Hollywood Studios Reveal New Proposal To Striking Writers To End Strike
Tuesday, Hollywood Studios reveal new proposal to striking writers, but the union told its members to keep going on strike because the new offer didn't solve all of their problems. The negotiating group said Tuesday night that they want to change the contract so that written material made by generative artificial intelligence can't be considered "literary material."
Author:Alex MercerReviewer:Nathanial BlackwoodAug 24, 202315.6K Shares355.8K Views
Tuesday, HollywoodStudios reveal new proposal to striking writers, but the union told its members to keep going on strike because the new offer didn't solve all of their problems.
The negotiating group said Tuesday night that they want to change the contract so that written material made by generative artificial intelligence can't be considered "literary material." They also want to give the union quarterly reports on the number of SVOD view hours for each streaming project. A studio-side source said that the paper with these and other ideas was made public after a meeting between top CEOs and guild leaders on Tuesday night.
Studios Reveal New Proposal To Striking Writers
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Tuesday, August 22, Hollywood companies and streaming services sent a new offer to the writers' union in an effort to end one of the two strikes that have stopped production and cost the California economy billions of dollars.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers(AMPTP), which negotiates on behalf of companies like Walt Disney and Netflix, changed its offer to include new information about important things like pay, minimum staffing, residual payments, and limits on artificial intelligence.
According to the latest plan, the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) will get a 13% pay raise over the three-year contract, and content written by AI will not be considered "literary material." The streaming sites also offered to send the WGA private quarterly reports with the total number of hours watched for each made-for-streaming show. In a statement, AMPTP President Carol Lombardini said:
“„Our priority is to end the strike so that valued members of the creative community can return to what they do best and to end the hardships that so many people and businesses that service the industry are experiencing.- Carol Lombardini
The WGA replied:
“„This wasn’t a meeting to make a deal. This was a meeting to get us to cave, which is why, not 20 minutes after we left the meeting, the AMPTP released its summary of their proposals.- Writers' Guild of America
The answer and counter-response dashes hopes that the quiet over the past week while talks were going on would lead to an end to the strike, which has now been going on for 113 days. At the meeting were Lombardi, the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, the CEO of Universal Pictures, Donna Langley, the co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, and the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav.
The facts come from the proposal that AMPTP gave to the guild on August 11, before daily contract talks started again. As the writers and actorscontinue to go on strike, the details of the proposal show that the studios' earlier offers and positions on some important issues have changed in important ways.
This is a big change for the studios, who have kept viewing numbers secret for years, even from the people who made the movies and TV shows. Hollywood creatives have been especially angry with Netflix about this practice. In talks with TheWrap last year, animation showrunners said that Netflix only used some data to decide whether to cancel or keep their shows.
Even though this plan, which was sent out for the first time almost two weeks ago, has sparked new talks, insiders say the process is still slow and "very fluid," even though the WGA told its members in a memo last Friday that talks would continue this week.
The proposal as it has been made public also doesn't address a major concern of the WGA, which is that showrunners won't be able to choose two "mid-level writers" (i.e., writer-producers) to work on production and be assured 20 weeks of work.
On the 113th day of the Writers Guild of America strike, these things happened. At this point, the strike has gone on longer than the union's last strike in 2007-2008, which went 100 days. Formal talks between management and labor started up again on August 11, more than three months after the union called a strike on May 2 because a new three-year contract had not been agreed upon.
The WGA, which represents about 11,500 film and TV writers, walked off the job on May 2. Talks had hit a stalemate over compensation, minimum staffing of writers' rooms, and residual payments in the streaming era, among other things. On July 14, members of the Screen Actors Guild joined them on the picket lines. This stopped most film and written TV production in the US. You can read the detailed AMPTP release, with a detailed appendix here.
Conclusion
In an effort to end the strike, Hollywood's biggest companies showed striking writers the terms of their latest contract offer. But early signs show that the offer might not be enough to end the strike that has been going on in the entertainment industry.
Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, and Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, were both part of a group of media officials who recently met with the leaders of the Writers Guild of America (WGA). After talking about it, Hollywood studios and media companies came up with a new plan and put it out there. This includes important things like a guaranteed minimum length of work, rules about how to use artificial intelligence that can learn, and wage increases.
Alex Mercer
Author
Alex Mercer is a seasoned author and analyst specializing in wealth research, with a keen focus on evaluating the net worth of individuals across various industries. With over a decade of experience in financial analysis and wealth assessment, Alex has developed a nuanced understanding of the factors that contribute to an individual's financial status, from investments and assets to market trends and economic policies. His work involves in-depth reviews and analyses, providing insightful observations on wealth accumulation, management strategies, and the socio-economic implications of wealth distribution.
Throughout his career, Alex has become known for his ability to distill complex financial data into understandable and engaging narratives, making the subject of wealth and net worth accessible to a broad audience. His expertise is not just in numbers but in telling the stories behind them, highlighting the journeys, strategies, and decisions that lead to financial success or challenges. Alex's contributions to the field of wealth research are valuable resources for anyone looking to understand the dynamics of wealth in today's world, offering a unique perspective that bridges the gap between financial analysis and human interest.
Nathanial Blackwood
Reviewer
Nathanial (Nate) Blackwood is a distinguished financial journalist with a decade of experience in net worth analysis. He holds an Economics degree from the University of Finance and a Data Analysis certification, enabling him to blend thorough insights with engaging storytelling. Nate is known for making complex financial information accessible to a wide audience, earning acclaim for his precise and reader-friendly analyses. Beyond his writing, Nate is dedicated to financial literacy, actively participating in educational forums and workshops.
He is the founder of PureNetWealth, a platform that demystifies the financial achievements of public figures by exploring the strategies and decisions behind their fortunes. Nate's work bridges the gap between intricate economic concepts and the general public, inspiring a deeper understanding of wealth dynamics. Follow Nathanial Blackwood for essential insights into the financial narratives shaping our world.
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