Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 671 Hollywood Writers' Strike

In Burbank, Los Angeles, on Victory Boulevard, a group of people holding signs and carrying megaphones were heading towards Disney's ABC studio, Dawn's CBS studio, Warner Bros. Television, and other film studios.

Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike again after new contract negotiations began in May between the WGA and the AMPTP (Movie and Television Producers Alliance).

The Writers Guild has put forward a series of demands, mainly including increasing the share of copyright revenue for screenwriters in new media fields (such as internet streaming and digital distribution) and increasing screenwriters' say in the creative process of projects.

However, the producers' union failed to meet these demands, and the two sides could not reach an agreement. New contract negotiations stalled, and the two major writers' unions on the East and West coasts of the United States went on strike in New York and Los Angeles, respectively.

It started at 9 a.m. in New York, and it was exactly 11 a.m. in Los Angeles!
At Dawn headquarters, in Universal's office, screenwriter Jonathan Hales handed the hastily completed script for "The Mummy: The Scorpion King" to producer Stephen Sommers and said, "Alright, I'm off to join the strike."

As he spoke, to Stephen Sommers' astonishment, he picked up a sign and left the office to join the crowd in front of the Dawn CBS television studio!

The Hollywood writers' strike began in the early 1960s in a fight for television broadcasting revenue sharing.

Throughout the 1980s, there were three such strikes, the most recent of which occurred in 1988. The strike lasted a full 153 days, making it the longest and causing Hollywood to lose more than $500 million. It was all about securing a share of the home video sales for screenwriters.

This is the fifth strike and march by Hollywood screenwriters!

The major Hollywood unions, including the DGA (Directors Guild), SAG (Screen Actors Guild), WGA (Writers Guild), and IATSA (an alliance of behind-the-scenes unions such as the Editors Guild, Cinematographers Guild, and Production Designers Guild), regularly negotiate contracts with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios such as Time Warner, Dawn Universal CBS, Disney ABC, Paramount, and Fox Entertainment.
These contracts often include provisions on issues such as guaranteeing union members' working hours, minimum wage, working conditions and benefits.

Hollywood screenwriters are not valued as much as the directors' guild, which has a lot of influence, or the screenwriters' guild, which has the greatest influence.
Currently, only about half of the screenwriters used by Hollywood film and television studios are members of the Writers Guild, while the other half are either non-guild members or foreign screenwriters!
CBS Studios building in Manhattan, New York.

Mel Kamaz stood at his office window, watching a group of screenwriters protesting with signs on the nearby street. He frowned. "These guys?"

The Hollywood writers' strike will have the biggest impact on the television industry, since the seven major film studios certainly have enough scripts in stock, and film production is different from television production.
In the US, it's common to film while broadcasting. A strike by screenwriters for just one or two months can have an impact, not to mention that there are more television shows than movies.

Large numbers of screenwriters gather near television studios such as ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX. Now that the screenwriters are on strike, it will definitely affect some shows!

In particular, major television production groups such as Warner Bros. Television, Dawn Television, Viacom Television, and Disney ABC Television are the focus of the two major writers' guilds on the East and West coasts of the United States.

"The writers have gone on strike?" In a suite at the Venetian Macao in Las Vegas, Aaron sat on the sofa talking on the phone with Dawn Steele.

"Yes, the two sides couldn't reach an agreement, and the next round of negotiations will be in two weeks!"

Aaron chuckled. "There's a ton of TV shows airing in September, so it's interesting that the writers' guild chose this time to strike." "By the way, how many people participated in the strike?"

"The total number of writers participating in the strike by the two major writers' unions on the East and West coasts is no less than 5000."

"The last strike was too big and caused a lot of losses in Los Angeles. We can't let that happen again this time," Aaron's Dawn is now the king of Hollywood. If the strike goes on for too long, the losses will be considerable.

"Don't worry, the MPAA is discussing solutions with the Paper Doll Alliance and will provide screenwriters with the benefits they deserve to a certain extent."

"Moreover, people are now hiring more foreign screenwriters, including many British screenwriters and screenwriting students from film schools!"

Dawn Steele isn't too worried about screenwriters; now, more than 4 original screenplays are registered with the Writers Guild every year.

Hollywood produces only about 400 films a year, and only about 200 of them make it to theaters. Of those, 22% are adapted from novels. When you add in other news events, biographies, comic book adaptations, remakes and sequels, the proportion of original films is only 50%–60%, and it has been steadily decreasing.

Many directors and producers adapt their own screenplays, but they don't join the screenwriters' guild!
Screenwriters, apart from the top screenwriters who are the focus of Hollywood's attention, are not the others. It's a supply and demand relationship, and the supply has always exceeded the demand.

"By the way, has Robert Zemeckis's 'Cast Away' finished post-production?"

Aaron inquired, after all, Robert Zemeckis's "Behind the Lies" was scheduled for release in September;
The second half of Cast Away will continue filming this year, but it should be finished by now!
"Filming is complete; *Cast Away* is scheduled for release during the December Christmas season."

"Furthermore, the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts at the USC School of Cinematic Arts is nearing completion, and Robert Zemeckis is currently busy with what will become the first digital technology training center in the United States;"

"We at Universal will also donate a batch of equipment and archival documents!"

After all, Dawn has already collaborated with Robert Zemeckis on films such as Forrest Gump, Behind the Lies, and Cast Away, and they value such a renowned director.

"Of course, you should keep an eye on the screenwriters' strike!"

After hanging up the phone, Aaron rubbed his eyes. This was the first major strike Aaron had encountered since entering Hollywood.
The Writers Guild guys definitely have their eyes on the DVD market and want a piece of the pie, just like the videotape sales revenue sharing back then. The three strikes in the 1980s were mainly about videotape sales revenue sharing.

However, Hollywood film studios have many ways to deal with screenwriters, so Aaron isn't really worried about them!
(End of this chapter)