Bedeviled by unexpected plot twists, the union representing Hollywood TV and film scribes is trying to write an ending to its leadership problems as studio contract talks near.
The board of the Writers Guild of America, West, is scheduled to meet today to discuss complaints that it mishandled the removal of Victoria Riskin as guild president this month. Riskin resigned after an independent hearing officer ruled that she hadn't done enough writing to be eligible to run for reelection in September.
The board also is expected to discuss with the new president, Charles Holland, a recent article in which The Times said it found public records that were at odds with his assertions that he served as an elite Green Beret military intelligence officer and attended college on a football scholarship.
Directors contacted by The Times said the board wanted to support Holland, but added that he needed to adequately explain to them and to WGA members the discrepancies between records and his statements about his background.
"Whether he is telling the truth or not, my own feeling is I will respect what he has to say to us about it," board member Lisa Seidman said.
Seidman added that she isn't especially bothered by the discrepancies: "We're storytellers. It's what we do for a living."
Also on the agenda for the meeting today is a set of demands from Ron Parker, a guild member who filed the protest that led to Riskin's removal, and Eric Hughes, the candidate who was defeated by Riskin last September.
Parker and Huges said they had been invited by a guild attorney to submit their demands to the board. They said Sunday that they would demand several reforms, and would ask directors to consider scheduling a new election in which nominees would be designated by the membership rather than by the board.
They also want:
* The opening of board meetings to the members, and circulation of minutes of those meetings within the guild.
* Steps taken to enhance communication among guild members, including the publication of a membership directory, which was dropped five years ago.
* The establishment of a committee independent of the board to review the guild constitution and determine whether it conforms to federal labor law.
* A discussion about whether disciplinary steps should be taken against Riskin and others if they were found to have violated guild rules in setting up a work assignment that they mistakenly believed would qualify her to run in the last election.
