Hollywood Writers Approve of Strike as Shutdown Looms

[highplainsdem]

Source: NY Times

The unions representing thousands of television and movie writers said on Monday that they had overwhelming support for a strike, giving union leaders the right to call for a walkout when the writers’ contract with the major Hollywood studios expires on May 1.

The unions, which are affiliated East and West coast branches of the Writers Guild of America, said more than 9,000 writers had approved a strike authorization, with 98 percent of the vote.

W.G.A. leaders have said this is an “existential” moment for writers, contending that compensation has stagnated over the last decade despite the explosion of television series in the streaming era. In an email last week to writers, the lead negotiators said that “the survival of writing as a profession is at stake in this negotiation.”

With two weeks to go before the contract expires, there has been little sign of progress in the talks. In the email, the negotiating committee said the studios “have failed to offer meaningful responses on the core economic issues” and offered only small concessions in a few areas.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/business/media/hollywood-writers-strike-vote.html

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They struck a last-minute deal the last time a strike was authorized, in 2017.

The last strike was in 2007 and lasted over three months.

Link to tweet

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. NYT should learn to write. "Approve strike", not "approve of strike"

The Hollywood unions might vote overwhelmingly to "approve of a strike" in Bollywood, India. "Yes we support strongly the Indian unions in their strike" (if there were to be one).

But their own strike: That action is "approved" meaning authorized. It is not "approved of", not merely "we think it is a good concept".

[intrepidity]

4. Or, "approve *to*"

But surely not "of".

[Auggie]

3. When do we see the first A.I. written screenplay?

Actually sounds like a good idea for a movie.

[LudwigPastorius]

7. It's only a matter of time.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/openais-gpt-4-is-coming-for-comedy-show-writers-rooms?ref=scroll

[highplainsdem]

8. AI replacing creatives is never a good idea.

[Auggie]

10. Are you suggesting I advocate this?

Because I don’t.

[highplainsdem]

11. I'm glad you don't. There are people who see nothing wrong with

AI replacing writers, or at least think it's inevitable.

[intrepidity]

5. Pay these writers!

If I recall correctly, a writer's strike directly preceeded the rise of "reality" shows, which ushered in the likes of "The Apprentice" so.......

[Alexander Of Assyria]

6. 👍 the puppets are the actors...the puppetmasters are the writers. Pay the masters properly!

[highplainsdem]

9. LA Times TV critic Mary McNamara:

(And btw, AMPTP is the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.)


https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-04-17/hollywood-writers-strike-2023-guild-amptp

AMPTP needs to stop screwing around and come to the table with reasonable responses to the WGA’s core demands for its new three-year contract before the old one expires on May 1.

The guild, which recently won its tangle with talent agencies over packaging fees, cannot expect to get everything it wants; its wants are many. But most of them revolve around the undeniable fact that as streaming services, shortened seasons and increased limited series have made television bigger, better and more profitable, far too many writers now struggle to make a living.

Fewer episodes, the loss of residuals and the increased use of “mini rooms” (in which a few writers break stories before the entire staff is hired) has devalued writers’ salaries for all but the tippy-top tier.

If studios and platforms want to be in the original scripted content business, they need to make that business work for the people writing those scripts. It’s that simple.