Contract talks between Hollywood screenwriters and movie studios went down the wire Monday, leaving the first strike threat in more than 15 years hanging over the industry.
The 11,500-member Writers Guild of America authorized the strike in mid-April, arguing that studios must agree to change wages and workplace practices that have taken root in the broadcast era. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement by midnight in Los Angeles, a strike could begin as soon as Tuesday — though talks could continue past the deadline if there is progress.
Simon Pullman, a partner in the media and entertainment group at law firm Prior Cashman, said dealmaking activity has been “frantic” as agents and lawyers try to wind up before the business grinds to a halt in Hollywood.
“It seems likely that there will be a hit,” Pullman said. He added that the question many in Hollywood are asking is how long this will last. The last time the book went on strike was in 2007, which brought Hollywood to a standstill for 100 days and cost the California economy an estimated $2 billion.
The strike will first affect live television programming, including late-night chat shows, followed by streaming programming. Theatrical films, which take longer, will be the last to be affected.
The book argues that it is difficult to make a living in the era of broadcasting because they earn much less than they did in the traditional television business. In the traditional American network television model, writers produced about 22 scripts each season and were eligible to earn royalties from their shows. However, streaming series are much shorter, often eight to 10 episodes long, and opportunities to earn royalties are scarce.
Studios have also reduced the number of writers on shows in some cases. The Writers’ Union targets the “little room”—small groups that quickly produce scripts for future shows.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told investors last month that the company is working “really hard to make sure we can find a fair and equitable deal so that we can avoid” the strike.
But he added that the company’s stockpile of international programming would insulate it from some impact. “If there’s a (strike), we’ve got a huge base of shows and movies coming in from all over the world (so) we can probably serve our members better than most . . . we have a pretty solid slate of releases that takes us a long time.”