Writers’ Strike to Paralyze Hollywood: Losses Predicted to Reach $2.1 Billion

• The last strike of the WGA left a loss of 2,100 million dollars for the audiovisual industry of the United States.

The Writers Guild of USA (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed to reach an agreement after several days of negotiations, so the writing teams of Hollywood will begin from this Tuesday (02.05.2023) a strike that could paralyze the industry.

the board of Writers Guild of America “Acting pursuant to the authority granted by its members they unanimously voted to go on strike,” effective from midnight May 1 to Tuesday, the organization tweeted.

“Although our Negotiating Committee began this process with the intention of reaching a fair agreement, the responses from the studies have been totally insufficient given the existential crisis that writers are facing,” he posted on his Twitter account. Twitter the WGA after the announcement. The union also announced that the pickets will begin on Tuesday afternoon and made a union call to its members.

The WGA is seeking approximately $600 million in salary increases and other benefits, such as residualsthe compensation that a member of the team receives each time their product is broadcast on television again and which, according to the union, have been diminished by the platforms of streaming.

The last writers’ strike that the industry went through occurred in 2007 and lasted for more than a month, resulting in a loss of 2.1 billion dollars and the dismissal of 37,000 professionals.

The decision was made after six weeks of negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP, which includes studies such as Disney, Apple, Amazon, Paramount, NBC, Warner Bros. Discovery y Sony.

The response of the Alliance of Film and Television Producers

In a statement collected by local media, the alliance assured that it presented a proposal to the writers’ union that included “generous increases” in the remuneration of the writing teams, as well as improvements in the residuals and that they were willing to improve the offer.

However, they said that due to the magnitude of other WGA requests – such as a minimum staffing level for TV writers’ rooms, as well as a guaranteed minimum of weeks of work per show – they saw no options for a deal.

These concerns on the part of the writers’ unions respond to the changes that the industry has experienced in production since the arrival of the platforms of streaming.

Although there has been an increase in television productions, conditions are uncertain due to the current reduction in episodes of the series, few opportunities for new talent and unpaid work on projects that have not yet been approved. The union accused the big companies of Hollywood of “devaluing the profession of writing even more”, due to their “unchangeable” positions during the negotiations.

Among the most pressing consequences are the almost immediate breaks in daily television programs, the shows of interviews and other current projects. In addition, the premieres of series and movies could experience significant delays, and gradually the general production of audiovisual products in the United States would be paralyzed.

ama (efe, afp, ap, Reuters)

Source: DW