Fallout from Hollywood labor unrest deepens as strikes drag on

“The diverging priorities and strategies of the studio chiefs have made themselves apparent.”

From the Los Angeles Times:

When are the writers’ and actors’ strikes going to end?

That’s the question on the minds of everyone in the entertainment industry as — after a fleeting but futile moment of hope — the summer of labor unrest looks likely to stretch well into the fall and possibly the holiday season, disrupting studios’ movie schedules and awards season plans.

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The decision by the AMPTP to release the details of its counteroffer to the press appears to have backfired, as my colleagues Meg James and Wendy Lee reported last week.

The studio heads clearly thought they could move discussions in their favor by playing on simmering frustrations among the guild’s membership. Studio sources have said the chief executives released the details in the hopes that writers would gradually look at the proposals and see that the companies have given some ground.

Those tactics may have worked in 2007–08, the last time there was a screenwriters’ strike, but are less effective in today’s climate of stronger union solidarity and public support, especially when pro-union sentiments are so easily amplified — and less pro-labor stances demolished — on social media.

The WGA has said that the studio’s proposals don’t fully address its concerns about the ways in which streaming has upended the business.

The situation marks a reversal of previous strikes. Where the AMPTP used to be united in their position and the WGA fractured … the opposite is now true. I don’t think any sane person could interpret the bizarre, self-defeating antics by the streaming service and legacy studio representatives other than they are at 6s and 7s. It figures because the business models of Netflix compared to Disney compared to Sony … they are completely different.

The sad reality is this as the L.A. Times article suggests:

The growing consensus is that the studio alliance ultimately will have to make significant concessions to get back to work, because the WGA is so unified and energized by the backing of SAG-AFTRA and other labor groups. Until there’s compromise, there will be more delays and damage.

Which means everyone in the Hollywood entertainment industry is waiting on a dysfunctional group of multimillionaires who apparently have zero understanding of what it means to be a worker in the creative arts.

For the rest of the L.A. Times article, go here.

#WGAStrong

For the latest updates on the strike and news resources, go here.

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