Hollywood grinds to a halt as WGA strike after ‘wholly insufficient’ talks with US studios

The US production industry is braced for widespread disruption after The Writers Guild of America’s 11,500 members walked out on strike after talks with US studios broke down.

The WGA has been locked in discussions with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for three months, with the writers union calling for action around residuals on shorter seasons, regulation of AI and shrinking writers room sizes.

However, the AMPTP – representing companies including Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony, Netflix, Amazon and Apple – confirmed negotiations with the WGA had “concluded without an agreement” late yesterday.

‘Existential crisis’

In its message to members, the WGA said it had been “intent on making a fair deal” but claimed that “the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing.”

“We must now exert the maximum leverage possible to get a fair contract by withholding our labour. Members of the Negotiating Committee, Board and Council will be out with you on the picket lines.”

Breaking Bad

“The companies’ behaviour has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing,” it said.

The AMPTP said proposal would “require a company to staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period of time, whether needed or not.”

A strike had looked increasingly likely over the past six weeks as the two sides remained well apart in landing an agreement. Offers from the AMPTP to increase residuals and pay fell well short of WGA expectations.

Underlining the gulf, the WGA said its proposals would have provided its members with “approximately $429m per year”. AMPTP’s offer, the WGA said, “is approximately $86m per year, 48% of which is from the minimums increase.”

The WGA demands were wide-ranging and included:

• A staffing minimum of between six and 12 writers per show dependant on the number of episodes, a proposal that the AMPTP refused
• Guaranteed employment of between 10 and 52 weeks, which was also refused by the AMPTP
• Streaming residuals based on a show’s success, which the AMPTP has considered
• Regulation around AI that does not allow writing or rewriting of material – the WGA said the AMPTP instead offered annual reviews around AI and other tech
• A 25% premium for ‘pre-greenlight’ writers rooms, a proposal that the AMPTP countered by offering a 5% increase

Context & international perspective

Writers will now take to the streets of LA to protest from Tuesday, with fears that the action could drag on and replicate the 100-day strike that hit the US industry in 2007/08.

That dispute, which impacted hundreds of shows ranging from The Sopranos to Breaking Bad, cost the Californian economy an estimated $2bn.

The action was authorised after after almost 98% of WGA members voted to authorise a strike last month, as discussions stalled. The previous agreement between the WGA and the AMPTP officially ran out on 1 May, prompting a flurry of activity from agents before action officially began.

The action has already seen US talkshows including The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon axed from schedules, with soaps the next to be affected.

Ted Sarandos

There will be little on-air disruption to primetime scripted fare for several weeks, as seasons will have alreayd been wrapped, but the impact on production cycles will be felt immediately as shows face delays.

That could see more international programming bought in, something Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos alluded to in mid-April when he pointed to his streamer’s “large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world,” meaning the company “can probably serve our members better than most.”

Pickets will take place at Netflix’s office in Hollywood, as well as complexes owned by companies ranging from Sony to NBCU, with no indication as yet as to when talks may resume.

Indeed, as the WGA noted in its statement, the distance between the two sides’ demands appears considerable.

“From [the AMPTP’s] refusal to guarantee any level of weekly employment in episodic television, to the creation of a ‘day rate’ in comedy variety, to their stonewalling on free work for screenwriters and on AI for all writers, they have closed the door on their labour force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership.”