WGA, Hollywood Studios inch closer to ending lengthy strike amid negotiations

The ongoing strike that has gripped Hollywood for nearly five months may finally be inching towards resolution as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and major studios engaged in a marathon negotiation session, reported Variety. While no final deal was reached, both sides left the bargaining table with strong indications that a tentative agreement for a hard-fought three-year contract is on the horizon.

On Friday, four senior executives, including Disney's Bob Iger, Warner Bros Discovery's David Zaslav, NBCUniversal's Donna Langley, and Netflix's Ted Sarandos, who have been instrumental in guiding the contentious negotiations, departed from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers' headquarters in Sherman Oaks around 8:30 pm. Sources from both sides revealed that significant progress was made during the final hours of the day-long session, which began at 11 am PT. However, it remains unclear when the parties will convene again and whether the executive quartet will participate in person.

A notable development during Friday's meeting was a briefing call held by the executives with counterparts from other companies, suggesting that collaboration played a pivotal role in the positive turn of events. This marked a stark contrast to Thursday's session, which stretched late into the evening with less optimism.

Sources have reported that late in the afternoon, the parties began addressing long-standing contentious issues. The negotiation process is now in the phase of refining legal language that both sides can agree upon. WGA sources have expressed concerns about the possibility of contractual loopholes and ambiguous terms creeping into the agreement, which is said to be groundbreaking in its construction.

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One significant element under consideration is the "success-based residual." This metric, vital to the demands of both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, may be determined in part by whether a particular title reaches a predetermined percentage of a streaming platform's subscriber base. This represents a novel compensation metric within the WGA's Minimum Basic Agreement contract, tailored to an era where TV profits rely heavily on direct-to-consumer subscription revenue rather than traditional advertising sales and fees paid by cable and satellite distributors.

The WGA initiated the strike on May 2, with SAG-AFTRA joining the picket lines on July 14 due to its own struggles in reaching a new contract with the studios.

Several key issues have impeded the WGA and AMPTP from sealing an updated deal. These include disagreements on generative artificial intelligence in the creative process, staff levels and minimum employment weeks for episodic TV writers, streaming residuals, and the much-anticipated "second step" guarantee for screenwriters to receive compensation for preliminary work such as outlines, drafts, and revisions.

Negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP resumed on September 20, marking their first meeting in nearly a month. On Thursday evening, unexpected issues arose regarding new points introduced by the WGA, leading to extended talks until about 7:30 pm. The parties agreed to continue discussions on Friday morning, fostering cautious optimism that an end to the strike may finally be in sight.

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