Rising labor tensions in Hollywood: Why directors predict tough negotiations with studios
1 year, 11 months ago

Rising labor tensions in Hollywood: Why directors predict tough negotiations with studios

LA Times  

The Directors Guild of America headquarters is pictured on April 16, 2020, in Los Angeles. “This year promises to be an extremely challenging negotiating environment — one of the most difficult and complex we have faced in many years — with studios continuing to consolidate and become increasingly vertically integrated, and with extraordinary economic headwinds facing our industry and our nation,” said DGA negotiations committee chairman Jon Avnet and National Executive Director Russell Hollander in a joint statement Monday. “This year’s negotiations are about more than bargaining a strong contract for the next three years — they’re about setting the course for the future of our industry and ensuring the sustainability of hundreds of thousands of good, union jobs,” Avnet and Hollander added, echoing a similar message they delivered in November. The DGA’s top goals include fighting for higher wages, which have been eroded by inflation; securing more funding for its health and pension plans, which have been buffeted by steep stock market losses; and a better deal on streaming residuals — the fees directors and others fetch after the initial airings of shows. “We will only begin bargaining when we believe we have the most leverage to win the best possible deal for DGA Directors and their teams,” Avnet and Hollander said in their statement to members.

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History of this topic

Hollywood crew members reach tentative deal with major studios
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Hollywood crew members reach tentative deal with major studios

LA Times  

Film and TV crew members have reached a tentative contract deal with the major Hollywood studios after months of bargaining, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced Tuesday night. The resulting production shutdown hobbled studios’ release schedules, while countless actors, writers and crew members suffered without work. But it became …

Workers feel the pain as a post-streaming-wars Hollywood restructures
6 months, 1 week ago

Workers feel the pain as a post-streaming-wars Hollywood restructures

LA Times  

However you want to describe what’s going on in the Hollywood economy right now, there’s a potentially brutal long-term consequence of the entertainment industry’s ongoing recession. Domestic box office so far this year is a mere three-quarters of what it was in 2023, which, despite the “Barbenheimer” boom, hadn’t even recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. “These days, I can barely …

Actors vote to approve deal that ended strike, bringing relief to union leaders and Hollywood
1 year ago

Actors vote to approve deal that ended strike, bringing relief to union leaders and Hollywood

The Hindu  

Hollywood's actors have voted to ratify the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months, leaders announced Tuesday. “This contract is an enormous victory for working performers, and it marks the dawning of a new era for the industry,” the union said in a tweet announcing the results Tuesday evening. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher told The Associated …

Q&A: SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher reacts to Hollywood studios breaking off negotiations
1 year, 2 months ago

Q&A: SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher reacts to Hollywood studios breaking off negotiations

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Fran Drescher has steered the actors guild through its monthslong strike. On the heels of Hollywood studios abruptly breaking off talks with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists this week, the actor and union president says she’s baffled and disappointed. Hold onto your resolve because this can’t be for nothing.” SAG-AFTRA President Fran …

Column: Hollywood studios are already proving they learned nothing from the writers’ strike
1 year, 2 months ago

Column: Hollywood studios are already proving they learned nothing from the writers’ strike

LA Times  

SAG-AFTRA members and supporters picket outside Netflix studios on Thursday, a day after contract negotiations between the actors’ union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were suspended. After months of self-righteous declarations about wanting to end the 100-day-long actors’ strike and get Hollywood, and all of the industries that support it, back to work, the Alliance of …

WGA members easily ratify new contract to end 148-day strike as anxieties loom
1 year, 2 months ago

WGA members easily ratify new contract to end 148-day strike as anxieties loom

LA Times  

As members of the Writers Guild of America voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new contract that ended a 148-day strike, anxieties loomed over a coming contraction in the film and TV business that could limit job opportunities even after Hollywood gets back to work. “Through solidarity and determination, we have ratified a contract with meaningful gains and protections for …

Hollywood Strike | Actors to resume negotiations with studios next week, as protracted writers’ strike ends
1 year, 2 months ago

Hollywood Strike | Actors to resume negotiations with studios next week, as protracted writers’ strike ends

The Hindu  

With the Hollywood writers strike over, actors will now get a shot at cutting their own deal with studios and streaming services. By mid-morning, the hosts of NBC's “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers”, ABC's “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on CBS had announced they'd also return, all by …

Screenwriters secured a new deal for AI. For actors, the fight could be even harder
1 year, 2 months ago

Screenwriters secured a new deal for AI. For actors, the fight could be even harder

LA Times  

Members of the Writers Guild of America, joined by members of SAG-AFTRA, come together to picket in front of Paramount Studios in July. According to a summary document from the WGA, the contract — which still needs to be ratified by the union’s members — would let writers choose to use AI when performing writing services, with the studio’s permission. …

Hollywood actors to resume negotiations with studios next week, as protracted writers strike ends
1 year, 2 months ago

Hollywood actors to resume negotiations with studios next week, as protracted writers strike ends

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — With the Hollywood writers strike over, actors will now get a shot at cutting their own deal with studios and streaming services. Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which had been using guest hosts when the strike hit, announced Wednesday that it would return Oct. 16 “with an all-star roster of guest hosts for the remainder of 2023.” …

Hollywood Strike | Writers' deal may set a template for talks with striking actors
1 year, 2 months ago

Hollywood Strike | Writers' deal may set a template for talks with striking actors

The Hindu  

The tentative deal Hollywood writers reached with the major studios and streaming services could serve as a template for actors, who have been on strike since mid-July. That agreement generated optimism among striking actors that they may soon settle their differences with the studios. "I hear it's an exceptional deal and historically, whatever deal they give to one union, the …

Hollywood writers secure historic agreement with major studios, but challenges remain actors union
1 year, 2 months ago

Hollywood writers secure historic agreement with major studios, but challenges remain actors union

The Hindu  

Published : Sep 26, 2023 18:46 IST - 5 MINS READ Hollywood’s writers’ union reached a preliminary labour agreement with major studios on Sunday, a deal expected to end one of two strikes that have halted most film and television production and cost the California economy billions. “This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary …

Strike deal only first step in resolving Hollywood crisis
1 year, 2 months ago

Strike deal only first step in resolving Hollywood crisis

The Hindu  

A tentative deal to end a long-running writers' strike that has paralysed Hollywood is only a first step in resolving a film industry crisis, as an equally bitter studio stand-off with the actors' union stretches on. ‘Huge roadblock’ The WGA's deal with studios achieved compromises on minimum wage increases, bonus payments for writers participating in hit shows, and guarantees that …

The Hollywood writers’ strike is over. Why was it so hard to get a deal done?
1 year, 2 months ago

The Hollywood writers’ strike is over. Why was it so hard to get a deal done?

LA Times  

Welcome to the Wide Shot, a newsletter about the business of entertainment. There’s a nagging question for Hollywood that lingers beyond Sunday night’s celebratory mood following the tentative deal to end the writers’ strike. Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger, speaking from the billionaire summer camp of Sun Valley, Idaho, seemed to provoke scribes and actors by saying that …

Hollywood strike comes to an end as Writers Guild, studios reach tentative deal
1 year, 2 months ago

Hollywood strike comes to an end as Writers Guild, studios reach tentative deal

India Today  

Hollywood's writers union reached a preliminary labor agreement with major studios on Sunday, a deal expected to end one of two strikes that have halted most film and television production and cost the California economy billions. Efforts to restart daytime talk shows without writers, such as "The Drew Barrymore Show," collapsed this month, in the face of criticism from striking …

Hollywood writers reach tentative deal with studios to end strike
1 year, 2 months ago

Hollywood writers reach tentative deal with studios to end strike

Al Jazeera  

Writers union says the new deal is ‘exceptional’ with ‘meaningful gains and protections for writers’. Hollywood’s writers union says it has reached a preliminary labour agreement with the industry’s major studios in a deal to end one of two strikes that have halted most film and television production for nearly five months. The writers strike immediately sent late-night talk shows …

The writers’ strike deal is a big step, but roadblocks remain for Hollywood’s return to work
1 year, 2 months ago

The writers’ strike deal is a big step, but roadblocks remain for Hollywood’s return to work

LA Times  

Hollywood breathed a collective sigh of relief Sunday night when the Writers Guild of America and the major studios announced a tentative deal for a new contract. “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” WGA’s negotiating committee wrote in a memo to …

Editorial: Hollywood is the backbone of L.A.’s economy. It’s a relief there’s an end in sight to the strikes
1 year, 2 months ago

Editorial: Hollywood is the backbone of L.A.’s economy. It’s a relief there’s an end in sight to the strikes

LA Times  

There’s an end in sight for one of the two historic Hollywood strikes. Opinion Editorial: L.A. has a major stake in settling the Hollywood writers’ strike The last strike cost the local economy $2.1 billion and 37,700 jobs. While there are few specifics on what’s included in the proposed three-year contract for film and television work, WGA leaders called the …

Striking writers and Hollywood studios resume negotiations for second day
1 year, 3 months ago

Striking writers and Hollywood studios resume negotiations for second day

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters …

An end in sight? Striking writers and Hollywood studios spend second full day in negotiations
1 year, 3 months ago

An end in sight? Striking writers and Hollywood studios spend second full day in negotiations

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters spent Thursday in talks that could potentially put an end to the nearly five-month dispute that has brought many film and television productions to a halt. The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the industry’s studios, streaming services and production companies, negotiated for …

Why Hollywood’s labor nightmare won’t end soon: Frustration, fear and mistrust
1 year, 3 months ago

Why Hollywood’s labor nightmare won’t end soon: Frustration, fear and mistrust

LA Times  

Hollywood had hoped its summer of strikes would end by Labor Day, but ongoing talks between the unions and the studios have failed to produce a meaningful breakthrough. WGA members were joined in mid-July by the 160,000-member performers’ union, SAG-AFTRA, after the collapse of its contract talks with the studios, including Walt Disney Co., Netflix, Amazon Studios and Warner Bros. …

Fallout from Hollywood labor unrest deepens as strikes drag on
1 year, 3 months ago

Fallout from Hollywood labor unrest deepens as strikes drag on

LA Times  

Welcome to the Wide Shot, a newsletter about the business of entertainment. That’s the question on the minds of everyone in the entertainment industry as — after a fleeting but futile moment of hope — the summer of labor unrest looks likely to stretch well into the fall and possibly the holiday season, disrupting studios’ movie schedules and awards season …

Hollywood unions (and stars) rally near Disney amid strikes. ‘They underestimated our resolve’
1 year, 4 months ago

Hollywood unions (and stars) rally near Disney amid strikes. ‘They underestimated our resolve’

LA Times  

Kerry Washington speaks as SAG-AFTRA and WGA join forces with other unions for a National Day of Solidarity rally outside Disney headquarters in Burbank. More than 3,000 union members gathered near Walt Disney Co.’s Burbank headquarters in support of striking Hollywood actors — buoyed by impassioned speeches from Olivia Pope, President Jed Bartlet and Hellboy. Kerry Washington, Martin Sheen and …

Hollywood Strike | Writers to evaluate counterproposal from studios
1 year, 4 months ago

Hollywood Strike | Writers to evaluate counterproposal from studios

The Hindu  

The union representing striking Hollywood writers said on Friday it had received a counterproposal from the studios that it would consider, an apparent sign of progress in the more than 100-day-old strike. The Writers Guild of America said it would respond next week "after deliberation" on the offer from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which negotiates on …

More Than 100 Days Into Writers Strike, Studio Execs Finally Get Back To Negotiating
1 year, 4 months ago

More Than 100 Days Into Writers Strike, Studio Execs Finally Get Back To Negotiating

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Exactly 101 days since the 11,500 film and TV writers in the Writers Guild of America East and West began striking for more equitable wages and working conditions, Hollywood executives are finally returning to the negotiating table, the WGA told members Thursday. We will get back to you.” Members of the Writers Guild of America and the …

Hollywood strikes: WGA, SAG play good cop, bad cop with AMPTP
1 year, 4 months ago

Hollywood strikes: WGA, SAG play good cop, bad cop with AMPTP

LA Times  

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, left, takes part in a rally by striking writers and actors outside Netflix studio in Los Angeles in July. Less than three weeks after guild president Fran Drescher rattled C-suite windows with her fiery announcement of an actors’ strike, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is already roiling with internal arguments over …

Striking Hollywood writers to hold first talks with studios in three months
1 year, 4 months ago

Striking Hollywood writers to hold first talks with studios in three months

The Hindu  

Hollywood's striking writers and major studios have agreed to hold talks on Friday for the first time since their strike began over higher pay demands in May, the Writers Guild of America said on Tuesday. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, reached out to the WGA and requested a meeting, the WGA negotiating committee told its members in …

Striking writers and studios will meet this week to discuss restarting negotiations
1 year, 4 months ago

Striking writers and studios will meet this week to discuss restarting negotiations

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Union leaders told striking Hollywood writers Tuesday night that they plan to meet with representatives for studios to discuss restarting negotiations after the first official communication between the two sides since the strike began three months ago. The Writers Guild of America sent an email to members saying that the head of the Alliance of Motion Picture …

Hollywood Strike: Studios say they offered actors $1 billion in gains before strike
1 year, 5 months ago

Hollywood Strike: Studios say they offered actors $1 billion in gains before strike

The Hindu  

Major film and television studios offered Hollywood actors more than $1 billion in higher compensation and enhanced benefits before the SAG-AFTRA union called a strike last week, a group that represents media companies said on Monday. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which negotiates on behalf of Netflix Inc, Walt Disney Co, Warner Bros Discovery and others, said …

Showdown in Hollywood! WGA strike sparks accusations of forced homelessness, studios respond
1 year, 5 months ago

Showdown in Hollywood! WGA strike sparks accusations of forced homelessness, studios respond

Hindustan Times  

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has denied accusations that it is intentionally delaying negotiations with the Writer's Guild of America in hopes that members will run out of money and lose their homes. Negotiations stalled since May 1 The writer's strike, the first in over 15 years, began on May 1 when negotiations broke down between the …

Hollywood directors ratify labour pact as writers keep picketing
1 year, 6 months ago

Hollywood directors ratify labour pact as writers keep picketing

The Hindu  

Film and television directors voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new three-year labour contract with major Hollywood studios on Friday, averting a second work stoppage that would have added to upheaval caused by an ongoing writers' strike. The Directors Guild of America said 87% of those voting supported the deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a group …

Hollywood directors approve new contract with studios
1 year, 6 months ago

Hollywood directors approve new contract with studios

LA Times  

Members of the Directors Guild of America have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new film and TV contract with the major Hollywood studios. “Our new contract secures gains on wages, global streaming residuals, safety, diversity and creative rights that build for the future and impact every category of member in our Guild,” DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter said in …

Directors Guild reaches tentative deal with Hollywood studios, writers remain on strike
1 year, 6 months ago

Directors Guild reaches tentative deal with Hollywood studios, writers remain on strike

The Hindu  

Hollywood's major studios reached a tentative labour agreement with the union representing film and television directors, likely averting a work stoppage that would have piled pressure on media companies to settle with striking writers. During the last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008, a studio deal with the DGA prompted writers to head back to the bargaining table. If approved, …

A ‘hot labor summer.’ Hollywood unrest continues as actors vote to authorize a strike
1 year, 6 months ago

A ‘hot labor summer.’ Hollywood unrest continues as actors vote to authorize a strike

LA Times  

Writers Guild of America members strike at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Tuesday as the strike enters the sixth week. “Our bargaining strategy has never relied upon nor been dependent on the outcome or status of any other union’s negotiations, nor do we subscribe to the philosophy that the terms of deals made with other unions bind us,” Duncan …

Directors Guild reaches deal on a new contract with the studios
1 year, 6 months ago

Directors Guild reaches deal on a new contract with the studios

LA Times  

The Directors Guild of America headquarters on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The DGA said it has reached a “historic deal” with the major studios on a new three-year film and TV contract. The Directors Guild of America said it has reached a “historic deal” with the major studios on a new three-year film and TV contract. In these negotiations …

Explained: The reason why writers in Hollywood are on a strike and the impact it's likely to have
1 year, 7 months ago

Explained: The reason why writers in Hollywood are on a strike and the impact it's likely to have

Firstpost  

The writers are the backbones of any piece of work. Streaming services’ use of smaller staffs — known in the industry as “mini rooms” — for shorter stints has made sustained income harder to come by, the guild says. “If writing needs to be done, writers are hired, but these proposals require the employment of writers whether they’re needed for …

What do striking Hollywood writers want? A look at demands
1 year, 7 months ago

What do striking Hollywood writers want? A look at demands

Associated Press  

The 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike Tuesday after negotiations with Hollywood studios that began in March failed to result in an agreement. The guild has billed the issues behind the labor dispute as “an existential crisis.” Writers say they’re facing a host of new issues brought on by streaming and other recent technological shifts …

Hollywood writers to begin strike as contract negotiations collapse
1 year, 7 months ago

Hollywood writers to begin strike as contract negotiations collapse

The Independent  

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Hollywood Writer’s Guild has called for a strike after representatives …

Why Hollywood writers are striking – and what it means for your favourite TV show
1 year, 8 months ago

Why Hollywood writers are striking – and what it means for your favourite TV show

The Telegraph  

In the current wave of achingly out of practice union muscle flexing, it’s strange to see Hollywood facing turbulent bouts of industrial action. But Hollywood’s writers’ union the Writers Guild of America is one of the most nimble and effective industrial organisations in the world and has been operating at a low level of semi-permanent militancy since it triumphed in …

Studios face turmoil and strife amid WGA negotiations. Not our problem, writers say
1 year, 8 months ago

Studios face turmoil and strife amid WGA negotiations. Not our problem, writers say

LA Times  

Ask a Hollywood studio executive about the state of the entertainment business these days, and many will say, “Don’t ask.” Firms such as Netflix, Warner Bros. “We’re still in this uncertain period about where digital streaming is going to end up.” Adding to the complexities, the makeup of the trade group representing the major film and TV studios and networks …

Writers enter tense contract negotiations with Hollywood studios
1 year, 9 months ago

Writers enter tense contract negotiations with Hollywood studios

LA Times  

The Writers Guild of America is set to kick off negotiations with Hollywood studios Monday, as both sides brace for what is expected to be a difficult bargaining session. Negotiations to secure a new three-year contract are scheduled to begin Monday morning at the Sherman Oaks headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the body that represents …

WGA asks members to vote on key demands in bargaining with studios
1 year, 9 months ago

WGA asks members to vote on key demands in bargaining with studios

LA Times  

Headquarters of the Writers Guild of America West in the Fairfax District. The WGA’s leadership on Monday asked its more than 10,000 members to vote on a proposed “pattern of demands,” the general areas that will guide negotiations set to begin on March 20. Among the bargaining demands: The union wants increased contributions to the union’s health and pension plan; …

Directors Guild puts off talks with Hollywood studios in a sign of broader labor unrest
1 year, 10 months ago

Directors Guild puts off talks with Hollywood studios in a sign of broader labor unrest

LA Times  

In a change from its usual practice in recent years, the Directors Guild of America has decided to not go into contract talks early, and will instead wait until later this spring, closer to when its bargaining agreement with Hollywood studios is set to expire. In many of the bargaining rounds since the last Hollywood strike in 2007, the DGA …

Directors promise fight with studios over pay and safety in contract talks
2 years, 1 month ago

Directors promise fight with studios over pay and safety in contract talks

LA Times  

Hollywood’s directors have given studios their first warning that they face a fight over pay next year. The Directors Guild of America, which has more than 19,000 members, promised they would battle producers for higher streaming residuals, wage increases as well as improved safety measures in the next round of contract negotiations. “This promises to be an extremely challenging negotiating …

Film crew union narrowly approves contract with producers
3 years, 1 month ago

Film crew union narrowly approves contract with producers

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Film industry crew members have narrowly voted to approve a pair of contracts with Hollywood producers after a standoff that came within days of a strike that would have halted productions across the U.S., union leaders said Monday. The vote also took place in the shadow of the shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director …

Hollywood crews union reaches a deal with studios, averting a strike
3 years, 2 months ago

Hollywood crews union reaches a deal with studios, averting a strike

LA Times  

Kevin Chiu of IATSE Local 80, which represents grips and other set workers, waits in his car as volunteer Liz Lipschultz writes pro-labor slogans during a rally at the Motion Picture Editors Guild IATSE Local 700 on Sept. 26 in Los Angeles. The union representing Hollywood crews has reached an agreement on a new contract with the major studios, avoiding …

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