The Writers Guild of America called a strike one year ago today, declaring that the streaming boom had created an existential crisis for writers.
The WGA got most of what it wanted from the strike, though it took almost five months for the studios and streamers to come around. But as the boom has gone bust, writers now face a different kind of crisis.
For most, it’s harder to find work.
“There’s less things being made,'” said Justin Halpern, a WGA board member and co-showrunner of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.” “If you have been able to secure employment as a writer during this time of contraction, you are making a living wage. But the problem is, there’s not a lot being made right now.”
The contraction was already underway before the WGA went on strike, followed by SAG-AFTRA two months later. Production has resumed but remains below pre-strike levels,...
The WGA got most of what it wanted from the strike, though it took almost five months for the studios and streamers to come around. But as the boom has gone bust, writers now face a different kind of crisis.
For most, it’s harder to find work.
“There’s less things being made,'” said Justin Halpern, a WGA board member and co-showrunner of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.” “If you have been able to secure employment as a writer during this time of contraction, you are making a living wage. But the problem is, there’s not a lot being made right now.”
The contraction was already underway before the WGA went on strike, followed by SAG-AFTRA two months later. Production has resumed but remains below pre-strike levels,...
- 5/1/2024
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
Max is not proceeding with a third season of its comedy-drama Julia. The decision comes a couple of weeks after the Season 2 finale of the Julia Child series was released Dec. 21.
Chris Keyser served as showrunner on Julia, which was created by Daniel Goldfarb, who wrote the pilot, and stars Sarah Lancashire as The French Chef creator.
“We are so honored to have partnered with Chris Keyser, Daniel Goldfarb and their masterful creative team and dynamic cast, led by Sarah Lancashire, as they cooked up Julia,” a rep for Max said in a statement. “Thanks to their beautiful work over two seasons of this heartful, sensual, and inspiring show, we can forever celebrate the incredible legacy of Julia Child.”
Julia’s main cast includes two Frasier/Cheers alums, David Hyde Pierce and Bebe Neuwirth. Pierce has said that he has no interest in reprising his role as Niles in the Frasier reboot on Paramount+,...
Chris Keyser served as showrunner on Julia, which was created by Daniel Goldfarb, who wrote the pilot, and stars Sarah Lancashire as The French Chef creator.
“We are so honored to have partnered with Chris Keyser, Daniel Goldfarb and their masterful creative team and dynamic cast, led by Sarah Lancashire, as they cooked up Julia,” a rep for Max said in a statement. “Thanks to their beautiful work over two seasons of this heartful, sensual, and inspiring show, we can forever celebrate the incredible legacy of Julia Child.”
Julia’s main cast includes two Frasier/Cheers alums, David Hyde Pierce and Bebe Neuwirth. Pierce has said that he has no interest in reprising his role as Niles in the Frasier reboot on Paramount+,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a good chance that the 2023 Writers Strike could become the guild’s longest. At this writing, it’s 122 days and long since surpassed the 100-day work stoppage of 2007-08; up next is the ultimate 1988 record of 153 days.
But here’s what’s really unusual: At this point in a strike, writers usually start openly wondering if it’s enough already. During the 2008 strike, reports said a faction of top industry writers pressured WGA leadership to accept the terms offered to the DGA. Writers who experienced both strikes told IndieWire that “grumblings” — which were then broadcast by the AMPTP and its supporters — were a constant feature.
Similarly, when writers fired their agents over the packaging fees back in 2019, writers gathered in Discord and Slack channels to share their unhappiness with the guild, arguing that film writers were being asked to sacrifice for the TV writers’ fight.
This time, things are different.
But here’s what’s really unusual: At this point in a strike, writers usually start openly wondering if it’s enough already. During the 2008 strike, reports said a faction of top industry writers pressured WGA leadership to accept the terms offered to the DGA. Writers who experienced both strikes told IndieWire that “grumblings” — which were then broadcast by the AMPTP and its supporters — were a constant feature.
Similarly, when writers fired their agents over the packaging fees back in 2019, writers gathered in Discord and Slack channels to share their unhappiness with the guild, arguing that film writers were being asked to sacrifice for the TV writers’ fight.
This time, things are different.
- 9/1/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Following over a week of face-to-face, closed-door meetings, negotiations between leadership of the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers hit another snag as common ground was left unfound and the studios leaked their contracts proposal to the press to much ridicule and fanfare.
Speaking to riled up picketers in New York City Thursday, “Andor” creator Tony Gilroy emphasized that “we are not having it anymore” and that he’s tired of Hollywood studio execs who “do not know what the f–k they’re doing” with a “younger” and “faster” union.
“We have one problem: The AMPTP does not have their s—t together,” he said of execs like Disney’s Bob Iger, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley and AMPTP President Carol Lombardini. “They do not know what the f—k they’re doing.
Speaking to riled up picketers in New York City Thursday, “Andor” creator Tony Gilroy emphasized that “we are not having it anymore” and that he’s tired of Hollywood studio execs who “do not know what the f–k they’re doing” with a “younger” and “faster” union.
“We have one problem: The AMPTP does not have their s—t together,” he said of execs like Disney’s Bob Iger, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley and AMPTP President Carol Lombardini. “They do not know what the f—k they’re doing.
- 8/24/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
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We all thought things were finally moving in the right direction. We thought there might be a break coming. For a week and a couple of days, there has been silence as the Writers Guild negotiators met daily with the Hollywood studios’ negotiators, to — we presumed — talk, compromise and get closer to a deal.
Turns out — no, they weren’t.
Instead on Tuesday, four Hollywood chiefs — Disney’s Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley and Ted Sarandos of Netflix, leaders all of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — marched into a room to meet directly with WGA negotiators Chris Keyser and Ellen Stutzman, President Meredith Stiehm and former president David Goodman.
And resolved strictly nothing. They didn’t negotiate. They didn’t exchange any new ideas.
We all thought things were finally moving in the right direction. We thought there might be a break coming. For a week and a couple of days, there has been silence as the Writers Guild negotiators met daily with the Hollywood studios’ negotiators, to — we presumed — talk, compromise and get closer to a deal.
Turns out — no, they weren’t.
Instead on Tuesday, four Hollywood chiefs — Disney’s Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley and Ted Sarandos of Netflix, leaders all of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — marched into a room to meet directly with WGA negotiators Chris Keyser and Ellen Stutzman, President Meredith Stiehm and former president David Goodman.
And resolved strictly nothing. They didn’t negotiate. They didn’t exchange any new ideas.
- 8/24/2023
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
Just hours after the studios and streamers made public their latest “comprehensive package” toward a deal with the striking WGA, the guild has responded – and it seems the AMPTP and top CEOs might have overplayed their hand strategically.
In fact, 113 days into the writers strike, talks look to have broken down altogether — again.
“On Monday of this week, we received an invitation to meet with Bob Iger, Donna Langley, Ted Sarandos, David Zaslav and Carol Lombardini,” the WGA Negotiating Committee said in an email about tonight’s meeting just sent out to members (see it in full below). “It was accompanied by a message that it was past time to end this strike and that the companies were finally ready to bargain a deal. We accepted that invitation and, in good faith, met tonight, in hopes that the companies were serious about getting the industry back to work.”
At this...
In fact, 113 days into the writers strike, talks look to have broken down altogether — again.
“On Monday of this week, we received an invitation to meet with Bob Iger, Donna Langley, Ted Sarandos, David Zaslav and Carol Lombardini,” the WGA Negotiating Committee said in an email about tonight’s meeting just sent out to members (see it in full below). “It was accompanied by a message that it was past time to end this strike and that the companies were finally ready to bargain a deal. We accepted that invitation and, in good faith, met tonight, in hopes that the companies were serious about getting the industry back to work.”
At this...
- 8/23/2023
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Having concluded their negotiations Friday, Hollywood’s top companies and the Writers Guild of America will meet again the following week after the studios presented the union with its latest counteroffer.
In a message to members Friday night, the WGA negotiating committee reiterated that studios had offered “responses to our proposals in all work areas” the previous Friday, Aug. 11. “We met this week and continued to exchange proposals. We will continue to meet next week,” the committee told members.
The group, co-chaired by Chris Keyser and David Goodman, also thanked its members for “messages of support and solidarity” and warned them of “rumors from third parties,” adding that “the Guild will communicate when we think there is something of significance to report.”
Prior to their Friday meeting, the two sides had also convened Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. According to a studio-side source, on Friday the AMPTP offered a response to...
In a message to members Friday night, the WGA negotiating committee reiterated that studios had offered “responses to our proposals in all work areas” the previous Friday, Aug. 11. “We met this week and continued to exchange proposals. We will continue to meet next week,” the committee told members.
The group, co-chaired by Chris Keyser and David Goodman, also thanked its members for “messages of support and solidarity” and warned them of “rumors from third parties,” adding that “the Guild will communicate when we think there is something of significance to report.”
Prior to their Friday meeting, the two sides had also convened Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. According to a studio-side source, on Friday the AMPTP offered a response to...
- 8/19/2023
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Writers Guild of America responded on Tuesday to the latest proposal from the studios, as the sides continue to try to resolve the three-month old writers’ strike.
While the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has made some concessions, including agreeing to provide streaming viewership data, the studio group has not agreed to a key WGA demand for a minimum staff size for TV writers rooms.
The AMPTP at first refused to even consider the idea. But in its latest proposal, it offered to give showrunners flexibility to hire a certain number of writers, depending on the budget of the show. The WGA, meanwhile, has continued to make clear that it wants a fixed minimum staff size for all shows.
The two sides remain at odds on a host of other issues as well. But the TV staff size proposal is shaping up as a key hurdle to getting an agreement.
While the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has made some concessions, including agreeing to provide streaming viewership data, the studio group has not agreed to a key WGA demand for a minimum staff size for TV writers rooms.
The AMPTP at first refused to even consider the idea. But in its latest proposal, it offered to give showrunners flexibility to hire a certain number of writers, depending on the budget of the show. The WGA, meanwhile, has continued to make clear that it wants a fixed minimum staff size for all shows.
The two sides remain at odds on a host of other issues as well. But the TV staff size proposal is shaping up as a key hurdle to getting an agreement.
- 8/16/2023
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
After representatives for the Writers Guild of America convened on Friday with major studios and streamers in the first formal return to the negotiating table since the strike was called on May 2, the WGA negotiating committee says the union will “evaluate their offer and, after deliberation, go back to them with the WGA’s response next week.”
The negotiations were led by Amtptp president Carol Lombardini and WGA West assistant executive director and chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman. The meeting was announced on Thursday after Lombardini reached out to the guild to resume negotiations, with an expectation that studios would provide responses to the WGA’s latest offer that was presented Aug. 4.
“Sometimes more progress can be made in negotiations when they are conducted without a blow-by-blow description of the moves on each side and a subsequent public dissection of the meaning of the moves,” wrote the negotiating committee. “That will be our approach,...
The negotiations were led by Amtptp president Carol Lombardini and WGA West assistant executive director and chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman. The meeting was announced on Thursday after Lombardini reached out to the guild to resume negotiations, with an expectation that studios would provide responses to the WGA’s latest offer that was presented Aug. 4.
“Sometimes more progress can be made in negotiations when they are conducted without a blow-by-blow description of the moves on each side and a subsequent public dissection of the meaning of the moves,” wrote the negotiating committee. “That will be our approach,...
- 8/12/2023
- by Winston Cho and Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Welcome to the 226th episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast.
Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).
This week, we’re joined by Chris Keyser, the co-chair of the Writers Guild of America’s negotiating committee, to discuss the 100-day marker of the strike and what comes next. Plus Dan and I discuss the Emmys’ move to January and the odd situation of TV’s awards season as well as a busy week for Disney.
Here’s how the episode plays out:
1. Mailbag
As the strikes continue to impact dealmaking, we’re answering listener questions each week. This segment explores why...
Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).
This week, we’re joined by Chris Keyser, the co-chair of the Writers Guild of America’s negotiating committee, to discuss the 100-day marker of the strike and what comes next. Plus Dan and I discuss the Emmys’ move to January and the odd situation of TV’s awards season as well as a busy week for Disney.
Here’s how the episode plays out:
1. Mailbag
As the strikes continue to impact dealmaking, we’re answering listener questions each week. This segment explores why...
- 8/11/2023
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The WGA and the AMPTP have agreed to resume bargaining for a deal that could end the guild’s ongoing strike.
In a message to members Thursday, the guild said that Carol Lombardini, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, “has asked the WGA Negotiating Committee to meet with AMPTP negotiators on Friday. We expect the AMPTP to provide responses to WGA proposals.”
“Our committee returns to the bargaining table ready to make a fair deal, knowing the unified WGA membership stands behind us and buoyed by the ongoing support of our union allies,” the guild said.
The AMPTP declined comment on today’s news.
The two sides last met August 4, but were unable to reach an agreement to resume bargaining.
The writers strike over a new film and TV contract just passed the 100-day mark on Wednesday, making the strike as of today longer than the guild’s 2007-08 action.
In a message to members Thursday, the guild said that Carol Lombardini, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, “has asked the WGA Negotiating Committee to meet with AMPTP negotiators on Friday. We expect the AMPTP to provide responses to WGA proposals.”
“Our committee returns to the bargaining table ready to make a fair deal, knowing the unified WGA membership stands behind us and buoyed by the ongoing support of our union allies,” the guild said.
The AMPTP declined comment on today’s news.
The two sides last met August 4, but were unable to reach an agreement to resume bargaining.
The writers strike over a new film and TV contract just passed the 100-day mark on Wednesday, making the strike as of today longer than the guild’s 2007-08 action.
- 8/10/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
After a 101-day hiatus, the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood’s top studios and streamers have set a date to return to the negotiating table: Friday, Aug. 11.
The return to formal negotiations was announced Aug. 10, nearly a week after both sides met in an exploratory meeting about the talks between the two parties on Aug 4. It marks the first step in what may be a long road to the parties reaching a resolution and ending the writers strike.
“Carol Lombardini has asked the WGA Negotiating Committee to meet with AMPTP negotiators on Friday,” the WGA said in an email to members Aug. 10. “We expect the AMPTP to provide responses to WGA proposals. Our committee returns to the bargaining table ready to make a fair deal, knowing the unified WGA membership stands behind us and buoyed by the ongoing support of our union allies. We will get back to you.
The return to formal negotiations was announced Aug. 10, nearly a week after both sides met in an exploratory meeting about the talks between the two parties on Aug 4. It marks the first step in what may be a long road to the parties reaching a resolution and ending the writers strike.
“Carol Lombardini has asked the WGA Negotiating Committee to meet with AMPTP negotiators on Friday,” the WGA said in an email to members Aug. 10. “We expect the AMPTP to provide responses to WGA proposals. Our committee returns to the bargaining table ready to make a fair deal, knowing the unified WGA membership stands behind us and buoyed by the ongoing support of our union allies. We will get back to you.
- 8/10/2023
- by Katie Kilkenny and Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Actors union SAG-AFTRA defended controversial interim agreements.
With no return to the negotiating table yet on the cards, both of the striking US film unions have issued statements urging members to maintain their resolve.
The calls came as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike passed the 100-day mark, the point at which the last writers strike, in 2008, ended.
A statement from WGA negotiating committee members Chris Keyser and David Goodman said the strike’s duration “serves only as a milestone of shame for the AMPTP [the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers]. They and their member studios are wholly responsible for the over three month shutdown...
With no return to the negotiating table yet on the cards, both of the striking US film unions have issued statements urging members to maintain their resolve.
The calls came as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike passed the 100-day mark, the point at which the last writers strike, in 2008, ended.
A statement from WGA negotiating committee members Chris Keyser and David Goodman said the strike’s duration “serves only as a milestone of shame for the AMPTP [the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers]. They and their member studios are wholly responsible for the over three month shutdown...
- 8/10/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
“Picketing Disney Is More Fun Than Writing a ‘Star Wars’ Movie”: Scribes Mark 100 Days of the Strike
Resolve and solidarity were the common refrains Wednesday as writers marked the grim 100-day milestone in the Writers Guild of America’s ongoing strike against Hollywood’s studios and streamers. Joined on the picket line by the similarly striking performers union, SAG-AFTRA, caffeinated scribes celebrated the two unions’ collective resolve on the day that WGA negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser called “an anniversary of shame for the AMPTP.”
Eric Robbins (Star Trek: Discovery), the lot coordinator at Disney, said the atmosphere Wednesday was positive, noting that the 100-day marker “rejuvenated and really invigorated” writers to return to the picketing, which he said “pumped a lot of lifeblood into the line.” After Friday’s meeting between the WGA and AMPTP yielded no signs of when both sides would return to the bargaining table, he said scribes have “as much passion and as much solidarity as we did on day one.”
Robbins...
Eric Robbins (Star Trek: Discovery), the lot coordinator at Disney, said the atmosphere Wednesday was positive, noting that the 100-day marker “rejuvenated and really invigorated” writers to return to the picketing, which he said “pumped a lot of lifeblood into the line.” After Friday’s meeting between the WGA and AMPTP yielded no signs of when both sides would return to the bargaining table, he said scribes have “as much passion and as much solidarity as we did on day one.”
Robbins...
- 8/9/2023
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As the WGA strike enters its 100th day, a stalemate has emerged between writers and the AMPTP after a new round of negotiations failed to get off the ground last week.
With pickets growing across Hollywood and the rest of the country as the entertainment industry virtually shuts down in the face of the historic double strike, determination hasn’t wavered for many striking writers and actors.
“It’s a high moment — the fact that we’re 100 days … and still people are still showing up and still doing the work,” WGA captain Calvin Starnes told TheWrap.
For Starnes, the highest moment of the strike thus far came from a moment of unity between labor unions as “hot labor summer“ spilled into other industries fighting for similar protections.
“Going down to the Teamsters rally, Ups and hearing so many great union leaders speaking — [Teamsters VP] Lindsay [Dougherty], WGA negotiating committee Chris Keyser — that was really cool,...
With pickets growing across Hollywood and the rest of the country as the entertainment industry virtually shuts down in the face of the historic double strike, determination hasn’t wavered for many striking writers and actors.
“It’s a high moment — the fact that we’re 100 days … and still people are still showing up and still doing the work,” WGA captain Calvin Starnes told TheWrap.
For Starnes, the highest moment of the strike thus far came from a moment of unity between labor unions as “hot labor summer“ spilled into other industries fighting for similar protections.
“Going down to the Teamsters rally, Ups and hearing so many great union leaders speaking — [Teamsters VP] Lindsay [Dougherty], WGA negotiating committee Chris Keyser — that was really cool,...
- 8/9/2023
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
Editor’s note: One in a series of stories marking the 100th day of the WGA strike.
The writers strike has hit Day 100 – the point at which the last walkout by the Writers Guild of America ended in 2008.
It’s a significant juncture, one that Chris Keyser and David A. Goodman, who co-chair the WGA’s negotiating committee, call a “milestone of shame” for the AMPTP.
It also comes five days after the latest attempt to get both sides back to the negotiating table.
That meeting between the WGA West’s Chief Negotiator Ellen Stutzman and her General Counsel Tony Segall and AMPTP boss Carol Lombardini and her team wasn’t as productive as many had hoped.
Related: L.A. Picket Locations: The Best And Worst Places To Strike Over The Past 100 Days
While the WGA, late on Friday night, revealed that there was “no agreement” on resuming negotiations for a new Mba and,...
The writers strike has hit Day 100 – the point at which the last walkout by the Writers Guild of America ended in 2008.
It’s a significant juncture, one that Chris Keyser and David A. Goodman, who co-chair the WGA’s negotiating committee, call a “milestone of shame” for the AMPTP.
It also comes five days after the latest attempt to get both sides back to the negotiating table.
That meeting between the WGA West’s Chief Negotiator Ellen Stutzman and her General Counsel Tony Segall and AMPTP boss Carol Lombardini and her team wasn’t as productive as many had hoped.
Related: L.A. Picket Locations: The Best And Worst Places To Strike Over The Past 100 Days
While the WGA, late on Friday night, revealed that there was “no agreement” on resuming negotiations for a new Mba and,...
- 8/9/2023
- by Peter White and Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
The Writers Guild of America strike reaches its 100th day on Wednesday, equaling the duration of the last strike with no signs that labor or management is about to back down from hardened positions that have fueled the contract impasse.
The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) had their first meeting in three months on Aug. 4. But no one emerged with much optimism about getting a deal any time soon, and the war of attrition continues.
Chris Keyser and David Goodman, both former WGA West presidents who are co-chairs of the guild’s negotiating committee, issued a statement Aug. 8 calling the 100-day marker “a milestone of shame for the AMPTP.” The atmosphere in the industry went from tense to “civil war,” in the words of a veteran producer, once SAG-AFTRA joined the scribe tribe July 14 in the industry’s first simultaneous labor action by writers...
The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) had their first meeting in three months on Aug. 4. But no one emerged with much optimism about getting a deal any time soon, and the war of attrition continues.
Chris Keyser and David Goodman, both former WGA West presidents who are co-chairs of the guild’s negotiating committee, issued a statement Aug. 8 calling the 100-day marker “a milestone of shame for the AMPTP.” The atmosphere in the industry went from tense to “civil war,” in the words of a veteran producer, once SAG-AFTRA joined the scribe tribe July 14 in the industry’s first simultaneous labor action by writers...
- 8/9/2023
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
Chris Keyser, the co-chair of the Writers Guild of America’s negotiating committee, doesn’t see the 100-day marker of the ongoing strike as a moment to celebrate. In fact, Keyser has a few choice words for the Hollywood studios and streamers who comprise the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, calling the anniversary of the work stoppage “shameful” and “a day of infamy.”
In an interview posting Friday as part of The Hollywood Reporter’s TV’s Top 5 podcast, Keyser talks about the stalled state of negotiations with the AMPTP, why companies boasting about cash savings during the work stoppage is a “smokescreen” and his thoughts on what it will take to get both sides back to the negotiating table.
Below is an edited and condensed version of the TV’s Top 5 interview with hosts Lesley Goldberg and Daniel Fienberg. You can listen to the full conversation when episode 226 posts on Friday morning.
In an interview posting Friday as part of The Hollywood Reporter’s TV’s Top 5 podcast, Keyser talks about the stalled state of negotiations with the AMPTP, why companies boasting about cash savings during the work stoppage is a “smokescreen” and his thoughts on what it will take to get both sides back to the negotiating table.
Below is an edited and condensed version of the TV’s Top 5 interview with hosts Lesley Goldberg and Daniel Fienberg. You can listen to the full conversation when episode 226 posts on Friday morning.
- 8/9/2023
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Striking Writers Guild of America members expressed both tempered optimism and wariness Wednesday in response to the news that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had reached out to restart talks amid stalled contract negotiations.
“I hope they’re serious, I hope that they are coming to this with a much more open mind than they had last time,” said three-time WGA negotiating committee co-chair Billy Ray (Captain Phillips), who is not playing that role this year. “I can tell you if they are, a deal will be made.”
Former WGA West president Howard Rodman added in a written statement: “One hopes that the AMPTP may at long last grasp that the cost of negotiating a fair deal is less than the cost of an ongoing strike. But Friday’s conversation is, quite simply, a single and very preliminary step.”
To one of many WGA leaders, who was...
“I hope they’re serious, I hope that they are coming to this with a much more open mind than they had last time,” said three-time WGA negotiating committee co-chair Billy Ray (Captain Phillips), who is not playing that role this year. “I can tell you if they are, a deal will be made.”
Former WGA West president Howard Rodman added in a written statement: “One hopes that the AMPTP may at long last grasp that the cost of negotiating a fair deal is less than the cost of an ongoing strike. But Friday’s conversation is, quite simply, a single and very preliminary step.”
To one of many WGA leaders, who was...
- 8/3/2023
- by Katie Kilkenny and Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: The writers strike is heading toward its 100th day next week, but there’s a new sense of guarded optimism that both parties – the WGA and the studios, represented by the AMPTP – are on the verge of a making a breakthrough.
The scribes and the studios are discussing a move that would bring them back to the negotiating table to hammer out a deal that could end at least one of the strikes that have taken over Hollywood. And shortly after Deadline reported that movement, the WGA made it public with a statement that read in part, “The AMPTP, through Carol Lombardini, reached out to the WGA today and requested a meeting this Friday to discuss negotiations.”
It marks the first significant step toward progress since the writers strike began May 2, and is the first time in three months insiders have felt cautiously optimistic that official talks can resume.
The scribes and the studios are discussing a move that would bring them back to the negotiating table to hammer out a deal that could end at least one of the strikes that have taken over Hollywood. And shortly after Deadline reported that movement, the WGA made it public with a statement that read in part, “The AMPTP, through Carol Lombardini, reached out to the WGA today and requested a meeting this Friday to discuss negotiations.”
It marks the first significant step toward progress since the writers strike began May 2, and is the first time in three months insiders have felt cautiously optimistic that official talks can resume.
- 8/1/2023
- by Peter White and Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Felipe Torres Medina, a writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, organized a comedy writers picket outside 30 Rock in New York that saw the cream of the late-night crop turn up to fight for a “fair” deal.
Stars such as John Oliver, Amber Ruffin, Ziwe, Jason Sudeikis and Phoebe Robinson were among those in attendance, as the writer strike is in its 87th day and the actors strike is in its 14th day.
John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, said, “I like what Chris Keyser said yesterday, ‘This isn’t a war, this is a basic request for some completely understandable contract points’ so I want to see a fair deal as soon as possible. It is absolutely appalling that they are not negotiating right now. The fact that they are not around a table right now is absolutely disgusting.”
(Watch) We caught up with John...
Stars such as John Oliver, Amber Ruffin, Ziwe, Jason Sudeikis and Phoebe Robinson were among those in attendance, as the writer strike is in its 87th day and the actors strike is in its 14th day.
John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, said, “I like what Chris Keyser said yesterday, ‘This isn’t a war, this is a basic request for some completely understandable contract points’ so I want to see a fair deal as soon as possible. It is absolutely appalling that they are not negotiating right now. The fact that they are not around a table right now is absolutely disgusting.”
(Watch) We caught up with John...
- 7/27/2023
- by Sean Piccoli and Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
One of the leaders of the Writers Guild of America’s 2023 negotiations is calling on studios and streamers to return to the bargaining table and to “envision a solution” to the labor standoff that has brought scripted film and TV production in the U.S. to a standstill.
In an over 17-minute video message addressed in part to writers and in part to major entertainment companies, sent to WGA members Wednesday, negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser (Julia) insisted that writers are not the companies’ “enemies” but “your partners and your greatest asset.” He added, addressing companies, “by accident or design, and it doesn’t really matter anymore, the business you are running no longer works for those who work for you. What is the point in continuing to deny that? Why deny it when everyone else in the business, to a person, tells you it’s true? Do you think...
In an over 17-minute video message addressed in part to writers and in part to major entertainment companies, sent to WGA members Wednesday, negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser (Julia) insisted that writers are not the companies’ “enemies” but “your partners and your greatest asset.” He added, addressing companies, “by accident or design, and it doesn’t really matter anymore, the business you are running no longer works for those who work for you. What is the point in continuing to deny that? Why deny it when everyone else in the business, to a person, tells you it’s true? Do you think...
- 7/26/2023
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Saying that the studios are shackled together in a “mutual suicide pact,” WGA negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser said today in a video message to members that the only way for the companies to end the ongoing strike is to come back to the bargaining table and address all of the guild’s demands.
For the guild, he said, “that means addressing the relentless mistreatment of screenwriters, which has only been exacerbated by the move to streaming; the continued denial of full Mba protections to comedy/variety and other Appendix A writers when they work in streaming, and the self-destructive, unsustainable dismantling of the process by which episodic television is made and episodic television writers are paid. It means addressing the existential threat of AI, and the insufficiency of streaming residual formulas, including the need for transparency, and a success-based component.
“All of these will need to be addressed for there to be a deal,...
For the guild, he said, “that means addressing the relentless mistreatment of screenwriters, which has only been exacerbated by the move to streaming; the continued denial of full Mba protections to comedy/variety and other Appendix A writers when they work in streaming, and the self-destructive, unsustainable dismantling of the process by which episodic television is made and episodic television writers are paid. It means addressing the existential threat of AI, and the insufficiency of streaming residual formulas, including the need for transparency, and a success-based component.
“All of these will need to be addressed for there to be a deal,...
- 7/26/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Two unions are on strike and there are no plans to restart negotiations with either of them, leaving Hollywood in limbo for the foreseeable future.
The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have both said they are open to talking, but that the studios refuse to engage on their core issues.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, meanwhile, has said that the unions have been unwilling to drop items that are non-starters, like a demand for a share of streaming revenue and a minimum staffing level for TV writers.
The result is a double stalemate — with everyone waiting for other side to blink.
“We do have a plan,” said Mike Schur, a member of the WGA negotiating committee. “The plan is for them to call us on the phone and ask us to sit down. We’re not calling them.”
SAG-AFTRA began picketing on July 14, while WGA has...
The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have both said they are open to talking, but that the studios refuse to engage on their core issues.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, meanwhile, has said that the unions have been unwilling to drop items that are non-starters, like a demand for a share of streaming revenue and a minimum staffing level for TV writers.
The result is a double stalemate — with everyone waiting for other side to blink.
“We do have a plan,” said Mike Schur, a member of the WGA negotiating committee. “The plan is for them to call us on the phone and ask us to sit down. We’re not calling them.”
SAG-AFTRA began picketing on July 14, while WGA has...
- 7/26/2023
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
Meredith Stiehm, seeking reelection to a second term as president of the WGA West, told her members today that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’s only option to end the ongoing Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes is “to make a fair deal for writers and actors – one that shares the wealth with the people who create it.” She vowed, however, that once the strike is over, the guild and the studios will return to being “partners” once again.
The WGA strike is now in its 85th day, and the SAG-AFTRA strike is now in its 12th day. Her challenger in the race for president is Rich Talarico, a Peabody Award winner and four-time Emmy-nominated writer and producer who’s perhaps best known for his work on Comedy Central’s Key & Peele.
In her official candidate’s statement, Stiehm, whose writing and producing credits include Homeland,...
The WGA strike is now in its 85th day, and the SAG-AFTRA strike is now in its 12th day. Her challenger in the race for president is Rich Talarico, a Peabody Award winner and four-time Emmy-nominated writer and producer who’s perhaps best known for his work on Comedy Central’s Key & Peele.
In her official candidate’s statement, Stiehm, whose writing and producing credits include Homeland,...
- 7/25/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Teamsters Leaders Slam Hollywood & Wall Street At Amazon Picket Line: “They Don’t Care About People”
“Look who’s running Hollywood right now, corporate America,” declared Teamster president Sean O’Brien on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA picket line outside Amazon’s LA HQ. Big corporations, they don’t care about their people. They care about the bottom line and the balance sheet,” he added with Hollywood Teamster leader Lindsay Dougherty by his side.
“This is a historic moment in our industry, hasn’t happened since 1960,” Dougherty stated, noting the last time the writers and actors went on strike together when Ronald Reagan ran SAG. “But, it goes to show that workers are not happy with their current conditions…with big tech, infiltrating our industry as well as the streaming companies, we need to take back what’s ours.”
“We are the largest, strongest union in the entire country,” O’Brien said of the 1.3 million Teamsters members. “We have the ability to shut this country down,” he went...
“This is a historic moment in our industry, hasn’t happened since 1960,” Dougherty stated, noting the last time the writers and actors went on strike together when Ronald Reagan ran SAG. “But, it goes to show that workers are not happy with their current conditions…with big tech, infiltrating our industry as well as the streaming companies, we need to take back what’s ours.”
“We are the largest, strongest union in the entire country,” O’Brien said of the 1.3 million Teamsters members. “We have the ability to shut this country down,” he went...
- 7/19/2023
- by Dominic Patten and Katie Campione
- Deadline Film + TV
After a spring spent breaking audiences’ hearts and viewership records for HBO, “The Last of Us” co-creator and showrunner Craig Mazin is having a complicated summer.
On one hand, Mazin’s show just earned 24 Emmy nominations — more than any other show this year besides HBO peer “Succession.” Highlights include lead acting nods for Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey; a whopping seven guest acting nods including deaf 10-year-old actor Kevionn Montreal Woodard; and another in the outstanding drama series category.
But on the other, Mazin is a proud member of the Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike for 72 days against the studios, networks and streamers that make up the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
The prolific writer spoke to Variety hours after nominations were announced to discuss the achievements he’s most proud of, his take on the WGA’s proposed staffing minimums for writers rooms and more.
On one hand, Mazin’s show just earned 24 Emmy nominations — more than any other show this year besides HBO peer “Succession.” Highlights include lead acting nods for Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey; a whopping seven guest acting nods including deaf 10-year-old actor Kevionn Montreal Woodard; and another in the outstanding drama series category.
But on the other, Mazin is a proud member of the Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike for 72 days against the studios, networks and streamers that make up the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
The prolific writer spoke to Variety hours after nominations were announced to discuss the achievements he’s most proud of, his take on the WGA’s proposed staffing minimums for writers rooms and more.
- 7/12/2023
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Ryan Murphy, in a letter from his attorney to the leadership of the Writers Guild of America, threatened litigation against Warren Leight, an East Coast strike captain and Strike Rules Compliance Committee member who has subsequently forfeited those positions.
The flap started June 21, when Leight, a former Law & Order: Svu showrunner and playwright, alleged in a tweet that crewmembers on Murphy’s American Horror Story had told him that “they’ll be blackballed in Murphy-land” if they don’t cross the Writers Guild’s picket lines. At the time, a spokesperson for Murphy called Leight’s tweet “absolute nonsense” and “categorically false.”
After Murphy’s attorney Craig Emanuel sent the letter to the WGA, union leadership met with Leight, who deleted the tweet and issued an apology and retraction in which he called his initial tweet “unsubstantiated” and “completely false and inaccurate.” Reps for Murphy declined further comment on...
The flap started June 21, when Leight, a former Law & Order: Svu showrunner and playwright, alleged in a tweet that crewmembers on Murphy’s American Horror Story had told him that “they’ll be blackballed in Murphy-land” if they don’t cross the Writers Guild’s picket lines. At the time, a spokesperson for Murphy called Leight’s tweet “absolute nonsense” and “categorically false.”
After Murphy’s attorney Craig Emanuel sent the letter to the WGA, union leadership met with Leight, who deleted the tweet and issued an apology and retraction in which he called his initial tweet “unsubstantiated” and “completely false and inaccurate.” Reps for Murphy declined further comment on...
- 7/6/2023
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Negotiations for a new WGA contract have made “a little bit of progress” on feature films, but otherwise the two sides remain “far away” from a deal.
That’s the word coming out of tonight’s WGA strike authorization meeting, which was “very persuasive if you needed persuading,” said a member who attended. “But I don’t see how any guild member won’t vote yes.” The meeting, held via Zoom, was the third this week with two more to follow before the votes are counted Monday. Bargaining is expected to resume on Friday.
Former WGA West President Chris Keyser, who co-chairs the guild’s Negotiating Committee, did most of the talking. “He started out very, very calm and wise, and then got more emotional at the end,” the source said. “He talked about how the compensation system is broken. He said that no one wants a strike but said...
That’s the word coming out of tonight’s WGA strike authorization meeting, which was “very persuasive if you needed persuading,” said a member who attended. “But I don’t see how any guild member won’t vote yes.” The meeting, held via Zoom, was the third this week with two more to follow before the votes are counted Monday. Bargaining is expected to resume on Friday.
Former WGA West President Chris Keyser, who co-chairs the guild’s Negotiating Committee, did most of the talking. “He started out very, very calm and wise, and then got more emotional at the end,” the source said. “He talked about how the compensation system is broken. He said that no one wants a strike but said...
- 4/13/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Leaders of SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399 showed their support for the WGA on Monday, posing with WGA leaders shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the Writers Guild’s contract negotiations with producers at the AMPTP’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks.
This is what solidarity looks like! Joining WGA negotiators at the AMPTP today: @Sagaftra Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland & @TeamLocal399 Secretary-Treasurer Lindsay Dougherty. #WGAStrong #1u pic.twitter.com/sDTI1sFZz2
— Writers Guild of America West (@WGAWest) March 21, 2023
“This is what solidarity looks like!” the WGA West posted on its Twitter page above a photo of the labor leaders. From left to right are David A. Goodman, former WGA West president and co-chair of the WGA’s Negotiating Committee; Lindsay Dougherty, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 399; Ellen Stutzman, WGA chief negotiator and assistant executive director of the WGA West; Meredith Stiehm, president of the WGA West; Duncan Crabtree-Ireland,...
This is what solidarity looks like! Joining WGA negotiators at the AMPTP today: @Sagaftra Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland & @TeamLocal399 Secretary-Treasurer Lindsay Dougherty. #WGAStrong #1u pic.twitter.com/sDTI1sFZz2
— Writers Guild of America West (@WGAWest) March 21, 2023
“This is what solidarity looks like!” the WGA West posted on its Twitter page above a photo of the labor leaders. From left to right are David A. Goodman, former WGA West president and co-chair of the WGA’s Negotiating Committee; Lindsay Dougherty, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 399; Ellen Stutzman, WGA chief negotiator and assistant executive director of the WGA West; Meredith Stiehm, president of the WGA West; Duncan Crabtree-Ireland,...
- 3/21/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
A bad sense of déjà vu is settling over the industry as the year winds down.
Hollywood is in the throes of transition, and an economic downturn is on the horizon. The business is full of Under New Management signs after an M&a spree. Big Media earnings and stock prices are in the tank because of all the uncertainty. And Hollywood’s scribe tribe is restless.
The outlook for the next six months is starting to look a lot like it did in the summer and fall of 2007, the last time the entertainment industry’s biggest employers faced a work stoppage with the Writers Guild of America.
There is no doubt that the guild is bracing for a battle. The studios are hastily starting to get there as well. The dreaded S-word — stockpiling — is happening, the industry equivalent of troops gathering at a border.
The guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers,...
Hollywood is in the throes of transition, and an economic downturn is on the horizon. The business is full of Under New Management signs after an M&a spree. Big Media earnings and stock prices are in the tank because of all the uncertainty. And Hollywood’s scribe tribe is restless.
The outlook for the next six months is starting to look a lot like it did in the summer and fall of 2007, the last time the entertainment industry’s biggest employers faced a work stoppage with the Writers Guild of America.
There is no doubt that the guild is bracing for a battle. The studios are hastily starting to get there as well. The dreaded S-word — stockpiling — is happening, the industry equivalent of troops gathering at a border.
The guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers,...
- 11/11/2022
- by Cynthia Littleton, Joe Otterson and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
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