Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the
Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, a trade association that
represents entertainment companies such as Walt Disney and Warner Bros.
Discovery, broke down Monday night.
But other entertainment-industry negotiations are right
around the corner, increasing the likelihood of production delays and adding to
pressure on TV and film studios to work out labour agreements.
Separate unions representing actors, SAG-Aftra, and directors,
the Directors Guild of America, are expected to begin negotiating new contracts
for their members with the same motion picture alliance in the coming weeks.
Like the writers, the directors and actors are putting compensation for
creators in the streaming-video era at the centre of their talks.
The studios are considering negotiating agreements with
those other unions before returning to the writers, believing the actors and
directors will be easier to deal with, according to a person familiar with the
studio alliance's thinking. That strategy could push any resolution of
Hollywood's labour woes into August, however, said the person, who asked not to
be identified because the deliberations are private.
Writers for some of the most popular shows on television
began walking picket lines Tuesday afternoon, seeking higher pay and saying
they've been shortchanged by the shift to streaming as the dominant source of
entertainment viewing. Hundreds turned out in front of one of Netflix's offices
in Los Angeles, some carrying signs and chanting, “Hey ho, hey ho, corporate
greed has got to go.” One sign read: “Don't you want to know how The Last of Us
ends?”
The most immediate casualty of the strike has been the
evening comedy shows. NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late
Night With Seth Meyers have stopped producing new programs, with the network
planning to air reruns in their place. Fans also won't get to see new episodes
of Real Time with Bill Maher and John Oliver's Last Week Tonight, which air on
Warner Bros.' HBO.
The writers say their pay has fallen over the last decade,
with members buffeted by changes in the business, including shorter seasons for
shows on streaming services. The guild is seeking at least a 5 percent increase
in basic pay, commitments for at least 13 weeks of work, and a minimum of six
writers per show.
They also want additional compensation for programs on
streaming services that turn out to be hits, something they say the studios
rejected. The studios said their proposal for increased minimums and payments
for streaming residual earnings has been “generous.”
TV viewers have migrated to streaming services and are
watching fewer regularly scheduled shows on broadcast and cable. In a sign of
how rapidly the TV business is changing, Fox on Monday cancelled 9-1-1, one of
its most-watched programs, because of the cost to produce the show. Disney,
which owns the program, will run a seventh season on its ABC network instead.
The previous writers' strike, in 2007, lasted 100 days and
cost the Los Angeles economy an estimated $2.5 billion in lost output. This
strike, which is national in scope, could crimp the economies of states such as
New York and Georgia, which are also hubs for film and TV production.
In recent days agents scrambled to sign last-minute deals
with writers before they were forbidden from doing so. Lawyers working on
entertainment-related acquisitions were asked by clients to include financial
accommodations in the event of an extended strike.
Other Hollywood unions are taking a cautious approach to the
writers' strike so far. SAG-Aftra, which represents over 160,000 actors, said
that while it supports the writers, it won't be joining them in a work
stoppage. The union, which has its own contract with the studios, said actors
should still show up on set. They're allowed to walk picket lines with writers
in solidarity, but only when they're not supposed to be working.
The actors begin negotiating on June 7, for a new contract
to replace one that expires at the end of that month. The Directors Guild said
it will begin its negotiations with the studios on May 10. Among other issues,
the directors want greater payments from streaming services with subscribers
globally. © Bloomberg
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