- Title: FILE - Hollywood writers strike nears the 100 day mark
- Date: 8th August 2023
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 2, 2023) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA CHIEF NEGOTIATOR, ELLEN STUTZMAN, SAYING: "Well, I think we had seen it coming because we spent six weeks in negotiations with the companies, and at no point did they want to seriously address the issues that writers across our membership brought to the table and need addressing in order to keep this a viable profession." NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 2, 2023) (Reuters) VARIOUS OF WRITERS PICKETING IN NEW YORK CITY (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITER COLLEEN WERTHMANN, SAYING: “It's the first day of the Writers Guild strike, and we're out here to flex our muscles and let the producers know we're not happy with what they're offering. We deserve much better. Far, far better than what's on the table from them. And we're going to keep striking until we get what we want.†(SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITER AUSTIN CURRERI, SAYING: “You know, fair pay, regulating AI, because it’s a big cornerstone issue right now. Yeah, you know, just benefits, basic benefits, you know, stuff like that.†LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 2, 2023) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA CHIEF NEGOTIATOR, ELLEN STUTZMAN, SAYING: "Broadly, we're asking for increases in pay and residuals, so that writers can make a career and stay in this profession and live and work in the cities like New York and L.A.. And specifically for screenwriters, we're asking for improvements when they make movies for the streamers. We're asking for very basic working condition issues." ACTOR ROB LOWE OUTSIDE PARAMOUNT PICTURES (SOUNDBITE)(English) ACTOR ROB LOWE SAYING: "Super worried, super worried but I'm more worried about the crew members. You know, the make up, the hair, the grips, the electrics, you know, people who work the long hours and have nowhere to go right now. Nowhere to go while we fight this out. I really think about them a lot today." LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE-MAY 3, 2023) (Reuters) VARIOUS OF WRITERS PICKETING OUTSIDE FOX STUDIOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'ROMY AND MICHELLE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION' WRITER, ROBIN SCHIFF, SAYING: "I really feel like we are the backbone of the industry. People look to us to make the hard decisions. They think we're crazy. Maybe we are a little crazy to go up against a monolith but I don't really... We don't strike unless we have no other choice." LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 10, 2023) (Reuters) VARIOUS OF WRITERS PICKETING OUTSIDE UNIVERSAL STUDIOS LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 2, 2023) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA CHIEF NEGOTIATOR, ELLEN STUTZMAN, SAYING: "Every day there's some news story about AI and there's no doubt that those services will continue to improve. And right now, as some of our members call them, they're plagiarism machines and they have no business in the writing of scripts." LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - JUNE 21, 2023) (Reuters) VARIOUS OF WRITERS DURING A RALLY VARIOUS OF WRITERS WALKING PAST WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA BUILDING CROWDS OF WRITERS AT RALLY LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 4, 2023) (Reuters) WRITERS CHANTING OUTSIDE UNIVERSAL STUDIOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANI FERNANDEZ, WRITER AND ACTOR, SAYING: "You know, we're asking for such a small amount. We're asking for 2 percent of profits. I don't know if everyone fully understands that. I think when people think of writers, they mistakenly think of us as multimillionaires in mansions. And I think they're getting us confused with the owners of these studios." LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - JUNE 30, 2023) (Reuters) VARIOUS OF PICKETERS OUTSIDE NETFLIX (SOUNDBITE) (English) BURL MOSELEY, SAG-AFTRA ACTOR, SAYING: "I think it'd be pretty historic to have both unions striking at the same time. You know, all these people out of work and trying to figure out what the future looks like for this profession in the next ten years. I think it's extremely powerful and I think it gives us a lot of leverage." LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 18, 2023) (Reuters) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF SAG-AFTRA HEADQUARTERS LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE-JULY 13, 2023) (Reuters) SAG-AFTRA PRESIDENT FRAN DRESCHER AND SAG-AFTRA CHIEF NEGOTIATOR DUNCAN CRABTREE-IRELAND WALKING TO PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) SAG-AFTRA PRESIDENT FRAN DRESCHER SAYING: "I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things, how they plead poverty, that they're losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them." LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE-JULY 14, 2023) (Reuters) DRESCHER GETS OFF BUS NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE-JULY 14, 2023) (Reuters) WOMAN PLAYING DRUM WHILE WEARING T-SHIRT READING (English) "SAG-AFTRA SUPPORTS WGA" ACTORS HOLDING SAG-AFTRA STRIKE SIGNS ACTOR SUSAN SARANDON LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE-JULY 28, 2023) (Reuters) ACTOR AND ACTIVIST JANE FONDA ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND ACTIVIST, JANE FONDA, SAYING: "As SAG and WGA strike for a fair and equitable contract for the very creatives that have driven its success but also this is an inflexion point for labor as a whole." PICKET SIGNS ACTOR JACK BLACK ON PICKET LINE SAG-AFTRA CHIEF NEGOTIATOR DUNCAN CRABTREE-IRELAND CHANTING ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) SAG-AFTRA CHIEF NEGOTIATOR DUNCAN CRABTREE-IRELAND, SAYING: "I've spoken to the head of the Emmys about it and I think we're sorry that that is happening but we're fighting for something that's really existential for our industry and I think we're all looking forward to the companies coming back to the table, making a fair deal and then we'll have the opportunity to celebrate the great work that our members and others are doing in this industry. But at this moment we are in a fight for our members' economic lives and that's the first priority." LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - JULY 18, 2023) (Reuters) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE DRESSED UP IN 'BRIDGERTON' INSPIRED CLOTHES FOR PICKET
- Embargoed: 22nd August 2023 14:25
- Keywords: 100 Days Actors Hollywood SAG-AFTRA WGA Writers Guild of America strike writers
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,North America,Television
- Reuters ID: LVA003296407082023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: On Tuesday May 2, the 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike, citing an impasse over pay, streaming residuals and other issues such as setting curbs on the use of artificial intelligence.
On Wednesday (August 9), the Hollywood writers strike will hit its 100th day.
Members of the Screen Actors Guild also went on strike on July 14 after being unable to reach an agreement with the studios on a new three-year contract.
The twin job actions by writers and actors are rippling broadly through the entertainment industry, halting most work on scripted series for the fall TV season as well as film production.
The work stoppage is taking a toll on florists, caterers, costume suppliers and other small businesses which support and rely on the entertainment industry.
Fox is expected to announce that television's Emmy Awards will be rescheduled to air in January due to the strikes, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a person familiar with the plans.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros Discovery warned investors that uncertainty over the dual strikes could delay film releases and impact its ability to produce and deliver content.
(Production: Rollo Ross) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None