Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Entertainment industry writers will go on strike next week if a deal isn't reached
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-04-28/writers-guild-and-studios-continue-talks-but-deal-remains-elusive-as-possible-strike-loomsIf the union goes on strike, scores of TV and film productions nationwide will be forced to halt production and late-night talk shows would go off air.
In a sign of the potential fallout, no permits have been requested by producers for scripted shows to shoot in Los Angeles next week, said Philip Sokoloski, spokesman for FilmLA, the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the region.
-snip-
The WGA has received vocal support from other entertainment industry unions, including the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Teamsters, the Directors Guild of America and the powerful performers union, SAG-AFTRA.
DGA is scheduled to start its negotiations on May 10; and SAG-AFTRA begins talks on June 10. Both unions’ contracts expire June 30.
In a sign of the potential fallout, no permits have been requested by producers for scripted shows to shoot in Los Angeles next week, said Philip Sokoloski, spokesman for FilmLA, the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the region.
-snip-
The WGA has received vocal support from other entertainment industry unions, including the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Teamsters, the Directors Guild of America and the powerful performers union, SAG-AFTRA.
DGA is scheduled to start its negotiations on May 10; and SAG-AFTRA begins talks on June 10. Both unions’ contracts expire June 30.
This, from The Atlantic today, explains some of the stakes:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/04/writers-guild-of-america-strike-residuals-pay-streaming/673876/
The guild’s history of reminding large, profitable studio systems that their products depend on the skilled craft of a network of writers is very much on the minds of WGA members now.
The list of demands is complex, but top priorities include provisions to protect writers’ work against AI, addressing the abuses of “mini-rooms,” and a better model for writers to share in the long-term profits generated from their creative labor.
Feature writers hired to create films for theatrical release, for example, are paid fees pegged to things like the delivery of the script to the studio and the theatrical release. A nervous development team that wants to perfect a script can force writers to spend weeks or even months revising while waiting to get paid. A last-minute decision to send the film straight to streaming could result in lower income for the same work. “Traditionally when you made a feature, it would come out in theaters and then it would go to pay-cable and planes, and then it would just get sold off to various different distributors,” Hazzard said. “And largely now with streamers, that just doesn’t exist. So when you make a movie for a streamer, in large part, you’re making whatever your up-front pay is, and then that’s kind of it.”
On the TV side, the big issue is the controversial use of mini-rooms. When a studio or streamer is excited about an idea but not totally sure it will work, rather than order a pilot—which could cost millions of dollars to produce—it will offer the creator a chance to put together a mini-room: a group of writers that will produce some scripts to “see where the series is going.” Because the show doesn’t necessarily exist yet, most writers are paid the minimum rate. If the show never goes anywhere, the writers walk away without a writing credit. If the show is green-lit, the studio has a season’s worth of usable scripts delivered at a fraction of what they would have cost for a show in production. The writers never see the difference.
The list of demands is complex, but top priorities include provisions to protect writers’ work against AI, addressing the abuses of “mini-rooms,” and a better model for writers to share in the long-term profits generated from their creative labor.
Feature writers hired to create films for theatrical release, for example, are paid fees pegged to things like the delivery of the script to the studio and the theatrical release. A nervous development team that wants to perfect a script can force writers to spend weeks or even months revising while waiting to get paid. A last-minute decision to send the film straight to streaming could result in lower income for the same work. “Traditionally when you made a feature, it would come out in theaters and then it would go to pay-cable and planes, and then it would just get sold off to various different distributors,” Hazzard said. “And largely now with streamers, that just doesn’t exist. So when you make a movie for a streamer, in large part, you’re making whatever your up-front pay is, and then that’s kind of it.”
On the TV side, the big issue is the controversial use of mini-rooms. When a studio or streamer is excited about an idea but not totally sure it will work, rather than order a pilot—which could cost millions of dollars to produce—it will offer the creator a chance to put together a mini-room: a group of writers that will produce some scripts to “see where the series is going.” Because the show doesn’t necessarily exist yet, most writers are paid the minimum rate. If the show never goes anywhere, the writers walk away without a writing credit. If the show is green-lit, the studio has a season’s worth of usable scripts delivered at a fraction of what they would have cost for a show in production. The writers never see the difference.
The LA Times story has a reminder that the last WGA strike lasted 100 days in 2007-2008. Their longest strike, in 1988, lasted 153 days.
I'm sure DUers don't want a strike to happen.
I'm also sure everyone here understands why supporting the writers if they're forced to strike is important.
Seth Meyers tweet today, with video including his support of the strike ( that section starts about 14:40):
Link to tweet