The Writers Guild of Hollywood Returns to Talks
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Writers Guild of Hollywood (WGA) issued a joint statement on Wednesday, September 20, after resuming discussions.
The talks could potentially break the deadlock that has kept the writers on strike since May, with an assurance that “they will meet again this Thursday.”
“The WGA and the AMPTP met to negotiate and will meet again on Thursday,” the brief statement read.
The Writers Guild of Hollywood is discussions halted due to grievances over unfair payment and working conditions. This marked the first time that the WGA and AMPTP engaged in joint negotiations.
Wednesday’s meeting signified a return to negotiations for both the WGA and AMPTP, whose talks had stalled at the end of August following separate meetings between the union’s top leaders and studio executives.
The meeting included top leaders from entertainment companies, including Disney’s CEO Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO David Zaslav, Netflix’s Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, and NBCUniversal Studio Group’s President and Chief Content Officer Donna Langley.
The Writers Guild of Hollywood initiated a strike on May 2, demanding better working conditions from the studios, regulation of artificial intelligence usage, and fair payments for residual rights, among other requests.
The Writers Guild of Hollywood Returns to Talks, Offering a Glimpse of Hope
This conflict runs parallel to another significant strike in the industry, as actors and actresses in Hollywood have been on strike since July 14.
As a result of both strikes, numerous projects in various stages of development had to be postponed and, in some cases, even canceled.
On the other hand, the average salary of Hollywood screenwriters has remained virtually stable at around $260,000 in 2021.
A feature film screenplay has an average value of $4,000.
Screenwriters must be able to understand cinema, possess creative writing skills, and have expert knowledge of the language of film.
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