Cynthia Littleton Business Editor In its heyday, “ER” would keep about 75 background actors on hand per episode to be called up as needed to fill out scenes in hospital corridors and whatnot. On Tuesday, about 75 “ER” alumni filled the sidewalks outside the show’s old studio on Olive Avenue in Burbank. Writers, actors and crew members who worked on the beloved NBC drama series rallied behind the Writers Guild of America on Day 29 of the strike called against Hollywood’s major employers. Many of those who gathered for the “ER” reunion-themed picket on the day after the Memorial Day holiday weekend were emotional about what “ER” represented in their professional careers. It’s an apt symbol for the WGA strike because “ER” is the kind of long-running scripted series that television networks don’t seem to make anymore.
WGA Negotiating Committee Member David Simon On Urgency To Tackle AI Now & Fight To Keep Term Employment
15.05.2023 - 23:25 / deadline.com
David Simon, an outspoken WGAE member for 28 years and member of the guild’s 2023 negotiating committee, was among the more than 200 writers and supporters who picketed the NBCUniversal upfront presentation at Radio City Hall Monday on Day 14 of the WGA strike.
The Wire creator told Deadline that disagreement between writers and studios is sharpest on two issues: whether writing will be gig work or term employment in the future; and “the use, or misuse, of AI.”
According to Simon, before the strike, AMPTP, the trade organization representing film and TV studios and film and television producers, made no secret of their goal to downgrade writers’ job status.
“Their lead negotiator actually said to our negotiator, ‘You’re lucky you have term employment at all,’” Simon said. “That statement was made, and I think that gave away the store: They’re trying to make television and film writing a gig economy in full, and they’re trying to get rid of term employment, which is the backbone of how the majority of our members need to earn their living.”
On the second issue, using artificial intelligence programs to churn out ideas and even scripts, Simon said, “We’re at the threshold of a new frontier in terms of technology. There are things that AI can do and there are things it clearly can’t do. And as writers we need to delineate what is right — what is true and viable writing and what is not, and what is an affront to writing. And that moment is now.”
Simon added that the fight over AI reminded him of the advent of streaming technology, which Netflix began using in the same year, 2007, that the last writers strike began.
“Streaming raised its head, and the idea of residuals being tied in any way to shows that were not being
Tony Awards: WGA Asks Nominated Members Not To Attend Ceremony
The Writers Guild of America is asking members that are nominated for the Tony Awards not to attend the ceremony on June 11, sources confirm to Deadline.
Colin Farrell, Mariska Hargitay, Danny Strong and More Stars Rally at WGA Picket Line Outside Paramount in Times Square
Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Colin Farrell, Mariska Hargitay, Danny Strong, Paula Pell, Rachel Dratch, Michael Kelly and Craig Zobel were among the stars who came out to the writers strike picket line outside Paramount Global’s New York City office in Times Square Thursday. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D.-N.Y., and local politicians spoke at the event in support of the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) cause against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that has led to a four-week-and-counting work stoppage due to the organizations’ inability to ink a new contract May 1. “This is about what’s right. We’ve seen income inequality grow exponentially over the last decade; and in your business, it has never been more present,” Gillibrand said to the crowd, filled with not only WGA members, but also those from SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and Teamsters, among other unions. “We see writers working hard every day to produce content and we have an unfair playing field. Not only does AI want to displace our writers, they simply can’t. AI generates content based on what’s been written before the work you did last year, and the year before. It’s not original. It’s not imaginative. It doesn’t come from the human heart. It’s not about a human experience. It’s not about what people actually want to learn about or know about or see or experience. That is what writers bring to the equation every single time. So this strike is so important for the future of this country. It’s about the value of workers; workers and what they create is fundamentally valuable.”
Dispatches From The WGA Picket Lines, Day 18: David E. Kelley, ‘Cobra Kai’ Creators, Rep. Adam Schiff & (Happily) More Food
There was come old-school writer cred on the picket line outside the Fox lot in Century City today. David E. Kelley, he of the 11 Emmys and 30 nominations, is a veteran of multiple WGA strikes going back to 1988. Introducing himself as “David E. Kelley, old writer,” the Love & Death creator — whose many credits also include Big Little Lies, Big Sky, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Undoing, The Practice, Ally McBeal, and Picket Fences — told Deadline why he’s striking this time.
DGA Talks With Hollywood Studios Progress as WGA Asserts ‘The Whole World Is on Our Side’
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Directors Guild of America is continuing its negotiations with the AMPTP, as companies hope to get a deal that could play a role in ending the two-week-old writers strike. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America told members Monday that the guild is winning the “PR war” against the studios, as members share their stories in the media. “It seems the whole world is on our side,” wrote Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, a WGA East vice president, in an email to members titled “Our Momentum Grows.” “Members’ individual stories of our broken system — of getting by on ten weeks of work a year, of residual checks amounting to pennies — are resonating with the public. They understand we are losing out on the middle-class American Dream. We are not the elite. We are just like them. We are them.”
WGA Pledges to Picket David Zaslav’s Boston University Commencement Speech
unable to reach a deal in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The strike involves a long list of concerns that the writers want Hollywood studios to address, from the low pay involved in writing streaming series to reining in “mini-rooms” used to skirt contractual pay practices to addressing the use of artificial intelligence.According to BU Today, the initial announcement of Zaslav’s selection received “tepid applause” from students.
WGA To Picket WB Discovery Chief David Zaslav’s Commencement Speech At Boston University
Students at Boston University will have to cross a Writers Guild picket line to attend their May 21 graduation ceremony, where Warner Bros. Discovery President & CEO David Zaslav, an alumnus of the school, will be making the commencement address.
Duchess Sophie 'praying' for OAP who was 'hit by her royal motorcade' and is now fighting for life
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, is said to be "praying" for an elderly woman who was hit by a police motorbike escorting Sophie in West London.The woman, thought to be in her 80s is said to be fighting for her life in hospital in critical after being rushed there following the incident that occurred at around 3.21pm on Wednesday. Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance scrambled to the scene after the police motorbike struck the woman at the junction of Cromwell Road and Warwick Road while on escort duties.The Metropolitan Police confirmed the incident and said that the injured woman's family had been informed.
WGA Chief Negotiator Ellen Stutzman’s Parents & Aunt Walk NYC Picket Line In Show Of Support: “We’re Very Proud Of Her”
On the West Coast, the chief negotiator for the striking Writers Guild of America, Ellen Stutzman, is more than a week into an existential battle between the 20,000 union members she represents and the movie and television studios that are, for now, not at the bargaining table.
‘Andor’: Tony Gilroy Defies Disney Mandate & Has Ceased All Showrunning Duties During WGA Strike
As you have no doubt already heard, the WGA is on strike right now. Just over a week into it, this strike has already caused quite a few disruptions, with productions being halted and development coming to a standstill.
David de Gea ‘agrees’ to new contract terms with No.1 status in doubt and more Manchester United transfer rumours
David de Gea is said to have finalised the main terms of his renewal contract at Manchester United in the knowledge that he may lose his No.1 status.
11 Emmy Season Questions: ‘Succession’ Actors, Peacock, WGA Strike & More
When are things not strange in Hollywood? Should we be surprised that there is always some industry or world crises crashing an awards season? Probably not, but it’s been quite a long time since a work stoppage affected the Primetime Emmy Awards. And, as we’ll discuss later, that means while writers form picket lines, actors and directors are still engaged in that Emmy nomination fight.
AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan Says Company Is “Well-Positioned” For WGA Strike, Has “No Real Concerns” About Labor Fight
Kristin Dolan, who took over earlier this year as CEO of AMC Networks, said the company is “very well positioned” to manage through the WGA strike.
James Gunn Reveals His ‘Friend’ Pete Davidson Has a Surprise Cameo in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’
Blink and you might miss him! James Gunn confirmed that Pete Davidson had a surprise cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
‘The Wire’ Creator David Simon Hits the Picket Line After HBO Deal Suspended: ‘Doing the Write Thing’ (Video)
#WGAStrong. On the day that HBO called to suspend my deal after 25 years of writing television for them, I was doing the write thing.
David Simon’s Deal Was Suspended Today By HBO; ‘The Wire’ Creator Has Written 25 Years For Network
The Wire creator David Simon has become one of the many writers/producers whose overall agreements have been suspended because of the strike.
WGA Strike: ‘Evil’ Production Shut Down By Picketing Writers; Season 4 Wraps Early
Another TV shoot has been disrupted by striking writers, Michelle and Robert King’s supernatural drama for Paramount+ Evil, which has been filming its fourth season at Brooklyn Stages in Brooklyn.
WGA Strike Targets ‘Billions’ NYC Shoot For Second Day In A Row
“You make billions/pay us some!” striking Writers Guild of America members chanted on the street of New York today near where filming was going on for Showtime’s Billions.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Says “A Love For Working” Is What Will Resolve Ongoing WGA Strike
As if movie fans needed another reason to be wary of new Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav: Deadline reports that the CEO told the hosts of the CNBC show “Squawk Box” that “a love for working” will be what ultimately ends the current WGA writers’ strike.
‘Veep’ and ‘White House Plumbers’ Showrunner David Mandel Fears the WGA Strike Will Be ‘Long and Bloody’
You are reading an exclusive WrapPRO article for free. Want to level up your entertainment career? Subscribe to WrapPRO.David Mandel isn’t one to sugarcoat. It’s a trait that appears in his work, from the vicious insults of “Veep” to the intentionally reprehensible characters at the center of HBO’s “White House Plumbers.” It also emerged when TheWrap asked the longtime series creator his thoughts on the currently unfolding WGA strike.