The best Netflix series happens in real life: the writers’ strike started, they ask for this and that’s how they treat them

the claims

What have the writers asked for that is so unacceptable to other areas of the industry that they cause the first strike in 15 years? The main points of conflict revolve around pensions, health insurance, remuneration – including minimum compensation and residual royalties -, personnel quotas on television shows, as well as regulations on the use of artificial intelligence in the writing process. . Here we review the proposals of the WGA and the responses of the AMPTP.

It should come as no surprise, but the money is in the middle of the discussion, where the WGA believes that recent changes in the entertainment industry landscape, particularly the colossal advance of streaming productions, have made it more difficult to earn a living as a screenwriter.

At the center of this discussion are the residual rights of the scriptwriters, an amount paid to them for each broadcast of productions in which they have worked. And while both parties have agreed to increase the minimum paid under this method, the amount differs between the WGA (6%, 5%, and 5%) and the AMPTP (4%, 3%, and 2%).

In this regard, streaming has also become a central issue, and the WGA has demanded that in addition to the already existing residuals, others be made depending on the number of views of the production on the platforms. This initiative could not prosper because the companies do not want to be honest about the number of views.

Artificial intelligence and the “writers’ rooms”

The word of the moment is artificial intelligence, which is present in the WGA lawsuits. In this case, the union does not ask to prohibit their use, but asked that these tools cannot be used to write or rewrite what they describe as literary material or that they can be used as reference material. In addition, they demand that their work not be used to train artificial intelligence. In this regard, the AMPTP rejected the proposal, but proposed holding annual meetings to discuss advances in technology.

On the television industry side, one of the main points of debate is the “writers’ room”, the preservation of which has become extremely important to the WGA. In that regard, the union requires that shows have at least six writers as part of their staff, with the quota increasing according to the number of episodes. The measure serves to combat the so-called “mini-rooms”, which are rooms for scriptwriters with little staff, cheaper and that treat writers as something disposable. Another factor that they demanded is a minimum of 10 guaranteed work weeks with the opportunity to send the writers to the set, an experience that helps the new generations to understand the profession more. Both proposals were rejected by the AMPTP without giving a counter offer.

These two seem to be the most important points on the AMPTP side, which on May 1 released a statement stating that they have tried to reach an agreement, including “generous increases in compensation”, but that they will not be able to do so due to ” the magnitude of the proposals” of the Writers Union.

“The Writers Guild is not calling for a ban on the use of artificial intelligence, but has asked that these tools not be used to write or rewrite what they describe as literary material or be used as reference material.”

“The main sticking points are ‘mandatory hire’ and ‘length of employment’, that is, industry proposals that would force a company to hire a certain number of writers for a certain period of time, regardless of whether they are whether they need it or not”, they pointed out.

Despite this, they assured that they are still seeking to reach a “mutually beneficial” agreement for “the health and longevity of the industry”, as well as to avoid difficulties for the thousands of employees who depend on it for their livelihood.

Instead, representatives of the WGA considered that the biggest difficulty of the negotiation is that the companies do not want to talk about the main problems. “There were other areas of negotiation in which we were able to advance, but the companies hindered us on very important issues. They didn’t want to talk about them.”David A. Goodman, co-chairman of the Writers Guild bargaining committee, told Deadline. With such great differences, and with no solution on the horizon, the strike continues.

A matter of survival

Behind every strike there is a human issue. In the case of scriptwriters, there are those who years ago started at the bottom and, to this day, are successful. Bob Odenkirk, famous for his role as the lawyer Saul Goodman in the series “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul”, participated in one of the protest measures of the writers in the 80s, as seen in a photo spread on Twitter (he is also a screenwriter). In a similar situation is Steve Maedacurrent “One Piece” showrunner, who participated in the 2007-2008 strike.

How serious is the situation of the American screenwriter? A New Yorker article, appropriately titled “Why Are TV Writers So Miserable?”, cites the case of Alex O’Keefe, writer of the acclaimed series “The Bear” (FX), who wrote the series. from a small apartment in New York with no heat and sometimes no electricity. He had to work in the library to get on the WiFi.

“’The Bear’ won the WGA Award for Best Comedy Series. O’Keefe went to the ceremony with a negative bank account and a bow tie that he bought on credit. He is now applying for jobs in movie theaters to prepare for a possible strike,” the website stated.

The scriptwriters, in addition to looking for new jobs while the strike lasts, carry out sit-ins. In an organized manner, and throughout the country, its members are located in front of the large studios with their banners, where the words “strike” and “writers” are read in large letters. Some are banners from the past strike. Without them there are no series or movies, a premise that could motivate a drama or comedy series; maybe both at the same time. Contrary to what is often said in the business about the most attractive series, this story does not write itself.