2023-09-25 05:09:00
The Hollywood Screenwriters Guild (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have reached this Sunday an agreement in principle for the creation of a new collective agreement that opens the door to the possibility of ending the strike .
The message from the president of the actors union to the studios: “Spread the wealth, you cannot exist without us”
Further
The WGA indicated in a statement posted on the networks that the possible pact addresses all the key issues of the negotiation but is pending its final drafting.
The resolution allows us to glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel for Hollywood, which has kept most of its productions on hold due to stoppages, but the studios still have to negotiate with the actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA).
According to IndieWire, although no screenwriter should return to work until the contract is ratified, the picketing is suspended.
The WGA pointed out that what was gained in the new contract, which was not specified, has been the result of the will of all its members to exercise their power, demonstrate their solidarity and endure the uncertainty and “pain” of these last 146 days.
The screenwriters union only stated that what was achieved is “exceptional” and thanked its members for the echo of their strike and the support of other unions that has managed to get the studios back to the negotiating table.
The WGA began its hiatus on May 2 with the demand for better working conditions, regulation of artificial intelligence and fair payments every time one of its works is reissued, the so-called residual rights. On July 14, the actors joined for similar reasons. Throughout this time, scriptwriters and actors have gathered in front of the headquarters of the main studios.
The fact that neither the actors nor the writers could promote the projects in which they had participated delayed premieres of expected titles such as Dune: Part Twoby Denis Villeneuve, the Challengersby Luca Guadagnino, both scheduled for the second half of 2023 and now awaiting release in 2024.
However, the actors’ union has not had any contact with the AMPTP since last July 12, when negotiations for their collective agreement ended abruptly and without any consensus.
For more than four months, the scriptwriters have demanded from the studios a minimum staff for the so-called “mini rooms”, as the rooms are known where scripts are written for series that have not yet been approved. Also increases in the residual rights rate and that this was subject to the real number of accumulated reproductions.
Another fundamental point fell on the writers’ demand that the studios not allow the artificial intelligence systems to train with the scripts of other professionals and that they ensure the protection of their salary and their credit as original creators.
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