WGA on Strike! What you need to know ...
WGA Strike. What does it mean? Why is it important to support writers? What's the secret inside Hollywood scoop? Read more to find out ...
Have you heard the news?
It’s official—the WGA is on strike!
Writers are out there picketing studios in NY and LA. I’ve got friends on the line. This has very much been on my mind this week, so I figured it was worth tackling here. And share my thoughts on the strike.
First, to be clear, I support the WGA and writers. Period.
The last major strike occurred in 2007, while I was still working in-house in Hollywood. The issues then, as now, were valid and important. That strike had major impacts that ultimately led to my company shuttering during the 2008 housing crisis. So, I’m very aware of the impacts this has industry wide. The ever-shifting media landscape and changes in Hollywood mean—it’s time to strike again.
I’m not in the WGA. That’s because I’m an author and work in publishing mostly (which is not implicated in this strike). But these issues affect all writers. We have to stick together. The bottom line—it’s become harder than ever to make a living wage through writing, even though corporations profit hugely off our work.
Getting staffed on a TV show used to mean you were set … basically. Same goes for selling a big spec feature screenplay. Now, you live gig to gig, paycheck to paycheck, and probably need another job. The spec market is dead. The top earners are set—but it’s important to remember than most of them rose during the prior situation, back when there was this path to success, and they get their residuals like clockwork.
The issues the WGA is raising are important. The move by streamers and studios to “mini” rooms. The 8-10 episode series. The fact that shows no longer sell into syndication, where the real residuals kick-in, but instead live forever on Netflix or other streamer, or get moved from network to their proprietary streaming service instead.
Oh, and the use of AI for writing … which has yet to be regulated. The studios want to build AI models to learn to copy real writers’ work, maybe ultimately rendering a room unnecessary. The future is now, and we need to get in front of this issue, too.
I’ve known the strike was coming for months. I hear the studios and WGA are far apart … and this may be a long strike. I’m not surprised, but I am saddened but how much our work is undervalued by corporate interests. The heart of TV and film is that it remains a storytelling business. Good writing is the core of everything.
Yet, writers are always underpaid and swept aside. The studios are no longer run by creatives or creative-minded execs, but controlled by massive corporations … even Amazon is in the game now. They answer to shareholders and cut wherever they can.
I remember the first time I heard the term “mini” room. I won’t name the writer, but they were being staffed in a so-called mini room for Rings of Power. That’s the $1B Lord of the Rings show on Amazon. I thought it was so strange … to spend that level of cash, yet not staff a full room. And I do think it’s apparent the show could have used more writers. I enjoyed it overall, but it wasn’t of the caliber of the films (which full disclaimer, I worked on).
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