Hollywood writers and studios hold talks as strike deadline looms
US TV and film production could come to a grinding halt on Tuesday as Hollywood writers threaten to strike across an industry grappling with seismic changes.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) could call a work stoppage as early as Tuesday if it fails to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) by 11.59pm ET on Monday.
A strike would be the first by the WGA in 15 years.
Writers say they have suffered financially during the streaming TV boom, in part due to shorter seasons and smaller residual payments. They are seeking pay increases and changes to industry practices that they say force them to work more for less money.
Half of TV series writers now work at minimum salary levels, compared with one-third who did so in the 2013-14 season, according to WGA statistics. Median pay for scribes at the higher writer/producer level has fallen 4% over the last decade.
“The way that it’s looking now is that there won’t be a middle class in Hollywood,” said Caroline Renard, a WGA liaison and writer who has worked on Disney Channel’s Secrets of Sulphur Springs and other shows.
As pay has fallen for writers, the entertainment industry has paid exorbitant salaries to executives while reporting billions in profits. The WGA calculates that industry profits have risen from $5bn in 2000 to annual profits ranging from $28bn to $30bn from 2017 to 2021.
In 2021, 12 of the top media and entertainment executives received about $1bn in total compensation.
Artificial intelligence is another issue at the bargaining table. The WGA