Update: The strike is a go as WGA West has just tweeted: “The Board of Directors of the WGA West and the Council of the WGA East, acting upon the authority granted to them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 AM, Tuesday, May 2nd”.
Original: The possibility of a writer’s strike has now turned very real as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) announced on Monday evening that negotiations have ended and they have not reached a deal with the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA).
The AMPTP says in a statement they presented a “comprehensive package proposal” to the Guild last night which included “generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals.” They added they were prepared to improve that offer.
However they say the Writer’s Guild continues to insist upon several proposals, including requirements “a company must staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period of time”. The AMPTP adds they are willing to engage in discussions with the WGA “in an effort to break this logjam.”
Talks between the WGA and AMPTP began on March 20th, with various issues set to be addressed. On April 17th, more than 9,000 WGA members voted to authorize their leaders to order a strike if a deal was not met by the deadline at midnight tonight.
According to sources for The Wrap, the WGA and AMPTP negotiating committees remained far apart on several key issues even in the final days of talks. The AMPTP statement comes just minutes after the WGA emailed members informing them that picket lines would begin on Tuesday afternoon if a deal was not reached.
The entertainment industry now faces its first writer’s strike in sixteen years. Though studios have stockpiled scripts that could potentially be produced without writers, the vast majority of productions will be shut down as writers are needed during production for consultation on scenes or to do rewrites.
The 2008 strike went on for just over three months. It’s expected this one could last for at least the next two months as the AMPTP also has to begin contract negotiations with the directing and acting guilds shortly ahead of those current bargaining agreements expiring on June 30th.
The most immediate impact will be felt on the late-night live TV talk shows, which are expected to go on immediate hiatus. Depending upon the length of the strike, the impact will also be felt in the Fall, with new seasons of scripted series potentially delayed.
Several networks have been preparing for this inevitability, stockpiling scripts and producing episodes to have on hand.
Source: The Wrap
