Strike May Be Nearing An End As Studios Present "Best And Final" Offer To WGA

Strike May Be Nearing An End As Studios Present "Best And Final" Offer To WGA

Though their wording hasn't been received particularly well, Hollywood studios have presented Writers Guild of America with a new deal that could end a historic, 146-day strike...

News
By MarkCassidy - Sep 24, 2023 07:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Other

After 146 days, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers may finally be about to come to an arrangement that would put an end to the strike.

According to THR, the studios have presented their “best and final” offer to the union, with “The WGA and AMPTP meeting for bargaining on Saturday and will meet again on Sunday.”

This wording has understandably come in for some backlash, but, as far as we know, things are still on track and the two parties were very close to reaching a final compromise, with the studio side continuing "to work on language regarding regulations on artificial intelligence," which has been a major sticking point.

The big four studio bosses — Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav, Disney chief Bob Iger, Netflix co-chief Ted Sarandos, and NBCUniversal studio chairman Donna Langley — had reportedly left the Sherman Oaks room by Saturday afternoon, which is said to suggest that almost "all the major issues had been resolved."

Of course, the SAG-AFTRA strike still needs to be addressed.

Even if a tentative deal between the WGA and AMPTP is reached, it would still need to be ratified by rank-and-file members before it could actually take effect. And even then, without an agreement with SAG-AFTRA, it may not do much to resume halted productions.

Even so, since both parties have very similar sets of demands, including better wages, residuals payments from streaming services for their work, and job protections against the use of artificial intelligence, it's believed that a WGA deal would open the door to a SAG-AFTRA agreement following soon after.

The strikes have resulted in a freeze on major film and TV announcements (you may have noticed), cast and director promotion/interviews, and several delays. The biggest project to be pushed back is undoubtedly Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part 2, which was moved from its original release date of November 2, 2023 to March 15, 2024 (more here).

2023's remaining studio tentpole comic book/superhero movies, The Marvels and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, are staying put, with the latter recently debuting its first trailer. But the feeling is that both films will be impacted by their respective casts/directors being unable to do much in the way of promotion/marketing until the strikes officially come to an end, so let's hope this deal goes through and it'll be business as usual before too long.

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Origame
Origame - 9/24/2023, 7:07 AM
Is this "best and final offer" better than the last offer, which marked the largest pay increase in the history of the industry (which they turned down)?

And should we really be concerned with a group that's angry with Drew Barrymore for following strike rules with her talk show? Not to mention the ground rules they were setting for f@#$ing tik tok influences 🤣
Fogs
Fogs - 9/24/2023, 9:57 AM
@Origame - maybe it's a severed horse (or of a Oscar statue) head in someone's bed in the morning.
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 9/24/2023, 10:49 AM
@Origame - still better than movie studio exploitation. they need to pay talent more or else the industry is going to die. fans can wait 4 years per movie and tv show sequel. use to take star war fans close to a decade per trilogy.

imagine getting the best superman film ever than having to wait 6 years for a sequel because of standard work hours and fair pay for the cast and crew now. trilogies can take 10 years for completion now instead of 4 to 6 years of unfair labor tactics
Origame
Origame - 9/24/2023, 11:08 AM
@mastakilla39 - 1) why do they need to pay more than the $9,000 a week wga minimum?

2) they already agreed to pay more. Newest deal was up to $11,000 a week. That's the highest pay increase in the past 35 years in the industry mind you. And ai protection.

3) fans are willing to wait because what Hollywood has been pumping out has been garbage. And you want them to get a raise? 🤣
TheSuperMex
TheSuperMex - 9/24/2023, 3:35 PM
@Origame - I already know you would argue against teachers to being paid more. Shill on.
Origame
Origame - 9/24/2023, 3:48 PM
@TheSuperMex - I'm literally a teacher. And I'll tell you that's a completely different circumstance.

Teachers are on a full time salary. Outside of summer, they work all year. And need to take time out of their daily lives to keep up with the workflow.

But it's also very easy for them to end up below the poverty line. And in most cases the only opportunity for additional employment is over the summer.

So you have these people making barely liveable pay not being able to make ends meet and can't get extra work. In this case, yes. They should be paid more. And the incentive for money is especially important as there's a teacher shortage. Teachers don't wanna work here anymore because of it.

Meanwhile, writers are being paid $9,000 a week but can't work more than a couple of weeks a year. Well guess what? There's still the other 50 weeks a year they are totally free to do anything else until they can get more work. They aren't trapped by their job the way Teachers are.

And on top of this, your inclusion of Teachers here implies actors and writers are just as important as teachers, to which I can only respond with...🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Origame
Origame - 9/24/2023, 3:50 PM
@TheSuperMex - but now on you, explain how $9,000 a week minimum ($11,000 as of the latest deal btw) isn't reasonable?
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 9/24/2023, 8:26 PM
@Origame - Their previous offers were just a bunch of lectures at the table, no actual talks were done before. They never offered them shit.

The proposal that the WGA is fighting for in negotiations today is only a small average of 0.18% of a studio’s annual revenue.



In what way was Barrymore following strike rules? She was being a scab for continuing production on her talk show while the writers that make her lines for it were out striking to get a fair payment. But if that isn't enough for you, audience members present in the taping and that were wearing WGA support pins ended up being been kicked out from it. They also had their bags searched by security where they confiscated any WGA support pins.

That's why they're angry with her you shill.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/drew-barrymore-show-audience-kicked-out-1235587064/
Origame
Origame - 9/24/2023, 9:17 PM
@NinnesMBC - 1) that is completely untrue. They offered $11,000 per week minimum and an agreement that ai cannot be counted as writers. What wasn't included was minimum writer sizes and minimum job times, so that's why they kept it going. Just insisting that they just offered lectures is incredibly disingenuous.

2) you're acting like that's all they've been fighting for dude. It's also minimum 6 writing staffs per job, minimum 3 months per job (even if they only need them for a day), and no use of ai.

3) yeah, and that's totally allowed by the rules of the strike as its considered an independent production and she isn't talking about any Hollywood productions.

As for the audience members kicked out for wearing strike pins, your article points out the two were given the pins from the picket line just outside. The security stopped them, viewing the situation as potentially leading to an incident so asked them to remove them then, when they didn't, asked them to leave. You can say it was uncalled for, but Barrymore wasn't even aware of this. And don't act like strikers entering your shoot isn't gonna lead to a potential security issue.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 9/25/2023, 1:29 AM
@Origame - You'll have to provide the evidence that is exactly the amount they were offered when that kind of information was never shared with anyone of the public to start with, because right now that's the real disingenuous part. They kept going due to writers room, one of their demands, were not being attended when the subject of streamers came in. Didn't help matters how some studios are tone-deaf enough to start testing AI for sequels like Brightburn in the middle of strikes.

Not acting when I show the proof that you gloss over and nothing about that is scandalous, especially after what we've seen what AI produced content looks like just on a visual aspect. (see Secret Invasion opening)

An independent production that relies on writers for whatever topic she's handling and the mere act of bringing back her OWN production is the problem. Not different from what Bill Maher did until he was blasted for it and had to also backed down because surprise, it was wrong from every front.

An incident happening in a talk show and Barrymore not aware of what her own paid security does? Everything about it screams fake. No "potential security issue" at all, Barrymore just felt uncomfortable about being reminded of what's actually going on and not wanting simple pins to gather more attention than whatever she was doing.

The lengths you can actually go for these dumb studios seriously.
Origame
Origame - 9/25/2023, 8:12 AM
@NinnesMBC - 1) here you go.

https://www.screendaily.com/news/amptp-reveals-august-11-contract-proposals-to-writers-guild/5185120.article

This was just the past August mind you and it was rejected. Also, it has an interesting section on residuals for you...

2) tone deaf? It's a f@#$ing strike dude. They have to find some way to make content. Quite frankly it was tone deaf for the strike to happen now over ai considering that just gives them the perfect opportunity to try it out. But again, said August proposal also includes protection from ai.

3) dude, yes, you've shown that's one thing they've been fighting for. It's not all. Here's their full list right here.

WGA Negotiations—Status as of May 1, 2023 https://www.wga.org/uploadedfiles/members/member_info/contract-2023/WGA_proposals.pdf

4) if that was a problem, it should've been made into a rule of the strike. The whole point of these rules is to give these writers and actors the ability to work during this time without interfering with the purpose of the strike. Pretty simple. Why weren't these rules?

5) ...why should she have been? You seriously expect everything security does to be brought up with Barrymore?

"Hey, there's this drunk guy causing a scene trying to get in. Before we get him out of here, better bring this up with Barrymore first".

Only time security should just go tell her something is when there's a genuine security threat.

And yes dude. Strikers coming into your shoot is a potential security issue. Need I remind you of strikers shutting down the daredevil shoot?

6) the lengths you go to for these dumb and selfish strikers seriously.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/24/2023, 7:15 AM
The studios aren't even close to suffering. You gotta wait until they run out of content and then they'll be willing to listen.

Probably settling for a bum deal. Guess that dude was right that said they were gonna starve 'em out. You know Ramen noodles are not that expensive. And you can always grow food. Like food literally grows on trees.

Tough it out, peeps. Don't worry about us fans, we got plenty of content. And don't worry about news sites, either there's plenty of bullshit rumors and old news stories to recycle.

Tough it out. Don't take shit from these muzzlechuggers.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 9/24/2023, 7:48 AM
@ObserverIO - News sites can adapt. They already are with these rumours, which is why I don’t hate on the fact they’re always posting them.

As for fans, just gives them a chance to read more, or bette yet, go outside. Hit gym or some shit.
Ryguy88
Ryguy88 - 9/24/2023, 8:02 AM
@ObserverIO - is the largest pay increase in the history of the industry along with stricter rules on AI not fair ? How much are you advocating for them to get? Or do you not even know as long as its "MORE" ??
KillerOfSaints
KillerOfSaints - 9/24/2023, 8:31 AM
@Ryguy88 - Aww you changed you Flyers logo!
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 9/24/2023, 10:31 AM
@ObserverIO - Haha. I'm just picturing these Hollywood types planting and growing their own food. Someone should make a movie of THAT! It would be the best comedy since Tropic Thunder!
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 9/24/2023, 11:07 AM
@Ryguy88 - Makes sense because they haven't had a pay increase in 35+ years, movie studios have been paying most actors and writers the same wages that were negotiated in the 70s with only small increases. Studios have to make up for cheating them out of fair wages.

AI is going to kill the industry because you are taking away chances for new talent, just look at Disney de-aging old as [frick] actors instead of casting new ones for their biggest IPs and using the same formula over and over again. Actors and Writers need to be paid more. They are worth the 92,000 USD salary standard for writing hit shows because the studios and execs make 100 times that amount every year.

Only thing actors and writers don't deserve are residuals because the producers/studios are the ones paying for everything at the time of making and marketing the projects.
Ryguy88
Ryguy88 - 9/24/2023, 12:07 PM
@mastakilla39 - I'm asking for someone to step up and declare what they think fair and worthy if ending this strike instead of responding to every offer with the same old "demand more!"

@KillerOfSaints - sure did, back in 2019! Do I know you?
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/24/2023, 12:23 PM
@Ryguy88 - Whatever they are offering now will be less than what they would offer later.
More is better.
The strike was for a specific reason. They want assurances about AI, not just stricter rules. Not just a payrise that seems attractive as an end to strike action, but something that they would consider a fair amount.

Basically they should get what they were asking for, what they started the strike for in the first place, because by striking they have the power to demand it. Because it makes the studios realise they need actors and writers. But at this point in the strike they don't actually know how much they need them. When they do, they will meet their demands.

It's all just a game of chicken. All the actors have to do is stay strong and wait until the studio NEED need them. They don't need them that badly right now. They're starting to sweat and that's why there are talks. But they're not gonna give them everything they're asking for in these talks they're gonna offer them a compromised version. And the writers/actors will be tempted to take it. And if they do they can say "Well we got a better deal, so it wasn't all for nothing", but how many strikes like this do they have? Not many. It's practically generational. So they should remember that they are the ones with the power, but only if they don't buckle at the first attractive offer.

If they sat and did the math, they would realise that they can wait longer than the studios. They will win, if they just stay the course. And get exactly what they want, rather than a compromised version of that
Ryguy88
Ryguy88 - 9/24/2023, 12:41 PM
@ObserverIO - without stating a fair number you're just proving how disingenuous these negotiations are. And be real, the studios really only depend on the high end writers who produce lucrative content. The rest are easily replaced.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/24/2023, 12:51 PM
@Ryguy88 - Without ME stating a fair number? Who do you think I am, other than some rando on the internet? I am not the representative negotiator for SAG or the WGA. I am indeed merely an observing rando.

2 cents is my number, because that's all I'm really giving here.

Why, can you state any actual numbers? Or are you also just a rando... like me?
Ryguy88
Ryguy88 - 9/24/2023, 8:23 PM
@ObserverIO - maybe I didnt articulate that well so I'll take the blame.

My point is that no matter what the offer is, people in favour of this strike will always demand more. There has to be a reasonable middle ground in any negotiation.

and my other point roughly translating to 20% of the people do 80% of the work is still true and plagues all unions because the weaker employees are constantly being propped up by the productive ones.
StSteven
StSteven - 9/24/2023, 11:20 PM
@PlusUltra - "As for fans, just gives them a chance to read more, or bette yet, go outside. Hit gym or some shit". Preach, Bro! Seriously, at my house we don't have cable and do everything online. We have a bunch of streaming services (which we mostly get for free due to my wife's current credit card deal), but with all that we only really settle down and watch stuff as a family at the end of the night, usually only a half hour or hour at a time. We used to use this time to watch YouTube videos of the Late Night shows in the US (ii.e. Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, etc.), but now that those are not available we've been watching more stuff like content that my little girls like, whatever stuff that D+ is putting out, and movies that I love that my kids have never seen (I have a HUGE movie collection on disc). Plus I'm bad about buying movies on disc as they come out that I don't have time to watch.

So, tonight we're going to finish "SM:AtSV" and then next week watch "Hook" (remember that one?).

And as it turns out (unsurprisingly), without the non-stop deluge of Marvel/SW content I AM actually able to spend some time to study stuff that helps me in my job as a Data Scientist, as the landscape id constantly changing. The "gym stuff" is all in good time. 😉
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 9/25/2023, 4:56 AM
@Ryguy88 - Those are some fair points. Like in any union there are degrees of success. For every Tom Cruise there are dozens of guys whose name we don't even know. To him a strike is nothing. To them, maybe they'll have to move to a less expensive place, maybe even out of LA.
Reginator
Reginator - 9/24/2023, 7:49 AM
Stay on strike, we are good without the sag.
Patient2670
Patient2670 - 9/24/2023, 1:07 PM
@Reginator - Once the WGA settles, SAG won't be far behind. Their contracts are structured similarly. They'll get the same deal as the writers, aside from one or two actor specific points. But the Actors (who rely, more than anybody on Public Relations) won't want to look like bad guys by being the only thing keeping so many crew members out of work.
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 9/24/2023, 8:23 AM
BobbyDrake
BobbyDrake - 9/24/2023, 9:39 AM
K
TheyDont
TheyDont - 9/24/2023, 9:54 AM
I hope they won't budge on the AI restrictions.
Fogs
Fogs - 9/24/2023, 10:00 AM
@TheyDont - if they don't, prepare for 100% CGI actors being used more constantly, slowly taking front and center spots and being the desired eternal products the studios are currently havind a hard-on for.
TheyDont
TheyDont - 9/24/2023, 10:02 AM
@Fogs - I'm fine with that as long as they don't look fake. If they really improve that technology, the viewers will only win.
Fogs
Fogs - 9/24/2023, 10:05 AM
@TheyDont - Agreed. I couldn't care less about millionaires who play make-believe as a profession and act like they're philosophers in their spare time.

I more concerned about good material being produced or not.
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