Hope is growing that an end to the months-long WGA writers’ strike may finally be on the horizon, as reports suggest that ‘incredible progress’ has been made.
Don’t say it too loudly, but following talks yesterday that were said to be productive, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have resumed talks today, with some even speculating that an agreement could be reached this week.
As it stands, the strike has been running since May, making it one of the longest-running shutdowns in Hollywood history. Given that SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union also went on strike some sixty days ago, the dispute has effectively shut down US studio filmmaking in the US and around other parts of the world, including the UK.
While SAG-AFTRA is yet to renew talks with the alliance of studios, the WGA negotiated with the AMPTP yesterday and things went well enough that the two sides have agreed to resume talks today. You don’t need us to tell you that that’s a good sign. Another positive step is the news that several major studio players with the influence to quickly make decisions were present, including Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Disney’s Bob Iger, Universal’s Donna Langley and Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav. With those people in the room, decisions should be made with much greater haste.
Deadline went as far as stating that its sources had seen ‘incredible progress’ and ‘very encouraging’ developments. With that in mind, there are some speculating that an agreement could even be reached this week. However, the WGA has already shown it is unwilling to compromise in key areas, so things could yet stall again and return to the war of attrition that has been rumbling on for months now.
We’ve heard a few studio figures voice concern of late for the effect the strike’s duration will have on upcoming film production slates. Perhaps the extended downing of tools by writers has finally inflicted enough damage upon the studios that they’re willing to meet the WGA’s demands. For the WGA’s part, it will need something sizeable from any agreement to justify the months and months that it has kept its members from earning a living. We’ll bring you more on this one as we hear it.
