More than nine thousand screenwriters, TV and film, are on strike as of Tuesday.
A strike for Hollywood television and film screenwriters will begin at 12:01 a.m. local time on Tuesday. During this time, all Writers Guild of America (WGA) members cease all writing activities—although they may perform other duties, such as producing or directing. The WGA said its leadership unanimously supported the strike,
After failing to agree higher wages with huge studios like Walt Disney and Netflix.
What does this mean in practice?
the Axios According to the current work stoppage – which we don’t yet know how long it will last – it could cripple Hollywood’s transition into the era of broadcasting.
- Although in the current period (from late spring to mid-summer) most of the productions are planned between seasons. But if the strike continues until the end of the summer, it could lead to the postponement of the new 2023-24 production season.
- Late night TV shows (such as The Tonight Show on NBC or The Late Show on CBS) and daytime TV shows will stop broadcasting immediately. A disturbance in the daily serials is also expected.
- Streaming services and movie studios will be affected less at first because they plan well (even years) in advance with their content.
Why are they on strike?
The era of live broadcasting has turned writers’ jobs upside down, and the strike wasn’t just about wages. The streaming services that dominate the television offering are ordering fewer episodes per season and ending ongoing shows and series earlier than their TV and cable TV predecessors. Plus, the payments for streaming shows are much lower than what writers would get from TV contracts.
In contrast, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios, proposed “a generous compensation increase”. WGA claims that On the other hand, the association objectswhich would “oblige the company to supply a particular show with a certain number of writers for a certain period of time, regardless of whether or not that is necessary.”
The last WGA strike was in 2007 and 2008, and lasted for a total of 100 days.
According to Reuters, the measure has cost California’s economy an estimated $2.1 billion. Fifteen years ago, productions closed, and out-of-work writers, actors, and producers cut back on spending.
