WGA vs. the talent agencies: what are the issues?

We’re a bit more than a decade out from the 100-day writers strike that brought the industry to a standstill and cost the state of California more than $2 billion dollars.

Now, another potentially epic confrontation is on the horizon. This time pitting the Writers Guild against the talent agencies.

The Guild is proposing a new code of conduct aimed at giving more power and hopefully money to writers--control they say has been usurped by their agents in the form of packaging fees and self-production. On March 25, the writers will vote on this new agreement, which is expected to pass. It would give the agencies until April 7th to comply with the major rule changes. If they won’t, according to the new code, writers must leave their agents.

We invited entertainment attorney and Hollywood Reporter contributor Jonathan Handel in to tell us what the fight is about.