Union to brief Hollywood writers as strike disrupts TV production
Send a link to a friend
[May 03, 2023]
By Lisa Richwine and Rollo Ross
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Striking film and television writers are set to
meet with union leadership on Wednesday to discuss the work stoppage
that threw Hollywood into disarray as the industry deals with changes
brought on by the streaming TV boom.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" and other late-night shows aired re-runs on Tuesday
night after the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike, leaving
them without teams to craft topical jokes based on the day's news.
Production for scripted series in Los Angeles was halted for the
remainder of the week.
Hundreds of WGA members were expected back in front of the offices of
Walt Disney Co, Netflix Inc and other studios in New York and Los
Angeles, where they marched on Tuesday and voiced demands for higher pay
and safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence.
"I just want to make sure that we're all getting our fair due. We create
these stories," 28-year-old writer Maya Houston said on a picket line
outside the Paramount film studio. "It comes from the brains of these
writers and I feel like we should be paid and compensated for it."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/03/images/ads/current/longview_lda_SFARM_2023.png)
The group negotiating on behalf of studios said it had offered a
"generous" increase in compensation but was unable to agree to other WGA
demands in last-minute talks on Monday.
Negotiators for the WGA, which represents roughly 11,500 writers, were
scheduled to meet with members in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday
evening to provide details of the talks and the decision to order a
strike.
The writers are seeking changes in pay and the formulas used to
compensate writers when their work is streamed, among other proposals.
The WGA estimated its changes would cost about $429 million a year.
The strike hit Hollywood studios at a challenging time. Conglomerates
are under pressure from Wall Street to make their streaming services
profitable after pumping billions of dollars into programming to attract
subscribers.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/050323PIX/ent_b.73.jpg)
Workers and supporters of the Writers
Guild of America protest at a picket line outside Paramount Studios
after union negotiators called a strike for film and television
writers in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 2, 2023. REUTERS/Aude
Guerrucci
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png) The rise of streaming has eroded
television ad revenue as traditional TV audiences shrink. The last
WGA strike in 2007 and 2008 lasted 100 days. The action cost the
California economy an estimated $2.1 billion as productions shut
down and out-of-work writers, actors and producers cut back
spending.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP),
which represents studios, said it had been willing to increase its
compensation offer. But the group said it objected to WGA demands
that "would require a company to staff a show with a certain number
of writers for a specified period of time, whether needed or not."
Writers say changes from the streaming TV boom have made it
difficult for many to earn a living in expensive cities such as New
York and Los Angeles. Half of TV series writers now work at minimum
salary levels, compared with a third in the 2013-14 season,
according to WGA statistics. Median pay for scribes at the higher
writer/producer level has fallen 4% over the last decade.
The WGA also wants to prevent studios from using artificial
intelligence to generate new scripts from writers' previous work, or
asking them to rewrite material created by AI.
If the strike becomes protracted, the networks will increasingly
fill their programming lineups with unscripted reality shows, news
magazines and reruns. It also could delay the most important season
for TV in the fall. Writing for fall shows normally starts in May or
June.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Mary Milliken and Lincoln
Feast)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/03/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_NILA_012823.png) |