The writers and the studios are set to go back to the negotiating table with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) revealing the two parties are “working to schedule a meeting next week”.
This marks a welcomely positive step after last week when the Writer’s Guild (WGA) told its members Friday that despite the united front from the AMPTP, several companies privately have expressed: “both the desire and willingness to negotiate an agreement that adequately addresses writers’ issues.”
The AMPTP shot back at the time, saying its various companies are “aligned and are negotiating together to reach a resolution. Any suggestion to the contrary is false”.
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the AMPTP says the WGA reached out yesterday and asked for a meeting to move negotiations forward.
They add: “Every member company of the AMPTP is committed and eager to reach a fair deal, and to working together with the WGA to end the strike.”
The news comes as Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman-CEO Tony Vinciguerra appeared at a Q&A at the BoFA media conference this week (via Yahoo) and warned that if things don’t get sorted out soon, we could very well have a major shortage of films in 2024:
“It is a very big concern that in… early to mid-2024, if we don’t end the strikes at some point, that there will not be a lot of films around… Once we do end the strikes, which will happen obviously, there’s going to be a gold rush to get actors and producers and directors back in production.”
The WGA has been on strike since May 2nd and is now in its 136th day. The SAG-AFTRA strike, meanwhile, has been going since mid-July with high-profile stars like Margot Robbie and Oscar Isaac turning up on picket lines this week.
Source: THR
