In the midst of the strike that the writers’ union is carrying out to demand better wages and higher profits from reproductions on streaming platforms, HBO suspended the contract from the creator of the iconic American series “The cable”David Simon. The author himself confirmed it on his social networks, who joined the protests that began on May 1st.
“The day HBO called me to suspend my contract after 25 years of writing TV for them, I was doing the right thing,” Simon wrote on his Twitter account. The publication was accompanied by a video in which it can be seen participating in a demonstration on the sidewalk of Silvercup Studios in Queens, New York.
The series ‘The Wire’, which Simon also executive produced, began airing in 2002 and its storyline, based on Baltimore city police officers battling drug trafficking, quickly became popular. .
considered one of the most iconic productions on American television Over the past few decades, the five seasons of ‘The Wire’ have featured stars like Idris Elba and Michael B. Jordan, among others, in their cast.
The 63-year-old writer and journalist has also worked on other popular series and mini-series such as “Generation Killing”“The corner”, “tremendous”, “The devil”, “The Plot Against America” OR “Show Me a Hero”.
Both Simon and the hundreds of writers who have voiced their accusations against the media companies have used the hashtag #WGAStrong, which can be translated as “WGA remains strong”, in reference to the English acronym by which the writer is known. America
After failing to reach an agreement to extend their contract with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP), WGA members have already begun receiving notifications from studios about how this disruption will affect their jobs.
Companies like Amazon, Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple and NBC Universal who let them know its “services” and “engagements”. “suspended” until the strike is lifted and that this could seriously affect their contractual relationships.
The case escalated so much in repercussion that it reached the White House. Proof of this is the fact that the President of the United States, Joe Bidenhas publicly wanted Hollywood’s outstanding film and television writers quickly achieve a “fair deal”. in their contract negotiations.
“I sincerely hope that the Hollywood writers’ strike is resolved and that they reach a well-deserved settlement as soon as possible,” he said during a White House screening of a film honoring the Asian-American community.
What is the Hollywood Writers Union asking for?
Last week, the WGA posted the union’s demands for the AMPTP on its website, among which it highlighted the demand for a fair payment of the “residues”the remuneration received by the working group for the dissemination of its projects.
To achieve this, the writers have asked for more transparency from streaming platforms about the times their work has been streamed by a user.
Another of the important points that the AMPTP declined to discuss is the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) in script production.
Therefore, the indefinite nature of the strike leaves a great deal of unknown as to how long they might last.
The last writers’ strike occurred in November 2007 and lasted nearly 100 days, resulting in an estimated $2.1 billion in losses for the US media industry and the layoffs of 37,000 professionals.
With information from agencies.
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Source: Clarin
