Screenwriters Strike: A Summary Of The Crisis In Hollywood

On May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) declared a strike in Hollywood. The first strike in more than 15 years.

What seemed sudden, however, was already being discussed and announced by several newspapers.

On March 27, The New York Times wrote about rumors of a writer’s strike. According to the Times, “Screenwriters wanted more money, but Hollywood companies said such demands ignored the country’s current economic state.”

About 20 days later, a vote was taken among WGA members, where the possibility of a strike was approved with 98% of the votes.

On May 1, the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), representing the major Hollywood studios, began negotiating the terms of a contract that would be valid for the next 3 years.

With proposals to increase the amount of payment received by screenwriters for shows where they participated in the production (known as residual fees), an increase in the number of screenwriters involved in a production and better payment conditions for works produced for streaming platforms and control of the use of Artificial intelligence in script production and editing, the WGA and AMPTP did not reach an agreement. Thus, the writers’ strike began.

The impact of streaming on the lives of screenwriters

With the popularization and creation of several streaming services, the way users consume has gradually changed. Sitting in front of the television to watch a cable channel has become an old-fashioned activity.

Now the content is available in the palm of our hands, to be watched wherever and whenever we want.

Furthermore, the way they are produced has also undergone changes.

While series produced for television had a large number of episodes, series made for platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime have an average of 8 to 12 episodes each.

As a result, screenwriters began to have less working time and, consequently, reduced payments.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Justin Halpern, member of the WGA and showrunner of the series “Abbott Elementary”, spoke about a new trend among studios known as “mini rooms”.

According to Halpern, a small group of screenwriters are selected to work together on a few scripts and, once the scripts are ready, the screenwriters are excluded from production. In this way, the screenwriters do not receive payment for the production, only the minimum legally required.

During the same interview, the screenwriter of “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Yahlin Chang, comments on how, because of these changes, many screenwriters are looking for secondary jobs.

“Between the first and second seasons (of a series), we have writers who had to work as an Uber driver,” she says.

She also adds that, often, screenwriters sign a contract for only 10 or 12 weeks, which may be the only work they can get for a year and they simply cannot live that way.

As a solution to this problem, the WGA proposes greater commitment between studio and screenwriter.

According to the article “Mini rooms are writers’ room. Period”, a pilot created in mini rooms has no guarantee that it will be produced, therefore, screenwriters need to have options to negotiate the value of their work according to the time it will spend inside a mini room. A more malleable and beneficial contract for the worker.

In addition to the devaluation of the profession, AMPTP and the WGA were unable to reach an agreement on the use of artificial intelligence in the production of new shows.

The screenwriters’ union proposes the banning of AIs in the production and editing of scripts, as well as their use as a source for new stories.

That offer was turned down by the Television Producers Alliance. Offering the possibility of “annual meetings to discuss technological advances”.

The impact of the strike on Hollywood

Entering its second month, the Hollywood writers’ strike has already had its side effects on the world of TV and cinema.

Shows like “The tonight show with Jimmy Fallon” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” were the first to choose to show reruns in their schedules.

The same decision was made by the producers of the Saturday Night Live program, which as of today (July 1st), has not aired any new episodes.

Series such as Cobra Kai and Stranger Things had their production interrupted due to strikes. On Twitter, showrunner Jon Hurwitz declared that “pens down in the Cobra Kai writers’ room, no writers on set.”

The Duffer brothers also spoke out:

Other shows such as Yellowjackets (Paramount+), Abbot Elementary (Star+), The Last of Us (HBO), 9-1-1 (ABC), The Rookie (ABC), Big Mouth (Netflix), also had their production affected due to of the writers’ strike.

There is still no estimate of the economic impact generated by the writers’ strike. According to an article published by CNN Business, the last strike in 2008 cost the economy 2 billion dollars.

While there is no forecast for the end of the writers’ strike, the TV and Cinema Actors Union (SAG-Aftra) approved a strike authorization with 97.91% of the votes.

According to news published by Rolling Stones, more than 300 actors signed a letter addressed to union leaders asking for a firmer position from the union during negotiations, otherwise, everyone who signed the letter is prepared to strike.

The TV and film actors’ union has agreed to extend the current contract until July 12 while the two sides continue negotiations.