Amid the continued Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, the union’s leaders are suggesting that the studio member firms of the Alliance of Movement Image and Tv Producers (AMPTP) break from the group and negotiate with them individually.
“[D]uring particular person conversations with legacy studio executives within the weeks since SAG-AFTRA went on strike, we’ve got heard each the need and willingness to barter an settlement that adequately addresses writers’ points,” the WGA‘s negotiating committee wrote in an e mail to members, which was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. “One govt mentioned they’d reviewed our proposals, and although they didn’t decide to a selected deal, mentioned our proposals wouldn’t have an effect on their firm’s backside line and that they acknowledged they need to give greater than typical to settle this negotiation. One other mentioned they wanted a deal badly. Those self same executives — and others — have mentioned they’re prepared to barter on proposals that the AMPTP has offered to the general public as deal breakers. On each single subject we’re asking for we’ve got had at the least one legacy studio govt inform us they may accommodate us.”
There’s ‘no requirement’ to barter via the AMPTP
The e-mail continues, “So, whereas the intransigence of the AMPTP construction is impeding progress, these behind-the-scenes conversations show there’s a truthful deal to be made that addresses our points. Given the outsized financial influence of the strikes on the legacy firms, their particular person studio curiosity in making a deal isn’t shocking. Warner Bros. confirmed this in a public monetary submitting simply this week … We’ve made it clear that we’ll negotiate with a number of of the most important studios, outdoors the confines of the AMPTP, to ascertain the brand new WGA deal. There isn’t any requirement that the businesses negotiate via the AMPTP. So, if the financial destabilization of their very own firms isn’t sufficient to trigger a studio or two or three to both assert their very own self-interest contained in the AMPTP, or to interrupt away from the damaged AMPTP mannequin, maybe Wall Road will lastly make them do it.”
Within the meantime, the WGA cautions that “[u]ntil there’s a breakthrough, the businesses and AMPTP will attempt to sow doubt and inside guild dissension. Maintain your radar up. When the businesses ship messages via surrogates or the press in regards to the unreasonableness of your guild management, take these messages as a part of a bad-faith effort to affect negotiations and never as the target reality … The businesses know the reality: they need to negotiate in the event that they wish to finish the strike. They might not prefer it — they might attempt to obscure it — however they realize it.”
The 2023 WGA strike enters its fifth month
The WGA West and WGA East went on strike on Could 2 after contract negotiations with the AMPTP (which represents all the most important Hollywood studios) broke personal. 4 months and 6 days later, the AMPTP has but to satisfy the WGA’s calls for, which embody higher residuals from streaming content material, larger writers’ rooms, and safeguards in opposition to the usage of synthetic intelligence.
Since July 14, the Display screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) has joined the WGA on the picket line after additionally voting to strike in opposition to the AMPTP. Very like the writers, the actors are in search of higher residuals and protections in opposition to AI, in addition to larger regulation of self-tape auditions. On the time of writing, SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for one month, three weeks, and 4 days.