Hollywood Writers Go On Strike As Talks Fail With Studios
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is officially on strike as of Tuesday, May 2. Per the statement posted to the WGA's official website, the Boards of Directors of the WGA West and East "voted unanimously" to authorize the strike after "six weeks of negotiations" with the studios presented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), including Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, Netflix, NBC Universal, Paramount, and Sony.
"The WGA Negotiating Committee began this process intent on making a fair deal, but the studios' responses have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing," the statement continued. The WGA went on to explain the severity of the situation, stating that companies have "created a gig economy inside a union workforce" for film and TV writers and that the AMPTP's "immovable stance" during their negotiations to establish a new Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) "betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing." They added:
From their refusal to guarantee any level of weekly employment in episodic television, to the creation of a "day rate" in comedy variety, to their stonewalling on free work for screenwriters and on AI for all writers, they have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership.
What the WGA was asking for
As reported by Variety, the WGA had two "primary sticking points" in their proposal. Firstly, they wanted to increase the TV staffing minimum based on the number of episodes, with one writer per episode for up to six episodes, then one additional writer for every two episodes after six (up to a maximum of 12 writers per show). They also wanted to guarantee TV staff a minimum number of weeks of employment, with at least 10 consecutive weeks and up to 52 weeks (or, in other words, a year).
These points are broken down in greater detail in a lengthy document posted online by the WGA. Among the other proposals listed in the document are "full theatrical terms, including better initial compensation and residuals" for streaming features with a budget of $12 million or more; an increase in weekly rates for TV staff writers and story editors or executive story editors, with writer-producers receiving a weekly rate 25 percent above them; and to "establish a viewership-based residual — in addition to existing fixed residual — to reward programs with greater viewership." That last one, in particular, would require greater "transparency regarding program views" than most streaming services currently offer.
Another major issue was the use of AI, with the WGA calling on the AMPTP to "regulate [the] use of artificial intelligence on MBA-covered projects." Specifically, the WGA proposed that AI "can't write or rewrite literary material; can't be used as source material; and MBA-covered material can't be used to train AI." In many of these cases, the WGA reported that the AMPTP "rejected our proposal [and] refused to make a counter." When it came to AI, the WGA similarly noted the organization rejected their proposal before "countering by offering annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology."
'They would not talk about them'
The WGA's proposals focus almost exclusively on securing better work and pay conditions for writers in the wake of the streaming boom, in addition to addressing growing concerns about the use of AI in film and TV — neither of which are remotely unreasonable, nor should they come as a shock to anyone who's been keeping up on developments in the entertainment industry in recent years. Overall, the WGA estimated their proposals would gain writers approximately $429 million per year but stated that the AMPTP counter-offered approximately $86 million per year, "48% of which is from the minimums increase."
Speaking to Deadline after talks were broken off, WGA West president Meredith Stiehm said, "I'm just surprised by the conversations we did not have. We've been here for six weeks talking to them and those core proposals were literally ignored." WGA negotiating committee co-chair David A. Goodman added:
"The biggest problem we had in this negotiation was that the companies would not engage on a slew of core issues that affect the ability of a writer to maintain a career. So we're far apart in that the companies would not engage with us on those topics, so in that sense, we were far apart. There were other areas of negotiations in which we were able to negotiate things, but the companies stonewalled us on very important issues. They would not talk about them."
The AMPTP responded that they are "willing to engage in discussions with the WGA in an effort to break this logjam," but the WGA took issue with this claim. "We're willing to talk about the issues we raised, but they're not willing to engage with us on those issues. So, when they say they're willing to talk, they're being disingenuous," Goodman explained.
What comes next
The WGA's announcement comes after 97.8 percent of the organization's members — which includes some 11,500 TV and movie writers — previously voted to authorize a strike if they couldn't reach an agreement with the AMPTP that "allows writers to share in the success of the content they create and build a stable life." It marks the first stoppage of this kind since the WGA strike of 2007/2008, although a similar strike was barely averted exactly six years ago in 2017.
Ultimately, the 2007/2008 strike lasted 100 days and is believed to have cost the film and TV industry as much as $2.1 billion, impacting everything from the TV pilot season to major tentpoles like "Quantum of Solace." The costs could be even higher this time, between inflation and the sheer number of movie and TV shows that are being developed at any given time in the streaming era. According to Deadline, nightly talk shows like "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and Jimmy Kimmel Live!" are immediately set to go dark and pivot to reruns, with pay TV network series such as "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" expected to make decisions on the matter within the week.
That being said, it's absolutely imperative that things change when it comes to properly compensating film and TV writers for their work. The industry has clearly reached a breaking point where, as WGA negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser told Deadline, the AMPTP has to address a simple question: "Can writers have a stable, steady income across a year and across a career?"
For those who wish to participate, here's a list of the picket locations and schedules for the WGA strike.