Studios to Wait Out Hollywood Strike Until Writers Are 'Losing Their Apartments'
The entertainment business is currently facing an industry-wide crisis.
The ongoing Hollywood strike, now nearly three months in with no end in sight, is expected to persist as film and television studios are unwilling to come to the negotiating table.
In fact, the major studios and streaming platforms are reportedly considering waiting out the joint actors’ and writers’ strikes until “union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” one studio executive told Deadline in a report published July 11.
The contract negotiations between executives and creatives have largely been unproductive as no agreement has been reached.
On May 2, the Writers Guild of America started striking for better pay and working conditions, as well as creative protection against artificial intelligence, once their contract expired. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined in solidarity with the writers on July 14 after their negotiations failed.
With two strikes at once, Hollywood is largely at a standstill. This means the actors and writers belonging to their respective unions cannot work on any film or television projects.
And it’s looking like the walkouts won’t end anytime soon.
The entertainment companies, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, are planning to hold out on contract talks with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions well into the fall, according to the Deadline report.
An anonymous producer told the outlet the strike could last until late October before the AMPTP considers renegotiating.
After seeing their stock rise since the initial strike began, studios like Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix and Paramount are not rushing to pay creatives again. Because of this, a studio executive said these companies are determined to “break the WGA” by letting its members go broke.
However, the AMPTP has publicly denied such a ruthless tactic.
“These anonymous people are not speaking on behalf of the AMPTP or member companies, who are committed to reaching a deal and getting our industry back to work,” a representative said.
If the strike continues for or past five months, it likely won’t be long before the conditions become unsustainable for writers and actors — a future situation in which the studios and streamers will have the upper hand.
In the meantime, the Hollywood shutdown could cost the regional, state and national economies at least $4 billion, Kevin Klowden, chief global strategist for the Milken Institute think tank, told Yahoo Finance last week.
Crew, staff and catering are also suffering from the lack of work while restaurants near the studios are starting to feel the effects of no business.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has offered his help in mediating the WGA and SAG-AFTRA deals to end the labor dispute, according to The Associated Press. However, no party has officially requested his help.
The Hollywood trade publication Variety reported Friday that the next development in the strike is expected to occur as soon as Tuesday, as entertainment companies are looking to cut “first look” deals — a kind of option to buy an entertainment property — as well as other deals to force the writers’ hands.
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