It’s been over 100 days since entertainment industry writers went on strike over low contract prices, a potential AI content invasion, and access to expanding film and broadcast industry streaming profits.
The strike has since added members of the Screen Actors Guild and has largely shut down film and television projects this summer.
Now, some industry figureheads are saying “enough” and are looking to broker a deal.
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Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos have reportedly pushed the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers to find a path forward to ending the Hollywood screenwriters' strike, which kicked off on May 2, 2023, according to Bloomberg.
Not much headway has been made with reports that the AMPTP, on behalf of major media and entertainment companies like Paramount, Disney, and Warner Brothers Discovery, among others, have tried to starve and “break” Writers Guild creators to force their hands and end the strike.
“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio insider told Deadline in early July.
Apparently, there’s been a change of heart on the corporate side of the aisle, with the AMPTP agreeing to a pair of significant conditions that should favor Hollywood creators.
- Media companies have agreed to ensure human screenwriters won’t be replaced by artificial intelligence content production.
- They’ve also committed to sharing streaming service data, including hours watched, with writers who can use the data to establish fair pricing terms on screenwriting contracts.
The big entertainment firms are also open to expanding writer pay, including a 20% boost in pay during the first year of a writer’s contract and more money for writers whose work is syndicated or shared with other media companies.
Reportedly, Sarandos and Iger were involved in the deal with the former cited as a “strong force” in the negotiations and the latter joining the Netflix CEO to “press” for a completed deal, Bloomberg stated.
