Hard times for the Studios: for the first time in fifteen years Hollywood, the richest and most prolific film industry in the world, is in a standstill.
The American screenwriters union has called a strike against the production and distribution studios of films, series and television programmes.
The points of contention remain wages, royalties and the writing work that precedes the actual production, often unpaid.
This was announced in an official note by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) , three hours after the expiry of the three-year contract of the category on the renewal of which the parties have not found an agreement, after almost two months of negotiation.
According to local media, the blockade of the 10,000 unionized screenwriters will affect more than 800,000 show workers, blocking sets, productions and programs such as Jimmy Kimmel Live or The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The WGA negotiating committee has spent the past six weeks negotiating with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony under aegis of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). During the negotiation, we explained how the business practices of these companies have drastically reduced our salaries and our royalties and, therefore, undermined our working conditions . We have made it clear that we are determined to strike a new contract with fair pay that reflects the value of our contribution to the industry's success and includes protections to ensure that writing continues to be a sustainable profession."
Another knot to solve is that of copyrights for works intended for streaming. If years ago it was easy to calculate them on tickets sold and television airtimes, the situation is now much more complicated.
(Unioneonline/D)