2023-07-24 22:41:43
On May 2 of this year, the Writers Guild of America announced a strike by its members due to failed negotiations with the motion picture and television alliance. This strike is the largest since the union strike which lasted from November 2007 to February 2008 and with no negotiations under way it is expected to be the longest strike in the union’s history. The strike greatly affected the industry in Hollywood as it forced A.JFor many movies and series to stop production until the end of the strike. Many movies and series have also been cancelled.
What the producers didn’t take into account was the actors’ union strike as well. The Actors’ Union announced its strike on July 14. This is the union’s first strike since 1980, and for the first time that the two unions strike at the same time since 1960. Of course, it is impossible to complete the production of any movie or series without the presence of the actors, but the biggest problem for the producing companies is the actors’ strike from promoting their works that have already been produced. We saw the effect of this kind of strike on two of the most important and biggest films of the year. The crew of “Oppenheimer” withdrew from showing the film in London. The promotional tour for “Barbie” was also halted before it was completed.
What are the reasons for the strike? What are the conditions of trade unions for their members during strikes? And what regarding the reaction of the producing companies? And how does this affect the future of the industry in Hollywood?
The reasons for the strike
The main reason for the strike for both unions is the lack of agreement with producers and streaming platforms such as Netflix. The two unions’ main demands in the negotiations were better pay for actors and writers, a percentage of the profits of broadcasting platforms, and a ban on the use of artificial intelligence.
For the Writers Guild the pay issues are largely with concerns regarding broadcasting and the use of small writing rooms. In Hollywood, the term small writing rooms refers to the increasingly common practice. The practice is to use a small group of established writers for the series while hiring other writers for only a few weeks.
This approach keeps fewer writers on the payroll long term, while leaving more of them in jobs without much security. In the case of small writing rooms and short broadcast shows, writer employment may last only weeks rather than months. The syndicate also wants to increase the percentage of writers’ profits from the number of views on broadcast platforms. As the percentage of writers’ profits from reruns of their films and series on television constituted a large amount of their income that they are missing now as people turn to broadcasting platforms.
The union also wants to see minimum wages applied to writers who work on comedy variety shows “designed for new media” and restrict the use of excerpts, for which writers are not paid.
As far as the actors’ union is concerned, the combination of archaic contract clauses and a rapidly changing media landscape means shorter seasons and longer breaks between seasons. All of which makes it increasingly difficult for guild members to achieve and maintain a middle-class lifestyle. There are also concerns regarding how the actors will be fairly compensated for using her AI-created forms. The syndicate also seeks to increase the percentage of actors’ profits from the number of views on broadcast platforms.
As for AI problems, the Writers’ Guild is widely seeking to limit the use of AI to preserve the number of opportunities for writers. Also, to ensure that AI cannot be used to create content from writers’ original works without their consent and without payment.
The Actors Guild also seeks to protect its members from the use of their likeness, voice, or performance without their consent or without consideration. Especially since the production companies want to use artificial intelligence to scan the extras and give them a one-day wage in exchange for the production companies owning their image and the ability to use it without asking for approval or compensation.
Strike terms
The Writers’ Guild set some clear rules for writers during the strike. Writers cannot write, review, present, or discuss future projects with member companies of the Motion Picture Television Alliance.
The Writers Guild has also stated that fictional podcasts produced by the companies the union is striking and its members should stop production. The union said they hoped that the writers of animated series who are not covered by the Writers Guild but who are covered by the Animators Guild will stop any actions that conflict with the interests of the strike. The union has indicated that while they cannot penalize non-member writers who work with the companies they are protesting once morest they promise to ban such writers from future union membership.
The Actors Guild decided that actors might not engage in film or television productions and might not participate in promotional work. This includes press tours and movie premieres. Internationally, union members are allowed to continue to operate in the United Kingdom as United Kingdom law criminalizes solidarity striking. Actors are also allowed to participate in independent cinematic works following obtaining approval from the Syndicate.
The Actors Union also pledged to prevent anyone who will participate in promoting works during the strike period from joining it. As it is expected that production companies will resort to content makers to promote their films and series.
The position of the production companies
Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said the actors’ demands were “not realistic”. Adding that it “adds to the set of challenges that the industry faces. Iger was criticized for these statements in light of his contract with Disney that allowed him to earn up to $27 million for 2023 between his salary and bonuses.
Before the actors’ union negotiations stalled, an anonymous executive of the Motion Picture and Television Alliance stated that their current strategy was to “let things continue until the union members start losing their homes” to force the union into less favorable negotiating positions.
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mentioned Deadline Hollywood Major Hollywood studios do not plan to return to negotiations with the Writers Guild until late October 2023 at the earliest. The executives, who spoke anonymously, stated that by October, many writers will be in difficult situations financially, giving them an upper hand in negotiations.
But the Writers’ Guild has instructed writers facing financial hardship due to the strike to apply to the Entertainment Community Fund. The Entertainment Community Fund helps people in the entertainment industry who are in financial trouble. Whether by finding affordable housing, maintaining Medicare or higher care coverage. On May 10, 2023, it was reported that the writers had pledged $1.7 million to the Entertainment Community Fund. Representatives can also resort to the fund as well.
Hollywood future
At the moment Hollywood is operating relatively normally. There are many films that have finished filming and have been promoted. Especially since none of the two unions called on the general public to boycott films and series. But what happens when you run out of finished films? Or are there only films left that are not difficult for companies to promote without actors and content makers? Will this push companies to negotiate? We can’t know the definitive answer, but we can look at past strikes.
The Hollywood union’s 100-day strike cost the Los Angeles economy more than $1 billion and ended with the union’s demands being met. The longest strike in 1988, which lasted 153 days, cost Hollywood $500 million and ended with union demands being met.
The last strike of the Actors’ Union was in 1980 and lasted for three months and ended with the union’s demands being met to some extent. In 1960, when the two unions struck together, the strike was for similar reasons, as it was related to the sums paid to actors and writers. This strike ended with the fulfillment of the demands of the two unions.
The history of strikes in Hollywood indicates the fulfillment of union demands. But the question is when will these demands be met? How will the TV series scene be affected? It is mentioned that we witnessed a major change in television during the writers’ strike in 2007. Many production companies turned to realistic programmes.
Reem El Shazly
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