The Hollywood screenwriters’ strike, which lasted 148 days, will end at midnight (eight in the morning this Wednesday in Lisbon), the leaders of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) decided.
The decision was made unanimously by the WGA West and WGA East boards of directors.
“This allows writers to return to work during the ratification process, but does not affect the members’ right to make a final decision on whether to approve the agreement,” the WGA said in a statement.
The agreement in principle, reached on Sunday, will be subject to a ratification vote between October 2 and 9. If the WGA’s 11,500 members reject the deal, the strike will resume.
Television productions such as talk shows should be the first to return to the air. The specialized magazine Variety indicated that information and entertainment broadcasts broadcast by various channels in the late afternoon could resume in two or three weeks.
About 11,500 WGA members went on strike on May 2 over pay issues and the use of artificial intelligence to generate arguments.
The agreement reached between the WGA and the employers’ associations of the large studios and streaming platforms puts an end to the strike that has paralyzed the North American film and television industry, despite the fact that the ‘arm’s length’ between actors and studios continues.
The agreement includes “significant gains” in salary terms, as well as protections to regulate the use of artificial intelligence.
The commitment accepted by the studios with the scriptwriters includes an increase in the minimum wage, additional bonuses for those who write the best-viewed series and ways to ensure that artificial intelligence is used without affecting their remuneration.
However, uncertainty persists in Hollywood, where actors, represented by the SAG-AFTRA union, remain on strike and admit that the resolution of this social conflict could take weeks.
SAG-AFTRA’s demands go beyond those of the WGA.
The authors’ union calls for a greater salary increase, and the attribution of a real percentage of the profits to the actors, regardless of the content, anticipating arduous negotiations.
Actors also want to ensure that studios don’t use artificial intelligence to replace them and want to receive residual payments in the streaming model through platforms like Netflix.
Previously, these payments were granted to artists from the income of series or films licensed for international markets or broadcast on television.
The strike of Hollywood writers and actors has already cost California about five billion dollars (4.7 billion euros), according to the Milken Institute.
Source: TSF
