Entertainment

Hollywood Writers’ Strike Ends as Deal is Reached

Published

7 months ago

September 27, 2023

LOS ANGELES – The monthslong Hollywood writer’s strike has ended with the acceptance of a pay deal negotiated with production studios.

EWN reports that the writers’ union’s board of directors unanimously recommended the agreement, ending the strike at 12:01 a.m. Los Angeles time on Wednesday. Now, it’s up to the union’s 11,500 members to accept the offer, with voting scheduled between October 2 and 9.

Details of the deal released by the WGA suggest a victory for the writers. They sought increased pay, especially given the industry’s transformation due to streaming platforms and artificial intelligence protections.

Under the new terms, writers will receive bonuses for series viewed by 20 per cent or more of a streamer’s domestic subscribers within the first 90 days of release. This update addresses concerns about dwindling residuals in the age of the Internet.

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Importantly, AI-generated content won’t be considered “source material,” preventing writers from facing pay cuts when working on scripts that involve AI. The WGA also reserves the right to prohibit the use of writers’ material for AI training.

While theoretically, screenwriters could still reject the deal, industry experts anticipate ratification as a formality. Work on halted TV and film projects can resume during voting, and late-night talk shows will return next month.

However, a strike by actors represented by the SAG-AFTRA union remains unresolved. Their demands go further than the WGA’s, promising a resolution could take several weeks. With a backlog of film and television shoots, it might be months before Hollywood returns to regular service.

Despite the strike ending, actors and writers show solidarity on the picket lines, recognising that the battle continues until actors secure their deal.

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