As of this Tuesday, May 2, 2023, Thousands of Hollywood film and television writers will go on strike, which has now been declared indefinite.. This came after several weeks of negotiations on the wages and working conditions of these workers, represented by Writers Guild of America (WGA), the group that negotiated with Film and Television Producers Alliance (AMTP).
This may immediately affect late-night talk shows, which may be stopped immediately. TV series and movies scheduled for release at the end of the year may also be affected in the coming months. What would happen? Delays that may affect its release date, among other internal processes.
Confirmation of the strike came through the WGA’s Twitter profile. In it, the organization published the following:Acting under the authority granted by its members, the (leaders) voted unanimously in favor of the strike.” starting this Tuesday. This decision was followed by a series of protests in Los Angeles and New York. According to information provided Hollywood ReporterAMPTP, which houses studios such as Disney and Netflix, these weeks’ talks “did they end without any agreement?
What conflict is causing the writers’ strike in Hollywood?
Simply put, the WGA, the writers, want better working conditions. Among their queries, two questions stand out: higher salaries and a greater share of the profits generated from the distribution of content over the Internet. For its part, AMPTP offered what it defined as a “comprehensive package offer.” This includes higher pay. But he does not accept other aspects requested by the writers guild.
In this momentum, the negotiations stalled. That is why, as a measure of force, the strike of the writers’ union became more active. In the latter’s view, writers’ salaries are stagnant or devalued by inflation. The flip side of this statement, from his point of view, is that the studios continue to bring in higher profits. According to the organization, there have never been so many screenwriters working for minimum wage.
Another issue on the table concerns what the entertainment industry defines as “residual income.” What is this? This is the economic return when a product is reused, for example, on a different platform after being on a certain platform for some time. This practice has been maintained for decades in the sector. But what exactly has changed? Arrival from streaming.
Before, the writers made an economic profit for each episode aired, in the case of the series. It’s with the system streaminghas been changed: your economic benefit now consists of a fixed annual amount in excess of the views and broadcast hours of episodes. In this context, the Writers’ Union requests that this section be reviewed as the numbers are “too low given the massive reuse of content internationally.”
This is not the first time a conflict of this style has occurred between the parties. A similar conflict occurred in 2007. The writers were on strike for 100 days.. The cost to the industry is estimated to be around $2 billion. It remains to wait and see how this new conflict develops.
Source: Hiper Textual
