in the first place. However, she adds, Canadian directors are held in much higher esteem and could benefit from a strike.

‘It’s neither here nor there,’ responds Jim McKee, director of policy and communication at the Writers Guild of Canada. ‘Our objective is not to undermine the wga, but rather to support them.’

At the International Affiliation of Writers Guild Conference held in Auckland, New Zealand, in October, writers guilds from all over the world, including Canada, the u.s., the u.k., Australia and New Zealand, declared a mutual commitment of support during negotiations and industrial action.

‘To the greatest extent permitted by contract and law, the guilds pledge to honor work stoppages…and to lend all possible aid to each other in support of negotiating goals,’ states the declaration.

As for Americans with sag or wga cards working in Canada on Canadian shows, labor unrest in Hollywood should not affect their jobs here – unless they want to support their members on the picket lines, says Sugar. Writers working in Canada will have waivers and the actors will be outside the sag jurisdiction.

Of course, the Canadian unions are in a tough position politically about how they might or might not support their union brethren. During the sag commercial strike this summer, Union of B.C. Performers members picketed commercials shot in Vancouver in a show of solidarity.

After close to eight months of negotiations, members of the wgc voted to ratify their new Independent Production Agreement with the cftpa and the apftq Nov. 1. The new agreement remains in effect from Nov. 1, 2000 to Dec. 31, 2002.

Highlights of the new agreement include: an increase for all writers of 12% in script fees and 10% in the production fee; a revised system of royalty remuneration that moves from a percentage of producer’s receipts to a percentage of distributor’s gross; and increases in feature film rates that brings minimum fees immediately to $40,000 and to $45,000 by 2002. *

-www.wga.org

-www.sag.com

-www.writersguildofcanada.com