Displaying items by tag: Writers Strike 2023

Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Wednesday, September 27th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* WGA Leaders David Goodman, Chris Keyser And Meredith Stiehm On How the Deal Was Done: ‘We Got Something For Every Sector Of The Guild' (Variety)
Goodman and Keyser, both past presidents of the WGA West, were co-chairs of the WGA’s 25-member negotiating committee. Stiehm was re-elected earlier this month to her second two-year term as WGA West president. All three are veteran showrunners who went into these momentous negotiations determined to shore up the future of employment for writers in the industry that has generated so much for so many.


* Opinion: Here's Where The WGA Deal Falls Short. The Striking Actors Need To Do Better (LA Times)
Yet this deal is not as transformative as it should be. Streaming is where the entertainment industry has gone and continues to see growth. That is where the money is, but the current payment system doesn’t reflect that. Thus the core of the WGA agreement should be about streaming residuals. The union had a historic opportunity — particularly because its strike was paired with SAG-AFTRA's — to completely revamp those residuals and turn screenwriting into a long-term, sustainable profession again.


* SAG-AFTRA Contract Talks Won't Take Place At AMPTP’s Offices When They Resume (Deadline)
When SAG-AFTRA resumes bargaining with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Monday, the talks won’t be held at the AMPTP's offices in Sherman Oaks, CA, as they had been before the guild went on strike in July.


* Disney Entertainment TV to Reinstate Suspended Overall Deals After WGA Strike Ends (The Wrap)
In mid-September, the company paused overall and first look deals across its subsidiaries, with Billy Porter, Yara Shahidi, Gina Rodriguez, "This Is Us" alum Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore, as well as "Rebel" executive producer Marc Webb, "The Bear" EP Hiro Murai and FX Productions' Stacey Sher among those impacted.


* Disney Entertainment TV to Reinstate Suspended Overall Deals Following WGA Deal (The Wrap)
Overall and first-look deals that will likely to be reinstated include those of producers Billy Porter, Yara Shahidi, Gina Rodriguez, "This Is Us" alum Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore, as well as "Rebel" executive producer Marc Webb, "The Bear" EP Hiro Murai and FX Productions' Stacey Sher, all of whom had deals paused in mid-September. The contracts will be reinstated on Thursday, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.


* Studios Start To Reinstate Suspended Overall & First-Look Deals; Not All Pacts Will Be Extended (Deadline)
Deals don't automatically extend after a strike-related suspension, with studios exercising their option to do that on a case-by-case basis. As expected, not all pacts will be extended, meaning that some will not be getting the suspension period of as much as five months for the first wave of impacted writers added to the end of the term. I hear that affects deals close to their end date which the studios are not planning to renew. (A number of pacts that expired during the strike also are not being extended.)


* Back To Work! Studios Eye Post-Strike Plans to Prioritize Production on 'Stranger Things,' 'Euphoria,' 'House Of The Dragon' And More (Variety)
From "Star Trek" to "Superman: Legacy" to "Abbott Elementary" to "Wednesday," every studio, network and streamer has priority film and TV projects that they hope to fast-track back into development or production. Audiences cannot survive on reruns alone. Had the strike lasted a few weeks longer, the 2023-24 broadcast season would have become even more dependent on unscripted shows and programs imported from streaming platforms and overseas markets.

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Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Tuesday, September 26th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* Amblin's Jeb Brody Welcomes Tentative Writers Strike Deal & Senses Fresh Energy In Hollywood Even If Issues Remain (Deadline)
"I think a lot of trickiness in the movie business that led to the strike is still with us, and it’s going to be a couple of years I think until they figure it out," he said, citing tension between streaming and theatrical and as well as malingering questions around how people are remunerated.


* Column: After A 'Hot Labor Summer,' Black Hollywood Is Confronting The Limits Of Solidarity (LA Times)
"There's a recognition of the diversity that's within the collective and [a] holding of space for that," Smith said. "And all of us coming together, recognizing that we do have these differences, that we do have different needs but that we’re all kind of fighting for the same thing."


* How The Writers Deal Got Done: Inside The Room (The Hollywood Reporter)
The deal was the fruit of several long days of negotiating between the guild and four studio chiefs: Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, NBCUniversal chief content officer Donna Langley and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Just weeks earlier, on Aug. 22, guild representatives met with those executives only to end up blasting them in a late night message to members. Instead of finally getting a chance to negotiate with the executives, the guild negotiating committee said, "We were met with a lecture about how good their single and only counteroffer was."  


* WGA Chiefs Ellen Stutzman & Meredith Stiehm Q&A: “Transformative” Deal For Hollywood, Solidarity With SAG-AFTRA & The AMPTP's "Failed Process" (Deadline)
"This strike was way too long, because the companies took so long to get serious," WGA West President Meredith Stiehm declared tonight of the nearly 150 days the Writers Guild was out on the picket lines before a tentative agreement was reached on September 24.


* Here Are The Main Deal Points From the Writers Guild Agreement With The AMPTP (The Wrap)
The main deal points of a new three-year contract between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has led to significant raises for writers’ work, a 26% increase to residuals, minimum staffing requirements and guaranteed protections on artificial intelligence, according to a WGA release on Tuesday.


* 'Fake Carol's' Message To The Real AMPTP President: "Babe, You Don’t Have to Keep Doing This" (The Hollywood Reporter)
The self-professed parody account became a viral sensation during strike, taking shots at the president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, Drew Barrymore and, naturally, the Cheesecake Factory that anchors the Sherman Oaks Galleria, the shopping mall where the group that represents Hollywood’s studios and streamers is based.


* SAG-AFTRA & Studios Could Meet Within Days (Deadline)
As always in labor relations, the situation is fluid, and no negotiation has truly started until all participants are seated at the bargaining table. "We have no confirmed dates scheduled and there will not be meetings with the AMPTP this week," a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson said Tuesday. "When we do have dates confirmed, we will inform our members. No one should rely on speculation."

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Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Friday, September 15th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* Showrunner Meeting With WGA Leadership Canceled As Guild Plans Ahead For Studio Talks (Deadline)
The showrunner meeting, which was also thought to include Sam Esmail, was described not as a sign of discontent among the guild, as rumored by some, but rather a chance to bring more high-profile folks into the process as the writers strike has moved into its fourth month.


* Some Shows Return To Air Despite Writers Strike (Axios)
"It has been five months, and it is time to bring people back to work. The writers have important issues that I sympathize with, and hope they are addressed to their satisfaction, but they are not the only people with issues, problems, and concerns," he wrote, adding that much of the show’s staff "is struggling mightily."


* WGA Insists Drew Barrymore 'Should Not Be On The Air' During Strike (Deadline)
"I believe there’s nothing I can do or say in this moment to make it OK,” Barrymore said on Friday afternoon, holding back tears in a video posted on Instagram. “I wanted to own a decision, so that it wasn’t a PR-protected situation, and I would just take full responsibility for my actions."


* WGAW President Addresses 'Distinction' In Criticism Of Bill Maher Resuming Production During Strike: 'There’s Definitely Some Anger' (The Hollywood Reporter)
"There is a distinction between Bill Maher and the others because he is a Writers Guild member. The others, I believe, are SAG members, and they may have waivers to do the shows. I’m not sure. But he’s a Writers Guild member, and he’s going back to work, so yes, a lot of people are saying that’s scabbing," she said. "There’s definitely some anger that he’s doing that."


* Entertainment Partners Layoffs: Dozens Cut At Residuals Distributing Company (Deadline)
The company that cuts a lot of Hollywood's residual checks cut dozens and dozens of employees this week. Entertainment Partners laid off around 70 people in the past week.


* Dispatches From The Picket Lines: Naomi Watts & 'Billions' Samantha Mathis Take NYC As George Lopez Leads Reunion In LA (Deadline)
While the WGA and the AMPTP are scheduling talks for next week, SAG-AFTRA and the studios have not restarted talks since actors joined the writers on strike in July. Mathis, who is on the union’s national board and negotiating committee, told Deadline, "I'm here in solidarity with my union. We are out here because we need fair wages. The offer that was left on the table from the AMPTP is unacceptable and would keep us in line with wages from 2020."


* Drew Barrymore Gives Emotional Apology to WGA, But Her Show Will Continue: ‘There Is Nothing I Can Do That Will Make This OK (Variety)
A tearful Barrymore continued, “I know there is just nothing I can do that will make this OK to those that it is not OK with. I fully accept that. I fully understand that. There are so many reasons why this is so complex, and I just want everyone to know my intentions have never been in a place to upset or hurt anymore. It’s not who I am. I’ve been through so many ups and downs in my life, and this is one of them,” she said through tears.

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Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Thursday, September 14th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* The Ratings Fight At The Heart Of The Strikes: Will Netflix And Others Share More Data? (L.A. Times)
Now the battle for transparency in streaming data has become one of the biggest dividing lines in the ongoing actors' and writers' strikes, dual work stoppages that Hollywood hasn't seen since the 1960s. Performers union SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America say video streaming services have benefited from the work of their members, and they want film and TV writers and actors to be rewarded when they make a hit.


* Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Says Company Wants to Resolve Strikes ASAP After Disclosing up to $500 Million Earnings Hit From Work Stoppages (Variety)
Wiedenfels said that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav "is spending a lot of time with his peers" in working to bring an end to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA work stoppages. "We are confident there will be a solution,” he said, and “once that happens, we will get back to a normal production cadence as soon as possible."


* Talks Between The Studios And Writers Guild To Restart Soon (Strikegiest)
The Alliance for Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the major studios and streamers from Disney to Netflix, said Thursday afternoon that the Writers Guild of America had reached out and requested a new meeting. The two parties are set to meet next week, it said.


* Newsom In The Hot Seat After California Passes Bill To Give Striking Workers Unemployment Benefits (L.A. Times)
Striking workers in California, including writers and actors still picketing Hollywood studios, would be eligible for unemployment benefits under legislation state lawmakers passed on Thursday.


* Do Studios Dream Of Android Stars? (NY Times)
Striking actors and writers fear A.I. Executives don’t seem to. It's a longstanding battle over technology and control in Hollywood that plays out onscreen, too.


* Now's Your Chance To Solve A Crossword Puzzle With Natasha Lyonne (NPR)
You know that moment when you've knocked out 12 of 73 clues for the New York Times crossword, you're starting to sweat, and you think to yourself, "Man, I really wish the Emmy-award-winning actress Natasha Lyonne of Orange is the New Black was here to help me power through?"


* The Backlash Came For Drew Barrymore (Vulture)
For as long as this strike has gone on, there’s been fairly little noisy pushback about specific individuals who cross the picket line, and Barrymore feels like one of the few major celebrities to get the full Game of Thrones shame bell treatment. Why?

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Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Wednesday, August 16th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* Strike Impact Hits Earnings As Executives Size Up War Chests (The Hollywood Reporter)
While hoping and planning for a resolution in September, Hollywood studios, streamers and affiliated businesses have begun forecasting lower revenue, content spend and, in some cases, a lower outlook for the year. Because while some may be able to stem the tide of a production shutdown in the short term, the financial danger increases as the strike goes on further into the fall and the release schedule suffers. 


* MPTF To Host Food Drive; Nears $1M In Financial Assistance Payouts During Strikes (Deadline)
The Motion Picture & Television Fund will host a food drive on August 24 to help out industry members effected by the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Volunteers are being provided by IATSE and Teamsters Local 399, with donations from the Matthew 25: Ministries.


* Ken Ziffren on Writers Strike: Tuesday’s Meeting “Did Not Move the Ball Forward”  (The Hollywood Reporter)
Ken Ziffren, a veteran entertainment attorney who’s served as Los Angeles’ film czar since 2014, is casting skepticism as to whether negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have progressed.


*  Playwrights Say Financial Cushion From TV and Film Work Has Diminished: “The Rug Is Being Pulled Out” (The Hollywood Reporter)
For many playwrights, film and television work has historically served as a supplement to their income from the theater world. But in recent years, writers say, studios have begun to poke holes in that safety net, leaving some stage scribes as frustrated and angry as their screenwriting colleagues. 


* TV Staff Minimum Remains Key Sticking Point, But Some In WGA Privately Grumble: 'Nobody Asked for This' (Variety)
The WGA places a premium on solidarity. But within the guild, there’s been some private dissent over the proposal, with some showrunners telling Variety that they think it is the "wrong fight" and should not be the reason that the strike is prolonged.

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Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Thursday, August 10th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* SAG-AFTRA Takes Up Bethenny Frankel’s Fight To Unionize Reality Show Contestants & End “Exploitative Practices” (Deadline)
SAG-AFTRA, which covers the hosts but not the contestants on reality TV competition shows, said today that it's working "toward the protection of the reality performers" in an effort to end "the exploitative practices that have developed in this area" and "to engage in a new path to union coverage."


* Writers Guild To Resume Negotiations With AMPTP On Friday (Indiewire)
The Writers Guild of America told members on Thursday that AMPTP lead negotiator Carol Lombardini has asked the WGA negotiating committee to meet on Friday and that "we expect the AMPTP to provide responses to WGA proposals."


* California Economy Lost $3 Billion in First 100 Days Of WGA Strike, Economist Says (The Wrap)
Todd Holmes, a professor of entertainment industry management at the San Fernando Valley school, further warned that if the strikes last until October, which would be a record for the industry, the economic cost could reach $5 billion, CNBC reported.


* The Hollywood Strikes Are A Wake-Up Call For Japan's Film Industry (Japan Times)
Specifically, without unions in the activist mold of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Japanese writers and actors are in a weaker position vis-a-vis their employers than their Hollywood counterparts. Many are making a precarious living as essentially independent contractors instead of uniting to fight for better pay and conditions from powerful media companies. Hollywood-style contracts, backed by strong union protections, are only a dream in Japan.


* CAA To Undergo Round Of Layoffs (The Hollywood Reporter)
Multiple departments had been evaluating staffing levels even prior to when the Writers Guild of America strike began on May 2. When performer’s union SAG-AFTRA joined the strike on July 13, Hollywood settled in to a long summer as the dealmaking ecosystem ground to a halt.


* Motion Picture Sound Editors Waives Membership Dues Amid Hollywood Strikes (Deadline)
Motion Picture Sound Editors is waiving dues payments for its members for the current year "in consideration of the ongoing strikes" by SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild. The waiver was approved unanimously by the organization’s board.


* Michael Mann's 'Ferrari' Secures SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement (Deadline)
SAG-AFTRA on Thursday named Neon’s Michael Mann-directed Ferrari as one of its latest recipients of an interim agreement for publicity. The waiver allows the movie’s cast, which includes Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz, to publicize the feature at its Venice Film Festival world premiere, closing night at the New York Film Festival and other events at which the pic may screen.

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Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Friday, August 4th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* Steven Soderbergh Says It's Time To Tear The Streaming Model Down To The Studs (Defector)
Well, it's just, there are two potential reasons that we're not getting all of the information. One is that they're all making a lot more money than anybody knows and that they're willing to tell us. The other is they're making a lot less money than anybody knows. And they don't want Wall Street to look under the hood of this thing in any significant way because there'll be a reckoning that will be quite unpleasant. It's one of those two. 


* WGA & AMPTP Can't Agree To Resume Negotiations (Deadline)
Meeting for the first time in more than three months, the Writers Guild and the AMPTP on Friday failed to reach an agreement to resume contract negotiations. Their inability to agree on terms for returning to the bargaining table comes after their much anticipated meeting to discuss a possible resumption of talks.  


* Transcript: WBD And The Struggle Of Legacy Studios (The Ankler)
It's kind of business school economics, or you could probably even put, not to the degree, but how private equity works in a sense of just like you're cutting back all of the spending and you're putting it into these financial metrics. But if you look at the metrics of the company, nothing's growing. There's no business. I mean, streaming, they lost 1.8 million subscribers during the Max debut quarter, which is not shocking and not as big of a deal as it looks at. But advertising is down 13 percent. 55 percent of that revenue of Warner Brothers Discovery is still in the cable bundle. When they're talking about the cable bundle, which they said in quotes, "Is in secular decline," they are not in la-la land about it. But they talk very enthusiastically about how much viewership they get on cable, like it's a big win. I'm like, "Guys, this is not good."


* About That Meeting To Talk About Meeting (Strikegeist)
Actors shut down Lankershim Blvd. — and the exclusive worldwide debut of a new strike-themed anthem!


* Hollywood Food Insecurity Spikes Amid Strikes (The Hollywood Reporter)
As the labor impasse continues, charities say growing numbers of the industry’s most vulnerable are unable to feed themselves: "Before this started, we would do about 50 grants out of the L.A. office a week. Now we’re getting 50 applications a day."


* Striking Actors Rally In Chicago As Contract Dispute With TV And Film Studios Drags On (CBS News Chicago)
Sean Astin, known for his roles in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Rudy, The Goonies, and Stranger Things, spoke at a rally after Friday's march at Daley Plaza."We have no choice but to win. We are facing an existential threat to what it means to be a working performer," Astin said.


* Digital Replicas, A Fear Of Striking Actors, Already Fill Screens (NY Times)
The technology for morphing flesh-and-blood performers into virtual avatars has been improving for years. Now it has become an issue in the actors' strike.


* Culture Shift: How to Picket Accessibly and Intersectionally: 'It's Only Through Relationships and Connection' (The Hollywood Reporter)
The Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity hosted a picket at the Disney lot on July 28 to show solidarity and build awareness for how the deal points at stake in the WGA's MBA particularly affect writers from historically excluded backgrounds.

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Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* The Hollywood Strikes May Kill Moviegoing This Year (Vanity Fair)
Say goodbye to new movies for the rest of the year. That’s the rumbling in Hollywood as the actors union digs in with the writers guild in their protracted strikes against networks and studios. With negotiations stalled, and the walkout by the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists bringing an abrupt halt to nearly everything and anything currently shooting, insiders predict it will also prompt distribution heads to immediately search for distant points on the calendar to reschedule films that are already largely finished.


* Sean Penn Slams 'Sickness' Of AI While Joining Picket Line Outside Disney For Actors' Strikes (Metro UK)
"There’s going to have to be a reality check with the producers in the sense that, long term, an exploited business is a not productive one for anyone and that this is a quality-of-life and basic decency issue," he said.


* Writers To AMPTP: We'll Keep Walking 'Til You Start Talking (Strikegeist)
"I'm reading all those rumors in the press that the companies are wanting to get back. That's coming from them. We didn't put that out," WGA negotiating committee co-chair David Goodman told me at the Universal rally over Sidewalk-gate, just hours before the guild informed membership of the latest development. "So that tells me there's some people over there who’ve had enough, and they want to get back to the table."


* Striking Actors Are Turning To Cameo for Extra Cash (The NY Times)
In May, around the time that movie and television writers’ unions went on strike, the actors’ union finalized a deal with Cameo that allows its members to have earnings from certain bookings applied toward their health insurance minimum earnings requirement, Ms. Morrow said. Those bookings must be made through Cameo 4 Business, where corporate customers like insurance companies and grocery store chains hire talent for promotional videos.


* At Striking Actors' Hangout Bar, Tiny Residual Checks No Longer A Joke (Reuters)
For actors trying to make it in Hollywood, a small residual check from one of their first jobs used to prompt laughter, and at one neighborhood watering hole, a drink on the house. Residuals Tavern provided a free beer to any performer who brought in a check for less than $1 from reruns of TV shows or movies and posted the check on a wall.


* New York City Council's Labor Committee Approves Resolution Supporting SAG-AFTRA & WGA Strikes (Deadline)
Said Council member Carmen De La Rosa, who co-sponsored the resolution: "New York City is proudly a union town and a home to creators of all kinds. As inflation and the cost of living continues to soar, it is important that our workforce can sustain a life of dignity in our city. Wages, however, have remained stagnant. Large companies have made profits off of the backs of our entertainment workers for far too long, shamelessly making millions and threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people. We expect the AMPTP to engage in good faith — New York City is depending on it."


* Hollywood Studios Signal New Strategy By Talking With Writers (The NY Times)
When the Writers Guild of America told its members on Tuesday night that movie and television studios had asked for “a meeting this Friday to discuss negotiations,” it was the first sign of movement in a stalemate that had begun in early May.


* Marcus CEO Says Strikes 'Nothing Like' Covid Hit To Theaters (Yahoo Entertainment)
"This is not a demand problem, it is supply-chain disruption," added the colorful CEO know for dancing on TikTok videos. "A disruption is not helpful [but] we believe it is a short-term dispute that will ultimately be resolved. Metaphorically speaking, mom and dad are fighting, but they have no choice but to live in the same house." The massive success of Barbie and Oppenheimer has made him more optimistic than ever on the future of exhibition, he said, assuming studios and hoping investors also see it that way. He gave a shout-out to Sound of Freedom, which has been playing well in the the circuit’s largely midwestern markets.


* SAG-AFTRA, WGA Strikes Are Trying To Topple A Broken Industry (Teen Vogue)
In the race to streaming, the old, white, wealthy CEOs of these companies have bet big on continuous reboots and remakes, with the popularity of the MCU providing encouragement. But these CEOs and their studios, products of conglomerate mergers, aren’t just impacting movie screens (or streamer apps); the IP glut is an attempted opiate for the masses that overwrites possibilities for films that could serve a purpose beyond the creation and sale of more toys and merchandise. Whether or not these CEO's believe audiences want extended universes and multiverses, the real motivation seems to be that they can parlay infinitely expanding IP into infinitely expanding moneymaking opportunities.

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Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Friday, July 28th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* 'Spider-Verse,' 'Kraven the Hunter' Delayed As First Major Theatrical Dominos Fall Amid Strikes (The Hollywood Reporter)
The dominos started falling Friday as Sony made a number of changes to its theatrical calendar amid the actors and writers strikes, including taking Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse off its spring 2024 date.


* 'The Witcher' Writer Criticized For Tweeting About 'The Witcher' (The Hollywood Reporter)
Javier Grillo-Marxuach deleted his tweets — which did not break WGA rules — after receiving blowback for touting the final episodes of season three: "These are strange and difficult times … my loyalty to the guild and commitment to the strike are without question."


* After Unions' Legal Threat, Radford Studio Center Allows Picketing At Main Entrance (The Hollywood Reporter)
Whipple continued: “We are in the middle of an enormous labor action, a kind of war, if you will — although I’m a pacifist. I want to tell you about one of the battles in this experience. You all know it well. You’ve all been toiling out in this heat for 88 days… You’ve all been suffering near heat stroke for 88 days, you’ve all been standing over here on this tiny sidewalk nearly getting hit by cars for 88 days. You’ve all been in this fucking driveway when cars have come through and not stopped and almost hit us, for 88 days.”


* FX's 'A Murder At The End Of The World' Shifts Premiere To November Amid Dual Strikes (The Hollywood Reporter)
With no timetable for when Hollywood’s first dual strike since in decades will end — neither the writers nor the actors have resumed negotiations with the AMPTP — decisions are now being made about whether to hold back completed work for when the content pipeline begins to dry up. Additionally, SAG-AFTRA has largely banned performers from conducting interviews about previously completed work and promoting shows and movies on their social media platforms. That delivers a blow to networks and streamers who often look to top stars to help generate word-of-mouth marketing for films and TV shows in a crowded and competitive landscape.


* Hollywood Double Strike Forces Publicists To Pivot To Stay In Business (The Wrap)
During the work stoppage, newer, mid-tier actors featured in the ensemble cast of a hit network or streaming show might find it “too difficult” to keep their personal publicists on the payroll during the strike, according to a veteran publicist who spoke with TheWrap anonymously. By contrast, clientele with a “body of work,” including a mid-tier actor with a regular role on a hit TV show, might “need a publicist every now and again,” leading them to keep their rep on retainer.


* 'Secret Invasion' Writer: AMPTP Said If They Paid On Time 'We Wouldn't Be Incentivized To Work As Hard' (The Wrap)
Vasko, who’s also written the script for the upcoming adaptation of the novel "Queen of the Air," was picketing outside of Paramount Studios this week. She said: “The feature system has been kind of broken for a while. One of our feature writing proposals was just pay us on a weekly basis, the exact same amount of money, but paid to us weekly, so that when we reached the end of our term, we’ve been paid. And they said, 'No.' It’s not even a difference in the amount of money. That's completely irrational."


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Here is a round-up of the best news coverage of the 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA Strike from Tuesday, July 25th, 2023. Links will be added and updated throughout the day:

* As Actors Strike For AI Protections, Netflix Lists $900,000 AI Job (The Intercept)
“So $900k/yr per soldier in their godless AI army when that amount of earnings could qualify thirty-five actors and their families for SAG-AFTRA health insurance is just ghoulish,” actor Rob Delaney, who had a lead role in the the “Black Mirror” episode, told The Intercept. “Having been poor and rich in this business, I can assure you there’s enough money to go around; it’s just about priorities.”


* Bryan Cranston Addresses Disney Boss Bob Iger In Passionate Strike Speech (The Hollywood Reporter)
The Breaking Bad star – speaking at the “Rock the City for a Fair Contract” SAG-AFTRA rally – declared: “We’ve got a message for Mr. Iger: I know, sir, that you look through things through a different lens. We don’t expect you to understand who we are. But we ask you to hear us, and beyond that to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living. And lastly, and most importantly, we will not allow you to take away our dignity!”


* As Actors Strike For AI Protections, Netflix Lists $900,000 AI Job (The Intercept)
While entertainment firms like Disney have declined to go into specifics about the nature of their investments in artificial intelligence, job postings and financial disclosures reviewed by The Intercept reveal new details about the extent of these companies’ embrace of the technology.


* 'Jeopardy!' Winners Bow Out Of Tournament Of Champions Due To Writers Strike (The Hollywood Reporter)
Several big winners from the 2022-23 season say they won’t take part in the tournament while the writers strike is ongoing. Jeopardy! employs Writers Guild of America members, and the syndicated game show is planning to rely on material from prior seasons (39 years’ worth) as it begins taping shows for the 2023-24 season


* General Hospital Is Using Scab Writers, And It's Complicated (Verve)
According to Peace, the show has run through all the scripts that were written before the strike began and has now employed non-union writers in order to keep the show on the air. Typically, people who cross picket lines to perform struck work are met with derision, but Peace acknowledged that the current situation is unique for soap operas.

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