The WGA screenwriters union approved the agreement reached with the studios and recorded the return to work of its members. The actors are still on strike.
148 days of strikes end. This Tuesday, September 26, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union of American screenwriters, approved the agreement concluded with the studios. The return to work of its members was recorded this Wednesday, September 27, putting an end to a movement that began on May 2, almost five months ago.
If the writers officially return to work on Wednesday, the agreement reached by the union and the studios may still be rejected by WGA members. A ratification vote will take place on October 2 and 9, 2023.
For industry specialists, however, this would be a formality, since the agreement includes “significant gains” in terms of salaries and protections in the context of the use of artificial intelligence.
More concretely, the agreement obtained by the screenwriters is as follows: Hollywood writers will be entitled to a bonus when a series or film is viewed by “20% or more of the national subscribers of a streaming platform in the First 90 days of release.”
They also obtained guarantees not to be replaced by artificial intelligence and not to be paid less when the AI generates scripts, which must be reworked. Robots will also not be able to feed on scripts written by humans to improve their capabilities.
However, this does not mean that the strike in Hollywood is officially over. The actors are still on strike since they joined the movement on July 14.
The actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, has in fact more demands than their fellow screenwriters, even if they concern generally the same subjects: a salary increase which takes into account streaming and protection against the use of artificial intelligence in this profession.
The end of the writers’ strike will unblock certain projects blocked at the writing stage, just like talk shows which will be able to return to the air during the month of October. But all phases of casting, filming or promotion are still at a standstill due to the actors’ strike.
