Hollywood Pierce difficult hours. Is that after the talks stalled this Monday in the framework of a request from the union of film and television writers, the start of a strikevoted unanimously, from the first minutes of Tuesday.
As explained by the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), “the responses from the studies were wholly inadequate given the existential crisis that writers are facing”, and for this reason its Board of Directors, in concert with the Council of the Writers Guild of America East, has decided to avail itself “of the authority granted them by its members” and to call the measure of force, which could have catastrophic consequences.
In parallel, it was specified that the decision was made after six weeks of negotiations with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, NBCUniversal, Paramount Plus and Sony, which are “under the umbrella” of the Producers Alliance of Film and television (AMPTP, for its acronym in English).
Finally, the union highlighted that its “Negotiation Committee initiated this process with the intent on making a fair dealand which was not heard from the studios, despite warning that “the pickets” will begin this Tuesday afternoon.
Major studios and platforms including disney and netflixwere engaged this Monday in dialogue with the mighty Writers’ Union, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which warned it could declare a strike starting in midnight on this Monday unless they come to an agreement.
Due to the union strike, late night talk show -the famous late night shows, live tv tanks they could stop immediatelyand the series of television and movie expected to be released at the end of this year and in the following months may be affected long delays.
The last time there was a labor conflict like this in Hollywood, in 2007the screenwriters they stopped for a hundred dayscosting the Los Angeles entertainment industry approximately 2 billion dollars.
This time, the writers are demanding higher salaries and a larger share of profits of the distribution of on-demand content through the streaming and internet.
On his side the studies and platformsthey say that need to cut costs due to economic pressures.
“Everyone hears that there will be a strike”, he told the agency AFP extension a Los Angeles television writer, who asked not to be named, before the move was confirmed.
What is the Hollywood Writers Union asking for?
The stake is “determine”. how we will be compensated financially for the ‘streaming'”, not just now but in the future, added the industry writer contacted by AFP.
Many of the issues are similar to those discussed in the industry globally.
The writers say they are having a hard time making a living stagnant or devalued wages due to inflationwhile their employers earn and raise the salaries of their executives.
They estimate that there have never been so many screenwriters working for the minimum wage set by unions, as TV networks hire fewer people to write increasingly shorter series.
One major disagreement concerns how screenwriters are paid for series broadcast by streaming platformswhich in spaces like Netflix usually remain viewable for years.
For decades, screenwriters have been paid “residual rights” for the reuse of their works, a percentage of the studio’s revenue from the film or show, or a flat rate each time an episode is played.
but with him streamfiction and nonfiction text professionals earn a fixed annual payment, Also if your work achieves the success of programs like Bridgerton or stranger thingswith hundreds of millions of viewers.
“These amounts are firm too short for the global reuse of WGA-covered programming in these mass services,” the union says.
The WGA is today asking for the re-evaluation of these amounts “too low in view of the massive international reuse” of these programs. And as if the outlook weren’t tense enough, the union also wants to discuss the future impact of artificial intelligence on the profession.
Film studios under pressure to cut costs
The studies, represented by the Alliance of film and television producers (AMPTP), point out that the “residual royalties” paid to screenwriters have reached a record level of $494 million in 2021, compared to $333 million a decade earlier.
They also refute suggestions that the firms falsely claim financial hardship to strengthen their bargaining position.
“Do you think Disney would fire 7,000 people for fun?” he pointed to a source close to AMPTP.
“There is only one platform [de streaming] what is it profitable right now, and that AND Netflix. The film industry is also quite a competitive industry,” she said.
After trash from years pastwhen rival streaming platforms were trying to grow their subscribers at all costs, studios are now under pressure investor pressure to reduce spending and generate profit.
With midnight as the deadline, the two sides could reach an agreement. last minute dealtemporarily extend the talks or abandon them and prepare for pickets.
WGA board member Liz Alper tweeted that negotiations would continue “until midnight” and soon after scriptwriters will be sent instructions on the steps to follow “depending on whether an agreement is reached or not”.
“Today is a nervous day. We are all in this. Don’t overdo it,” she wrote.
The industry fears a domino effect and a major strike
Other unions in Hollywood have been sympathetic to screenwriters, such as SAG-AFTRA, by actorsis that of directorsADI.
Both will have their conversations with the studios this summer.
“The greatest benefit we collectively bring to a strike is the withdrawal of our work”, the WGA wrote to its members Sunday, according to Variety, which cited a message it had access to.
And there was a caveat: “The pickets are a key tactic to show that we are all together.”
Source: Clarin
