Hollywood strike: What studios' new offer to writers includes
Hollywood continues to be at a standstill after the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) last month joined the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on a double strike against studios and streamers. Now, new offers have reportedly been made to writers regarding artificial intelligence (AI) use and other things in a bid to end the strike. Here's everything to know.
Why does this story matter?
On May 2, the WGA announced an indefinite strike against streamers and studios. Later, on July 14, the writers were joined by their actor colleagues and members of the SAG-AFTRA, bringing Hollywood to a complete halt. Studios and streamers have made various offers to the two organizations, but to no avail, as the historic double strike over wide-ranging labor disputes, among other issues, continues.
Studios make new offer to writers
Hollywood studios and streamers offered concessions to screenwriters on issues like access to viewer data and AI use in writing, Bloomberg reported on Monday. In its new offer, the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) agreed not to replace writers with AI and instead credit them for screenplays. It said companies would also provide writers with viewing hours data of streaming services.
'Better-than-20%' hike in residual payments offered
Bloomberg reported the AMPTP also offered to increase the residual payments of writers—a key concern. A better-than-20% increase in residual payments has reportedly been offered for writers' works that appear on networks other than the original one. Recently, Netflix's Co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos and Walt Disney's CEO Bob Iger have emerged as a strong force for the negotiations, the report further said.
Everything to know about strike
The WGA—demanding better compensation, job security, more staffing, and limiting AI use, among other issues, in a rapidly-changing streaming era—recently confirmed receiving a counterproposal from studios, per Reuters. Its strike has been ongoing for over 100 days, which impacted work on numerous major Hollywood films and shows. Previously, studios also reportedly offered over $1B in compensation/benefits to actors before they joined the strike.
