The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) might end soon as high-level discussions enter into a second day on Thursday, with high-ranking studio heads now actively involved.
Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) might soon come to an end as high-level discussions continue with high-ranking studio heads involved
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) might end soon as high-level discussions enter into a second day on Thursday, with high-ranking studio heads now actively involved.
As per reports, talks that happened on Wednesday were termed as being 'productive,' and it's believed that there is hope for 'more progress' as high-level studio executives joined the discussion for the first time since the strike began earlier this year in May.
On Wednesday night, members of the WGA and AMPTP released a joint statement in which they stated that both parties had met to bargain and that they were planning to meet the following day as well. However, it's also reported that if there is no agreement in place, the strikes might continue until next year.
The meeting on Wednesday included top-level studio executives like Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Disney CEO Bob Iger, and Universal chief content officer Donna Langley, along with WGA's chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman and the president of AMPTP, Carol Lombardini.
The AMPTP is a trade association that bargains for major studios, and until this moment, only top-level staff from the AMPTP had been negotiating with the WGA. With these prominent studio executives joining the discussions, it's now believed that this marks a significant shift in the movement.
The WGA members have been on strike since May this year, with actors also joining the movement in July to protest against big production houses, which resulted in the production of numerous television shows and movies getting halted for an indefinite period of time.
The central issues of the strike were about pay, working conditions, and more royalties for writers, along with more stringent protection from artificial intelligence. Some of the prominent films and television shows that halted production were 'Gladiator 2,' 'Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two,' 'Stranger Things,' and 'Yellowstone,' respectively.
Both parties, the WGA and AMPTP, are looking to agree on a deal on Thursday.
However, currently there is no update regarding a possible ending to the protest by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).