Hollywood TV and movie writers to begin returning to work on Wednesday
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The Writers Guild of America said the tentative contract includes enhancements worth an estimated US$233 million annually.
PHOTO: AFP
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LOS ANGELES – After 148 days on strike,
The Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents 11,500 screenwriters, said on Tuesday that three internal boards had voted unanimously to end the strike and send a tentative contract with entertainment companies to members for ratification.
The members have until Oct 9 to cast their votes on the proposed contract.
Members are expected to approve the three-year deal.
The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of the studios, reached the tentative agreement on Sunday after a bitter stand-off that contributed to a near-complete shutdown of film and television production.
Guild leaders have repeatedly called the terms of the accord “exceptional”. Studios have declined to comment.
For the first time, the WGA made those terms public on Tuesday. While not receiving everything it asked for, the union achieved major gains.
Residual payments (a form of royalty) for overseas viewing of streaming would increase 76 per cent, according to the union. Netflix’s foreign residual, for instance, would total US$32,830 (S$45,000) for a one-hour episode over three years, up from US$18,684.
For the first time, writers will receive a bonus from streaming services that is based on a percentage of active subscribers. The guild had demanded that entertainment companies establish a viewership-based bonus to reward programmes that become hits.
On the issue of minimum staffing for television shows, at least three writer-producers must be hired for writers rooms for first-season shows running 20 weeks or longer. Minimum staffing for additional seasons will be tied to the number of episodes.
Studios had initially refused to negotiate at all on the guild’s demand for minimum staffing, calling it “a hiring quota that is incompatible with the creative nature of our industry”. The WGA had been seeking a minimum of six writers.
The guild said the tentative contract includes enhancements worth an estimated US$233 million annually. When bargaining started in the spring, it proposed US$429 million in enhancements, while studios countered with US$86 million, said the guild.
The tentative contract also has guarantees that artificial intelligence (AI) technology will not encroach on writers’ credits and compensation. Studios cannot use AI tools to rewrite original material.
Writers, however, can use the technology for assistance if the company they are working for allows it; studios cannot force them to use it.
In a concession by the union, studios will be able to use film and TV scripts that they already own to refine AI tools and experiment.
During negotiations in April before the strike, studios refused to engage on the topic of AI, saying too much was unknown about the technology. They said the guild would have to wait until contract negotiations in 2026.
Studio leaders have since called their early refusal to negotiate on the issue an error. It was one of the reasons the guild called a strike.
Even though writers rooms can begin running again, much of Hollywood will stay at a standstill: Tens of thousands of actors remain on strike, and no talks between the actors union, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the studios have been scheduled.
The only productions that could quickly restart are ones without actors, like late-night shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert and daytime talk shows hosted by Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Hudson.
In addition to actors, more than 100,000 behind-the-scenes workers (directors, camera operators, publicists, make-up artists, prop-makers, set dressers, lighting technicians, hairstylists and cinematographers, among others) will continue to stand idle, many with mounting financial hardship.
The impact extends beyond California and New York. There are production hubs in Georgia and New Mexico, for instance.
About US$10 billion in TV and film production is on hold, according to ProdPro, a production tracking service. That equates to 176 shows and films.
While the writers guild suspended picketing on Sunday, the union encouraged members to join the actors picket lines this week – a symbolic show of solidarity before returning to work.
About 80 people were marching outside Paramount by mid-morning. Roughly one-third wore blue Writers Guild shirts. A smattering of people had donned sparkly tutus in honour of a “tutu Tuesdays” theme. Someone had brought a boom box, which was blaring I’m Still Standing by Elton John.
The mood was buoyant, even euphoric.
“I can’t imagine that it will be drawn out,” Kari Nicolle, an actress whose credits include CSI: Vegas (2021 to present), said about the negotiations that remain between her union and the studios.
“If the writers were satisfied with the AI protections that studios offered, then hopefully SAG will be able to piggyback.” NYTIMES
