Writers Guild of America To Go On Strike

The Writers Guild of America has unanimously voted to strike on 12:01 A.M. PST Monday November 5, 2007, reports CNN.

However, a previous article by CNN Money analyzing the strike says that while television shows will feel the impact quicker, 2009 blockbusters like "Transformers 2" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" will be affected.

A prolonged strike (the last strike in 1988 lasted for 5 and a half months) may not affect the film industry just yet, but the endings of scripts may suffer if it takes too long. As we learned during the filming of "Transformers," scripts change everyday during production, and CNN Money cites that this will create a problem for the movies slated for a 2009 launch.

The Writers Guild of America is demanding more royalties from DVD sales as well as Internet-related media.

CBS News wrote:
In addition to raises, writers secured a 76% increase in foreign streaming residuals. According to WGA, this will increase their residuals from Netflix from $18,684 to $32,830 for a single, hour-long episode. Writers will also receive a "viewership-based streaming bonus" between $9,000 and $40,500, depending upon the length of the show or if the streaming feature has a budget over $30 million.

The AMPTP capitulated on the mandatory staffing requirements they previously rebuked. According to the union, studios must hire at least three writer-producers, including the showrunner, for a guaranteed 10 consecutive weeks of work during the development of a series, also called "development rooms."

Once projects are greenlighted, the minimum of writers increases to five once the series reaches seven episodes. Teams working on shows with 13 or more episodes will receive another writer. The WGA dubbed this facet of the production as "post-greenlight rooms."

These projects come with at least 20 weeks of guaranteed work or the "post-greenlight room" duration, whichever is shorter.

One of the final sticking points that led to the historic strike stemmed from implementing artificial technology (AI). At first, writers wanted protection, while the studios rejected the idea and only countered with an annual meeting "to discuss advancements in technology."

Now, the two sides have established a set of guidelines regulating the use of AI in MBA-covered productions.

First, AI cannot write or rewrite any literary material and AI-generated material cannot be considered source material under this current deal. The WGA said this would prevent the material from undermining credits or other rights granted to writers. However, the rules do not bar writers from using AI to help with their work if the company allows it and if they follow its policies. The studios cannot require a writer to use AI software.

Studios must also inform writers if any of the materials they receive are AI-generated or contain AI-generated material. Finally, the WGA "reserves the right to assert that exploitation of writers' material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law."

One of the final sticking points that led to the historic strike stemmed from implementing artificial technology (AI).

First, AI cannot write or rewrite any literary material and AI-generated material cannot be considered source material under this current deal. The WGA said this would prevent the material from undermining credits or other rights granted to writers. However, the rules do not bar writers from using AI to help with their work if the company allows it and if they follow its policies. The studios cannot require a writer to use AI software.

Studios must also inform writers if any of the materials they receive are AI-generated or contain AI-generated material. Finally, the WGA "reserves the right to assert that exploitation of writers' material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law."

Spoiler:

Bad Wolf wrote:
The SAG-AFTRA strike is still an ongoing strike action that began on July 14, 2023. The SAG-AFTRA announced that it remains on strike, and called for renewed negotiations with the AMPTP with new TV/Theatrical contract negotiations on Monday, October 2.

After meeting with studio CEOs earlier today, SAG-AFTRA has put out a statement, that they’re looking over the latest proposal from the AMPTP which the studios bill as their “last, best, and final offer.”

The most recent AMPTP offer contained improved pay terms for the guild — including a higher bonus for successful streaming shows, however both sides seem frustrated and unwilling to budge on the use of artificial intelligence, and by Sunday afternoon (Nov 5), the studio executives were unsure of SAG-AFTRA’s timeline for a decision but remained hopeful that they would receive one late Sunday (Nov 5) or on Monday (Nov 6).

The strike will officially end at 12:01 a.m. PST Thursday (11/09/23), with a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract, which will lead studios to resume production of TV shows and movies. The deal will go to the union’s national board for approval, on Friday (11/10/23).

Details of the tentative actors' deal were not immediately made available, however increased actors' salaries and basing actors' compensation on the success of their shows and movies on streaming services; protections against the studios' use of Artificial Intelligence and digital replicas of actors were also among the union's priorities

Current details of the negotiations may be found at https://www.sagaftrastrike.org/why-we-strike