The Writers Guild of America has turned down an offer from Abrams Artists Agency to drop packaging fees, ending a chance at a possible thaw in the impasse between the writers and Hollywood agencies.
In April, WGA implemented a new code of conduct for agents designed to end practices it says are conflicts of interest: Packaging, where agencies bundle talent and projects together and bring them to studio as a package, for which the agency collects a fee; and affiliate production, in which a studio partly owned by the agency is involved in a packaged project. When the code of conduct went into effect, writers were required to fire any agent or agency who refused to comply.