It was feared for a long time, but now it’s reality: the screenwriters’ union (WGA) and the big Hollywood studios couldn’t agree on fairer payment for the writers.
The WGA then called on its members to go on strike. That means, several thousand authors of films, series and shows will stop working indefinitely. There hasn’t been a strike of this magnitude in Hollywood for 15 years. At that time, work on series and films was interrupted for months.
The facts about the script strike in brief
Who negotiates with whom? On the one hand there is the Writers Guild of America, the largest union for screenwriters in the USA. It has almost 15,000 full members. On the other hand there are film studios such as Universal or Sony and streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon. These are collectively represented by the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The reason: The background to the conflict is the changes in film and series production since the advent of streaming services. On the one hand, more series are being produced than before. On the other hand, the seasons are shorter, the writing staff is smaller and the long-term remuneration for streaming productions is lower. Traditionally, authors made money not only from the immediate realization of a film or series, but every time the productions were repeated on television or sold in home theaters. With streaming productions, this income breaks away.
The requirements: The guild strives for minimum sizes for author staffs, time guarantees for employment on a project, the adjustment of royalties through streaming, and the regulation of the use of artificial intelligence in the creation of content. (Source: WGA )
The reaction: The studios’ representation has rejected proposals for AI regulation, minimum hours for hiring writers and reducing unpaid work, according to the WGA.
Is Netflix to blame?
As the most important streaming service, Netflix has a special role to play in the labor dispute. Industry insider Jeff Sneider claims to have learned from his own sources that the negotiations failed because of Netflix’s stance, while the other studios were ready for an agreement.
But there is no confirmation from other sites.
Those are the next steps
Negotiations between the authors’ guild and the studios failed during the night. The WGA detailed the studios’ response to the proposals “completely insufficient”. The AMPTP reaffirmed its will to “to reach a joint deal that is mutually beneficial”.
The strike is called for today, May 2nd, from 9:01 a.m. German time. According to the Hollywood Reporter, there is still no date for a joint meeting between the conflicting parties. Demonstrations of the WGA in front of corporate locations from Netflix, Warner, Paramount and other studios are expected next.
Numerous authors and other filmmakers confirmed their participation or solidarity with the strikers online. Star Trek producer and writer Bill Wolkoff tweeted:
We will fight. We’ve got the whole city behind us. The first shows are paused
The first to be paused were Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night shows, which are produced daily, Deadline reports. After that, production of network series like Abbott Elementary could falter.
The strike comes as no surprise and some companies have been trying to pre-produce scripts in recent weeks. However, if the work stoppage lasts longer, new seasons of series could be delayed and planned theatrical release dates could be postponed. This mainly applies to series projects that are planned for autumn or later.
The last writers’ strike took place in 2007/2008 and lasted 100 days. Series like Breaking Bad got shortened seasons, others were canceled. Transformers – Revenge, James Bond 007 – Quantum of Solace and other blockbusters had to be produced without finished scripts.