It’s interesting times in Hollywood right now, as the Writer’s Guild of America strike is starting to affect productions. If you haven’t been following the news, the writers of the WGA have put down their pencils and picked up picket signs with the goal of securing a more stable future for themselves and the next generation of screenwriters. The WGA is asking for a variety of things, ranging from regulations regarding the use of AI to a larger cut of streaming revenue to more guarantees of job security.
The studios of the American Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have thus far responded in a fashion that would make Succession’s Logan Roy proud, stonewalling on most of those demands and sometimes countering with shockingly bad offers, like proposing to simply hold “annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology” as opposed to imposing limits on the use of AI, or pushing to turn certain full-time writing jobs into unpaid internships.
You can see a full list of the demands and responses from the latest round of negotiations in the tweet below:
I'm incredibly proud of how transparent our union is. In the @WGAWest's strike announcement, we included a list of our proposals, and the AMPTP's responses. Read it for yourself: it explains in black and white we're forced to go on strike. pic.twitter.com/U2FLsv9Dob
— Adam Conover (@adamconover) May 2, 2023
Stranger Things creators stand in solidarity with writers’ strike
So how are shows reacting? Both HBO’s House of the Dragon and Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power were already shooting when the strike began and will continue; their scripts were finished months ago, so studios are pushing ahead. That could still be a problem though, since writers often do rewrites on set.
One show that won’t shoot during the strike is Stranger Things, which has not yet started to shoot its fifth and final season. “Writing does not stop when filming begins,” creators Matt and Ross Duffer wrote on Twitter. “While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then — over and out. #wgastrong”
It’s nice to see the Duffer Brothers lay things out so clearly. Stranger Things season 5 will not start filming until after the strike.
Why Stranger Things is in an easier position to strike than House of the Dragon
We’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss the particulars here. Stranger Things is in a much better position than those series that have chosen to keep shooting during the strike. As of this writing, the scripts for season 5 of Stranger Things are still being finalized; no cameras are rolling and no one is actually on set yet. Actor David Harbour (Jim Hopper) had previously stated that filming was expected to start in June, so the Duffers can hit the brakes before the train leaves the station.
Things are more complicated for shows already into production, like the second season of House of the Dragon. It came out last week that showrunners at both HBO and Disney received letters from studio heads demanding that they come to work whether they stand in solidarity with the striking writers or not. Those letters went so far as to demand they fulfill duties explicitly forbidden by the strike, as well as threatening to cut off their pay or fire them if production was halted for any reason, even if the showrunners themselves were still willing to work.
It’s a pretty clear tactic meant to divide showrunners on these high-profile shows, who are all part of the WGA, from the rest of the union. The responses have varied. The Rings of Power showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne are no longer involved in the shoot; the show reportedly only has around two weeks left of filming, and Payne and McKay left contingencies in place in case of this exact eventuality. (Also, we don’t know of any studio demands from Amazon.) So far as we know, showrunner Ryan Condal remains on set for House of the Dragon. Star Wars: Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy is not on set, but is still helping with other showrunning duties like musical scoring and casting. So things are a bit of a mess right now.
Striking halts production on Daredevil: Born Again and Severance as workers refuse to cross picket line
The WGA East Twitter page today shared images of striking writers on picket lines outside of several east coast-based productions. According to the WGA, both Daredevil: Born Again and Severance had their production schedule impacted as members of the Teamsters union and IATSE (The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) refused to cross the picket line.
WGA members on strike set up a sunrise picket at Silvercup East, where they’re supposed to be filming “Daredevil,” but members of the Teamster Local 817 and IATSE Locals 829 and 52 are refusing to cross the picket line. #ShutItDown #SolidarityForever #WGAStrike #WGAStrong #1u pic.twitter.com/omg6xpQl48
— Writers Guild of America East (@WGAEast) May 8, 2023
While it may feel discouraging to hear about shows facing delays due to the strike, it’s hard to reiterate just how important this is for the longterm good of quality television. It all starts with writing, and ultimately we’ll get better shows if writers on multimillion dollar productions don’t need to hold down extra jobs just to be able to make their rent. We’ll have an ear to the ground for more updates regarding the WGA strike and how various sci-fi and fantasy productions are navigating it.
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