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It is expected that the Writers Guild of America will meet in the coming days with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, amid growing hopes that the three-month strike will be resolved.
The WGA is set to respond to the studios’ latest offering, which was presented on Friday.
AMPTP submitted proposals that touched on all of the union’s major issues, according to sources familiar with the talks, including some that were described as uninitiated.
In particular, the studios addressed the WGA’s request for a minimum television staff. The studio’s proposal would give showrunners significant power to determine staff size, according to sources, with the added factor of the size of the show’s budget.
The studios also addressed the union’s demand for more transparency about viewing data on streaming platforms, though the studio’s proposal would not tie compensation to that data. Bloomberg was the first to report this ruling.
And studios have introduced a more comprehensive set of regulations around the use of AI, akin to the proposal the WGA made in talks in March. The studios have already committed that the AI will not be considered a “writer” under contract, but the union is also looking for guarantees that the AI will not be used to undermine writers’ compensation and credit.
The WGA strike began on May 2, with about 11,500 writers asking studios for pay increases and provisions that would keep writers’ room from cutting costs, among other things.
AMPTP has previously indicated that it will comply with the economic conditions granted to the American Directors Guild, which include a 21% increase in tailings flow and increases of 5%, 4% and 3.5% in most lower limits. AMPTP has also agreed to establish a higher level of minimum for productive writers.
Negotiations resumed on Friday, the 102nd day of the strike. On Monday’s picket lines, many writers expressed cautious optimism about the progress of the negotiations.
“Everyone’s hopes have been met,” said Julie Larson, WGA team captain at the Fox studio. “But not just for a solution — to get a great resolution, whenever that happens. We have great negotiators… They won’t give up until they get a lot for us.”
Rich Manning, who has been residing at Sony, said he was somewhat encouraged by the recent discussions.
“It feels a little optimistic,” Manning said. “But this is my third strike, so I learned not to get too optimistic so early on. The fact that they talk is a good thing, of course…we’ll see what they come up with.”
When SAG-AFTRA began its own strike on July 14, the historic double-action act shut down most productions in Hollywood and beyond, raising questions about upcoming film festivals and the fall theatrical release calendar. Artificial intelligence has emerged as one of the most controversial issues among writers and actors alike as the technology becomes increasingly sophisticated.
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