A strike looms in “Hollywood”… The screenwriters are angry

A strike looms on the horizon for thousands of American film and television writers, who are demanding an increase in their wages, as a result of the failure to reach any agreement with the actors in the “Hollywood” sector, and as the deadline they granted them approaches to expire.

Prominent studios and digital platforms in Hollywood, including Disney and Netflix, are in talks with the Writers Guild of America, which is threatening to start a strike if no agreement is reached.

Such a move would stop the broadcast of successful programs such as those shown in the evening, and significantly delay the start of TV series and films scheduled for release this year.

The last major social movement in Hollywood dates back to 2007-2008, when the screenwriters carried out a strike that paralyzed the audiovisual field in the United States, while it lasted for 100 days and caused the sector to lose two billion dollars because of it.

The scriptwriters are calling for higher wages and a larger share of the profits, while production companies assert that they are forced to cut their costs due to the economic conditions.

A television writer based in Los Angeles, who did not wish to reveal his identity, says that “everyone is in an atmosphere that a strike will begin,” indicating the possibility of reaching an agreement “that would determine how companies will pay our wages” now and in the future. The screenwriters assert that they are facing difficulties in living from their profession, in light of their salaries stagnating or even declining due to inflation, at a time when companies are making profits and raising the salaries of their executives. They point out that they have never had so many workers for the minimum wage set by unions, while television networks hire fewer people to write miniseries. One of the main disputes is how to calculate the salaries of screenwriters for the series shown through streaming platforms, which often remain available for years after being written through these platforms such as “Netflix”. For decades, screenwriters have been receiving payments for reusing their work, such as re-presenting a television work or selling DVDs for a work. This amount is either a percentage of the revenues that the studios generate from a movie or program, or a fixed amount that is paid for each time the work is re-presented, but with streaming platforms, writers now receive fixed amounts annually, even if the work achieves global success, similar to my series. Bridgerton” and “Stranger Things”, which have garnered hundreds of millions of views worldwide.