With the recent advancements in the Hollywood industry and our world as a whole, several professions have taken a hit from developments and advancements that demand more work from them but less pay. On Tuesday, the 2nd of May 2023, the Hollywood Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on an absolute strike, the first of its kind in 15 years. The writers took to the strike after negotiations with the labor group representing studios and streamers faltered on Monday, the 1st of May.
The WGA demand “increased minimum compensation in all areas of media, increased residuals, appropriate TV series-writing compensation from pre- to postproduction, increased contributions to pension and health plans, the strengthening of professional standards and the overall protections for writers.”
One would think that considering the crucial importance of writers to the Hollywood industry, their demands would be paid attention to and met, but so far, none of this has happened. The most recent strike by the WGA happened in 2007-2008, leading to the disruption of several TV shows, with some being cancelled, or shortened. Even the Golden Globes for the year was reportedly cancelled because the writers who would have written the jokes were unavailable.
Writers remain a crucial part of the Hollywood industry- from TV shows to movies and more, they are one of the very pillars of Hollywood. Without writers, the industry would pretty much crumble. Some producers and showrunners may already be considering turning to AI tools such as ChatGPT for their writing needs, but the truth remains that only human writers can provide the excellence that award-winning productions need.
In response to all of this, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing studios and streamers in collective bargaining states that it is “willing to engage in discussions with the WGA in an effort to break this logjam.”
What do you think are the consequences if their demands are not met?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
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With the recent advancements in the Hollywood industry and our world as a whole, several professions have taken a hit from developments and advancements that demand more work from them but less pay. On Tuesday, the 2nd of May 2023, the Hollywood Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on an absolute strike, the first of its kind in 15 years. The writers took to the strike after negotiations with the labor group representing studios and streamers faltered on Monday, the 1st of May.The WGA demand “increased minimum compensation in all areas of media, increased residuals, appropriate TV series-writing compensation from pre- to postproduction, increased contributions to pension and health plans, the strengthening of professional standards and the overall protections for writers.” One would think that considering the crucial importance of writers to the Hollywood industry, their demands would be paid attention to and met, but so far, none of this has happened. The most recent strike by the WGA happened in 2007-2008, leading to the disruption of several TV shows, with some being cancelled, or shortened. Even the Golden Globes for the year was reportedly cancelled because the writers who would have written the jokes were unavailable. Writers remain a crucial part of the Hollywood industry- from TV shows to movies and more, they are one of the very pillars of Hollywood. Without writers, the industry would pretty much crumble. Some producers and showrunners may already be considering turning to AI tools such as ChatGPT for their writing needs, but the truth remains that only human writers can provide the excellence that award-winning productions need.In response to all of this, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing studios and streamers in collective bargaining states that it is “willing to engage in discussions with the WGA in an effort to break this logjam.”What do you think are the consequences if their demands are not met? Share your thoughts in the comments!
