Well, what do you expect when the two sides hate each other and don't trust each other? The various accounts of how and why the talks between the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke down suggest that beyond all the rhetoric, neither side is ready to cut a deal. It's too soon. Let’s pull back and look at the big picture: For more than a year, both the guild and the media companies have been dutifully prepping for a watershed strike that could easily run well in 2008. So after a mere five weeks, why capitulate? They’re just not prepared to settle for a dime instead of a quarter because their respective constituencies expect them to march on. At some point they will be ready to talk again, and then they'll hammer some sort of compromise that will slightly favor one side over the other, as most labor contracts do (I'm guessing it will be the writers). Meanwhile, it's looking like the Directors Guild will start working on its own contract, which probably pushes the WGA talks into January, at the earliest. Lots of coverage. (Deadline Hollywood Daily, LAT, Variety, THR)