Writers Strike FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About the (Possible) Shutdown
01.05.2023 - 18:19
/ variety.com
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Writers Guild of America contract expires at midnight tonight, and all of Hollywood is on edge, anticipating a possible strike. As is typical, rumors are flying around. So here are clear answers to all of your questions — except one. Will there be a strike? We don’t know. But what are you hearing? The two sides continue to negotiate, and could reach an agreement before the contract expires. They also might not, which would likely — though not certainly — lead to a strike.
Why don’t you know? There’s no shortage of people who say that a strike is inevitable. The studios surely have to operate as if it will happen. And the writers have to show they aren’t afraid of a strike either. But it’s not clear how predictive that is, or whether it’s just posturing to seek maximum leverage. “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst” is great advice here. We’ll know soon enough.
What do writers want? Money, for starters. Writers are seeking a “sea change” in their compensation, starting with a significant hike in guild weekly minimums. They also want to rewrite the formula for streaming residuals to pay writers more for hit shows and to pay more with the growth in international subscribers. They want to expand “span protection,” a contractual provision that limits the time period that studios can retain writers for their episodic fee to 2.4 weeks, so that it covers writers making $400,000 and above, which would increase their “overscale” pay substantially. The guild has estimated that the total cost of its proposals is $600 million. They also want changes to working conditions. They want a minimum staffing level for TV writers rooms. They want writers to work for a guaranteed minimum number of
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