Hollywood Writers’ Strike which has been going on for months have finally resulted in resumed talks with studios. The Hollywood writers’ strike over pay and the threat of artificial intelligence, has brought U.S. film and television production to a halt.
Hollywood writers’ strike
Hollywood studios will meet with writers this week to discuss reopening talks for the first time since a Hollywood writers’ strike began nearly 100 days ago. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) walkout, which kicked off May 2 over pay and the threat of artificial intelligence, has brought U.S. film and television production to a halt.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), reached out to the Writers Guild of America and requested a meeting, the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee told its members in a statement that was shared with Reuters.
The AMPTP negotiates on behalf of Walt Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery and other studios.
As per AMPTP spokesperson the alliance was committed to finding a mutually beneficial deal, without giving further details.
Hollywood writers on picket lines
Writers have been joined on the picket lines since last month by the much larger Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) including A-list stars such as Sean Penn ramping up pressure on the likes of Disney and Netflix to return to negotiations.
The strike by about 11,500 writers has led to late-night shows cancelling new episodes, disrupted most production for the fall TV season, and halted work on big-budget movies.
Hollywood studio talk
Studios “reached out to the WGA today and requested a meeting this Friday to discuss negotiations,” the union said in an email to members on Tuesday.
“We’ll be back in communication with you sometime after the meeting with further information.”
The first Hollywood “double strike” by writers and actors in six decades has meant movie productions are shut down, glitzy premieres are scrapped, and events such as the Emmys are delayed as stars are banned from promoting TV shows.
The Hollywood writers’ strike is costing the entertainment industry and the California economy several million dollars per day.
What Writers Guild of America wants?
The demand for Hollywood writers pay parity and a greater share of profits from the boom in streaming, while studios say they must cut costs to cope with economic pressures.
Other major disagreements include the growing trend for TV shows to hire fewer writers, for shorter durations, to script series and studios’ refusal to offer protection against the future threat of artificial intelligence in writing.
While writers appear poised to return to talks, actors remain at an impasse with studios, which are represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
“We have not heard from the AMPTP since July 12 when they told us they would not be willing to continue talks for quite some” time, SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told trade outlet Deadline on Wednesday.
The entertainment website Deadline reported on Tuesday that the WGA and the studios were on the verge of making a breakthrough in talks.
