Anger rumbles in Hollywood studios. For 100 days now, the screenwriters’ strike has paralyzed the production of films and series. But despite the shutdown of this industry which generates billions of dollars a year, the studios do not flinch. No agreement has been reached to better remunerate script writers with profits from streaming, or to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry. Worse, since the beginning of this social movement, the two parties have hardly spoken to each other.
In mid-July, the crisis worsened with the entry on strike of the actors, who are making similar demands. Almost completely at a standstill, Hollywood had not experienced such a double social movement since 1960.
The 100 days of strike, a “shameful threshold”
“The refusal to seriously consider the reasonable proposals of the screenwriters has made the WGA strike last for a hundred days, and it is not over,” the union told AFP on Wednesday, denouncing this duration as a “shameful threshold. for studios.
The studios “are fully responsible for shutting down the industry,” the union added in a statement, noting that meeting the strikers’ demands would cost “far less than the damage caused by their intransigence.”
The last writers’ strike, in 2007-2008, lasted 100 days and cost the Californian economy $2.1 billion, according to an estimate by the Milken Institute. But this time, no way out is in sight.
After three months of radio silence, screenwriters and studios resumed the dialogue on Friday, during a meeting which was to make it possible to consider a reopening of negotiations. But this meeting came to nothing.
A few hours before the meeting, the WGA doubted the good faith of the studios in a message addressed to its members. The employers reacted by denouncing an “unfortunate” rhetoric.
An “existential fight”
“This strike has hurt thousands of people in this industry and we take it very seriously. Our only objective is to put people back to work, ”assured the studios, grouped under the aegis of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
For Charlie Kesslering, present Wednesday on a picket in front of the offices of Netflix in Los Angeles, the struggle of the screenwriters is an “existential fight” and “it will take much more than 100 days for the motivation to disappear”. “It’s about ensuring that the careers we love so much remain careers and remain a viable way to earn a living,” the screenwriter added.
A determination also proclaimed with insistence by the WGA. “The studios have no choice but to reach a fair agreement,” hammered the union in its press release. “In the meantime, we remain resolute and united. »