WGA & Studio CEOs Near Deal Finish Line, Working On Fine Print

The latest round of talks between the studios and SAG-AFTRA on ending the 92-day strike have collapsed tonight and now he Fran Drescher-led guild are accusing the AMPTP of using “bully tactics” and “the same failed strategy they tried to inflict on the WGA.”

After a rough day of negotiations Wednesday, the actors guild and the studios have pulled the plug for now.

There was no picketing Monday by SAG-AFTRA members due to the Indigenous Peoples Day holiday, but the leadership of the actors guild did return to the bargaining table with the studios and streamers.

Writers have officially approved their deal with the studios.

Jennifer Lee, Chief Creative Officer at Disney Animation, confirmed this afternoon that work has quietly begun on a third edition in the company’s Frozen film franchise during a keynote session at the London Film Festival (LFF). 

One down, and more to come.

EXCLUSIVE: As the striking actors guild sits down today with the studio bosses for the first new talks in over 80 days, the writers are one step closer to officially ending their nearly 150-day labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

SAG-AFTRA is set to sit down with the studios today to restart talks on a deal for the actors.

Back at the bargaining table Monday for the first time in more than two and a half months, SAG-AFTRA and the Hollywood studios and streamers have a long way to go to make a deal – even with the momentum gained by the end of the writers’ strike.

was unceremoniously shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last year, and actor Henry Cavill was fired from the role of Superman shortly after.

After 146 days on the picket line, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has struck a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end the writers’ strike.

according to Variety and other outlets. They called the new contract “exceptional” and said it would have “meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”“What we have won in this contract – most particularly, everything we have gained since May 2nd – is due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity, to walk side-by-side, to endure the pain and uncertainty of the past 146 days,” part of the email from the WGA Negotiating Committee states, Variety reported.“It is the leverage generated by your strike, in concert with the extraordinary support of our union siblings, that finally brought the companies back to the table to make a deal.”The likely deal comes as both sides took part in intensive bargaining over the weekend.There were signs last week that the strike, which brought Hollywood to a halt for 146 days, appeared to be nearing the end when the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers issued a joint statement that they were back in talks.The Alliance represents studios, streaming services and producers in the negotiations.Union leaders met Wednesday with top studio bosses including Disney CEO Robert Iger, Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: The roller coaster ride of the Writers Guild and the Hollywood studios trying to seal a deal to end the writers’ nearly 5-month-long strike isn’t over yet.

WGA and Hollywood’s major studios are in the final phase of hammering out a three-year contract that will bring an end to one of the longest strikes in Hollywood history. Legal representatives for labor and management were said to be huddling on the fine print of language in complicated contract issues such as the use of generative artificial intelligence and groundbreaking elements for the WGA’s minimum basic agreement, such as a formula for a minimum staff guarantee for episodic TV and a “success-based” residual from subscription platforms that is designed to funnel more money into the WGA’s pension and health funds. The nitty gritty details of the terms around the AI proposal has been one of the final hurdles to overcome, multiple sources said.

The Writers Guild brass and studios CEOs were working tonight to close a deal to end the scribes’ strike , but it seems they aren’t quite there yet.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Hollywood studios continued into Friday night as questions swirled around town regarding whether a deal had been reached or if talks had once again broken down. There is no word yet on a potential deal, but insiders with knowledge of ongoings in the room say there is momentum on both sides to find a resolution that will end the 144-day writers strike. Friday’s talks are said to have begun at approximately 11 a.m.

The WGA is heading back to the bargaining table with the CEOs of Netflix, Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros Discovery on Friday.

EXCLUSIVE: A second day of direct negotiations between the Writers Guild and studio CEOs has concluded this evening.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery is giving DC Studios a primary production hub at its U.K.-based TV and film studio Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the home of HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” amid a sprawling plan to expand the location by more than 50% capacity and 10 sound stages.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Four Hollywood CEOs returned to the bargaining table Thursday for a second day of talks with the Writers Guild of America, as the industry looked for signs of progress toward a deal that would end the 143-day strike. Sources said the studios made moves in multiple areas that they hoped would be enough to break the logjam. But it remained unclear if WGA leaders would see the AMPTP’s latest proposals and modifications as sufficient to meet writers’ demands.