This development marks the culmination of months of industry speculation that the writers would strike once their current contract ended on May 1. The WGA is also telling members that they must picket at assigned locations unless they have a “valid medical excuse,” personal issue or emergency. The WGA instructed its members to report any peers that may be in violation of these rules to face union discipline and to tell any companies with “spec” scripts in their possession to return and delete them. In the week preceding the expiration of its contract, the WGA issued some strict strike rules to members: no writing, revising, pitching or negotiating with companies that are members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is at the bargaining table with writers. Another studio source said they were “not surprised” by the strike: “There has been some good forward motion on both sides but not in the areas that matter most to the writers,” including mini-rooms, guaranteed TV staff size and residuals. On the company side, one executive responded to the proposals document by calling the guild’s proposal on minimum hiring requirements “crazy.” The executive continued, “That should be up to the showrunners,” who are also represented by the WGA. They just want to computer-generate story and have maybe one writer punch it up cut us out of the process.”Īnother writer, a 20-year WGA television writing veteran, proved to be something of a strike skeptic, telling THR, “All these rich showrunners have riled up the base, led us into battle and put the fate of working middle-class writers, which this is all supposed to be about, on the line. I just hope to God they have a plan now that it’s real.” They tried to pretend but in the end they signaled to the other guilds that they are not willing to look at anything that actually deals with how the business has changed.” One writer added that they “really did a double take at complete unwillingness to negotiate on AI. One showrunner’s reply to those proposals: The studios and streamers “will regret not being serious, I’m afraid. When reached on Monday night, many WGA members pointed to the guild’s detailed proposals for companies in the 2023 negotiations, which the WGA shared with members that night (the document also includes the AMPTP’s alleged responses). If a strike goes on for a longer period of time, the WGA has warned that it could set back the network TV season, as scribes for fall premieres tend to start work in May or June. The decision will have an immediate impact on late night shows, which rely on up-to-the-minute writing from WGA members on the latest news developments. The two parties have not yet scheduled a future date to return to the bargaining table. Still, the AMPTP stated that it is “willing to engage in discussions with the WGA in an effort to break this logjam.” Its companies, it added, “remain united in their desire to reach a deal that is mutually beneficial to writers and the health and longevity of the industry, and to avoid hardship to the thousands of employees who depend upon the industry for their livelihoods.” In a statement on Wednesday night, the WGA said that its 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 union alleged that studios and streamers would not agree to any guaranteed of number of weeks of employment for television writers in the talks, that they proposed creating a “day rate” for comedy-variety writers (essentially creating a day-player category for these writers) and that they “stonewall” on proposals over minimizing work with no pay and proposals to regulate AI writing, like ChatGPT, in WGA-covered work.Įarlier in the night, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and streamers in collective bargaining, said in a statement that the negotiations “concluded without an agreement.” In its explanation, the AMPTP said it offered a “comprehensive package proposal” with boosts to compensation and streaming residuals, but sticking points that remained included the guild’s proposals around minimum writing staff sizes and minimum amount of time for employment. Writers Guild Posts Studio-By-Studio Forecast of How Much a Deal Would Cost
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