Hollywood Writers Reach Tentative Deal to End Strike

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Facts

• The long-running strike that's brought Hollywood to a standstill could soon be over after the Writers Guild of America announced on Sunday that a tentative deal has been reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.¹
• The Guild — representing over 11K writers in film and television — has been on strike for 145 days, demanding a fair share of the revenue from streaming services and protection from using artificial intelligence in their jobs.²
• In announcing the new three-year contract, which must be approved by its board and members before the strike ends, the Guild described the deal as 'exceptional' with 'meaningful gains and protections for writers.'³
• The vote is expected to take place on Tuesday, with the Guild telling its members: 'To be clear, no one is to return to work until specifically authorized to by the Guild. We are still on strike until then.' However, it confirmed suspending picketing immediately.⁴
• While the Writers Guild has struck a deal with top studio executives, the SAG-AFTRA [Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists] actors' union remains on strike as negotiations to get the actors back to work are ongoing.⁵
• The dual strikes have reportedly cost the economy at least $5B in monetary losses.⁶

Sources: ¹New York Post, ²NBC, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴Variety, ⁵Independent and ⁶Verity.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Guardian. The Hollywood strike, which had a terrible impact beyond the writers' and actors' lives, dragged on for nearly five months because of Hollywood studios' greed. However, the deal shows studios and streaming companies have finally acknowledged that the industry will be brought to a standstill if their profits and artificial intelligence take precedence over their creative talent.
• Narrative B, as provided by USA Today. Instead of holding the entertainment industry hostage over artificial intelligence and decimating local economies, Hollywood's writers and actors should have used the technology to supplement and improve their work. The unprecedented dual strikes could backfire and allow studios and streaming to eliminate the creatives from the artistic process for good.

Predictions