Summary The studios thought they could handle a strike… | by Scott Myers | Jul, 2023 | Go Into The Story gointothestory.blcklst.com
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The Hollywood studios seemed to be intentionally inciting a potential strike by the Writers Guild of America, leading to speculation about their reasons.
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Key Points
- The Hollywood studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were speculated to be actively itching for a writers strike.
- The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) want fair pay and assurances about the use of artificial intelligence.
- Recent unforced errors by studio executives have transformed the fight into a public relations war they cannot win.
- The contracts between writers and actors have enabled the studios to make a lot of money, but they wanted more with the rise of streaming services.
- The studios' actions may end up sparking a revolution.
Summaries
30 word summary
The Hollywood studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, appeared to be provoking a strike by the Writers Guild of America. Speculations arose about their motivations.
40 word summary
The Hollywood studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, seemed to be provoking a strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) this spring. Speculations arose about the reasons behind this, including saving money and asserting
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studios thought they could handle a strike \| by Scott Myers \| Jul,
2023 \| Go Into The Story
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The studios thought they could handle a strike
Scott Myers
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They might end up sparking a revolution.
Photo: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times
Via the Los Angeles Times:
If you want to start a revolution, tell your workers youd rather see them lose their homes than offer them fair wages. Then lecture them about how their unrealistic demands are disruptive to the industry, not to mention disturbing your revels at Versailles, er, Sun Valley.
Honestly, watching the studios turn one strike into two makes you wonder whether any of their executives have ever seen a movie or watched a television show. Scenes of rich overlords sipping Champagne and acting irritated while the crowd howls for bread rarely end well for the Champagne sippers.
This spring, it sometimes seemed like the Hollywood studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were actively itching for a writers strike. Speculations about why, exactly, ran the gamut: Perhaps it would save a little money in the short run and show the Writers Guild of America (perceived as cocky after its recent ability to force agents out of the packaging business) whos boss.
More obviously, it might secure the least costly compromise on issues like residuals payments and transparency about viewership.
But the 20,000 members of the WGA are not the only people who, having had their lives and livelihoods upended by the streaming model, want fair pay and assurances about the use of artificial intelligence, among other sticking points. The 160,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
share many of the writers concerns
. And recent unforced errors by studio executives, named and anonymous, have suddenly transformed a fight the studios were spoiling for into a public relations war they cannot win.
God knows what the prevailing wisdom has been roiling around in the AMPTP member company C-suites. All I can figure is whatever end points theyve been envisioning, theyre looking at through greed-colored lenses.
For decades, the contracts between writers and actors enabled the suits to make shit tons of money.
Evidently, that was not enough and they wanted more shit. The allure of streaming services and a business model based on
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