While the world was busy enjoying and judging the fashion choices of the top celebrities of the moment at the Met Gala, the time for negotiations ended between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Today the WGA officially announced a strike that could put in jeopardy Hollywood‘s entertainment industry and the economy of the US… but for a fair reason.
It’s no secret that the world has changed in the past years and, with it, the industry as well. The surge of streaming platforms and how we consume series and movies are definitely something never seen before, yet, most of the working conditions in the industry have barely changed. That includes, of course, the brains behind most of these products, the writers.
The urge as consumers we have for new products has accelerated the production processes, and writers are demanded to give the extra mile to deliver fast ideas and scripts for them to be rapidly created. However, although the business model has changed, the working conditions have not, and worse of all, they have become more demanding for writers with fewer benefits and economic compensations.
What’s Happening With the Writers Guild?
With that in mind, in March, the WGA released a document titled Writers Are Not Keeping Up, in which the guild details the negative impact streaming services have had on their work. With it, the WGA also published a set of demands they wanted to see fulfilled for them to renew the contract they have with the AMPTP. This includes better payment, since as they claim, the budgets for new productions have risen in many areas except theirs, as well as the terrible conditions and demands. As stated in the document, “On TV staffs, more writers are working at a minimum regardless of experience, often for fewer weeks, or in mini-rooms, while showrunners are left without a writing staff to complete the season.”
Starting May 2, over 11,000 members of the WGA have gone on strike. This is the first one since 2007, a strike that lasted 100 days and had a huge impact on the industry and affected the production of really popular shows like Lost and The Office. It’s estimated that the 2007 strike represented $2 billion in economic damage in the US. The Union leadership issued a statement today that reads: “Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal … the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing.”
In this story, the AMPTP is representing big businesses like Amazon, Appel, CBS, Disney, NBC, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., and Discovery. One of their points for not meeting the fair demands of the Writers Guild is that their stock price has been showing several drops in the past months, which has forced them to make important cost cuts and layoffs. However, at the end of the day, the writers’ job is one of the pillars of a successful product, and as we’ve seen in the past years, streaming productions have been more than prosperous and profitable. So, what are the demands per se?
What Are the Writers’ Demands?
The WGA states that nowadays most writers have entered a freelance business model that doesn’t really represent a great income for them. They added that most of the writers associated with the Guild, can’t even support themselves with their writing business alone because most streaming projects are shorter and demand rapid results.
The main demands the WGA is making are ‘mandatory staffing’ and ‘duration of employment.’ This means that there must be a signed contract that ensures writers will keep their job for a determined time, as well as better conditions. They also want productions to hire a set amount of writers for determined projects to guarantee that the job is distributed equally and that they don’t have to endure extremely long shifts.
Another great pillar in the demands of the WGA is how writers are paid. For years, besides the payment for working in a determined production, writers would also get residuals from reruns. This represented a very important part of their income, but as the business model has changed and people consume more streaming products, these residuals are less meaningful. This has opened the door for discussions of payments based on views on streaming services which are not being considered in their current contracts.
In summary, the Writers Guild is demanding better payment for the writers, an increase in their residual payment, better contributions, including access to a pension and health plans, and protection of their workers. Again, these demands seem fair and much needed in one of the most profitable industries in the world. So why does the AMPTP doesn’t want to fulfill such sensitive demands? So far, the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers has responded that they are willing to meet some of the union’s demands and improve their original deal, but it’s not enough for the WGA.
How Can the Strike Affect Your Favorite Shows and Movies?
We don’t really know yet how long will the strike be or if it will be as long as the one in 2007. However, it will certainly bring changes to the industry that we’ll be able to notice. To start with, we might be forced to say goodbye to the binge model we all love when a series is released and get used to weekly episodes as some services already do. But all in all, this is how shows and movies might be affected by the strike.
Late-Night Shows
Late-Night and Talk Shows will be the first affected ones as these are often written on a very tight schedule, with no writers to do so, most of them are already stopping production and repeating some episodes until things get clearer. This, naturally includes the hit show, Saturday Night Live, one of the most popular live shows in the world.
Network TV
TV shows that are still aired on television are likely the next to go although it won’t be as immediate as Late-Night shows. Most of these shows like Abbott Elementary or Ghost, have already wrapped their productions for the summer, but if the strike continues we might not get the next season on time, or at all.
Shows and Films on Streaming Services
Since it’s the first strike since the emergence of streaming services, it’s unknown how this one will affect these shows. Most Streamers already have a considerable amount of series scheduled for the upcoming months, so they will likely keep their release agendas, although, as mentioned we might have them on a weekly drop model.
The Resurgence of Reality TV
The last strike saw the resurgence of Reality TV, a product that doesn’t require a writing team, and if this strike takes as long as the previous one, streaming services and TV Networks might end up resorting to these types of products to balance their incomes and avoid an economic crisis.
Cover photo from EFE
