No menu items!

Date:

Share:

Hollywood writers strike on the eve contract expiration

Related Articles

publish press release online

Source: Jeremy Kay / Screendaily

Writers Guild Of America

Hollywood and the global entertainment business are watching closely as the final day of negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Alliance of Motion Picture And Television Producers (AMPTP) counts down towards the expiry of the current basic agreement.

Talks were ongoing on Sunday and may continue on Monday before the contract end at 11.59pm PT on Monday. While nobody wants a repeat of the 2007-08 strike which lasted 100 days, both parties have been sticking to their agenda throughout the negotiations.

Last month 97.85% of WGA members from a 78.79% turnout of the Guild’s 20,000-strong membership voted in favour of striking should the parties fail to agree terms. The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has warned its members that if they do not go to work in the event of a WGA strike in solidarity with writers they could face consequences from their producer employers.

The WGA is broadly asking for more money, particularly in relation to TV compensation (residuals and “mini rooms” have been key talking points), and says while the rise of streaming has brought profits and massive content spend by producers, writers have been left behind. Guild negotiators also engaged with their counterparts on the potential impact of A.I. on writers’ work.

The AMPTP, on behalf of studios, streamers, network and independent producers, argues it is hard for companies to pay more in a climate of cost cutting and lay-offs.

Should a strike go ahead, it could start as soon as Tuesday May 2 or at a later date. The WGA has not yet specified.

A first strike would be more impactful on TV writers. In film, Hollywood and independent producers are stockpiling scripts for the event of a strike. However, once the cameras start rolling, no Guild writer will be available to revise the scripts. It is believed directors and producers could make a tiny change to a name or word here or there, however they would not be able to do any substantial rewrites nor anything that alters the essence of the screenplay.

Sales agents preparing for Cannes continue to package projects as if it were business as usual and are steering clear of summer start dates, preferring to keep start dates vague or look towards the end of this year and into 2025. Bond companies have stated that they will not bond any independent projects that are not completed by June 30. Completed projects may remain on their original dates, but those still in production or post-production may not be able wrap up during a strike. In this case, some distributors have speculated that some titles may be pushed into 2024. The schedule for next year and 2025 is at risk, as many projects beyond 2023 are still unfinished. A strike could cause serious disruptions and create a post production logjam after it ended. The DGA, which has a membership of approximately 19,000, will begin its contract renewal talks on May 10. SAG-AFTRA – with around 160,000 members – will start their talks on June 7. The DGA, which has a membership of approximately 19,000, starts its talks on May 10, followed by SAG-AFTRA – which has around 160,000 members – on June 7.

Should these guilds also go on strike that would effectively shut Hollywood down until the parties returned to the table to hammer out an agreement.

Many producers are looking to shoot outside the US. If the local unions and guilds are not affiliated with Hollywood guilds, or have not issued any solidarity guidelines, feature productions can be done outside the US. Producers might decide to work with non Guild members, but they would be cautious about upsetting the Hollywood Guilds.

reality tv