By ANDREW DALTON | AP Entertainment Writer
The union representing 11,500 writers of film, television and other entertainment forms are now on strike. It’s the first writers’ strike — and the first Hollywood strike of any kind — in 15 years. Here’s a look at the storylines the fight has spawned.
WHY ARE THE WRITERS STRIKING?
Streaming and its ripple effects are at the center of the dispute. The guild says that even as series budgets have increased, writers’ share of that money has consistently shrunk.
Streaming services’ use of smaller staffs — known in the industry as “mini rooms” — for shorter stints has made sustained income harder to come by, the guild says. And the number of writers working at guild minimums has gone from about a third to about half in the past decade. Writers of comedy-variety shows for streaming have no minimum protections at all, the guild says.
“On TV staffs, more writers are working at minimum regardless of experience, often for fewer weeks,” the guild said in a March report.
The lack of a regular seasonal calendar in streaming has depressed pay further, the report says. And scheduled annual pay bumps under the current contract have fallen well short of increases in inflation.
The weekly minimum for a staff writer on a television series in the 2019-2020 season was $4,546, according to industry trade outlet Variety. They work an average of 29 weeks on a network show for $131,834 annually, or an average of 20 weeks on a streaming show for $90,920. For a writer-producer, the figure is $6,967 per week.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood’s studios, streamers and production companies, say their priority is “the long-term health and stability of the industry” and they are dedicated to reaching “a fair and reasonable agreement.”
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Months of negotiations still left considerable distance between writers and the AMPTP. The Writers Guild…
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