Hollywood screenwriters are on strike and the first pickets began Tuesday, May 2 in Los Angeles, as well as in New York. Negotiations started in mid-March, but no agreement was reached with studios and streaming platforms before the May 1 deadline.
Screenwriters consider that they are not treated at their fair value in the age of streaming. The previous major writers' strike, in 2007, lasted 100 days and cost the Los Angeles area $2 billion. "If they start using computers instead of a human being to write the first draft of a screenplay, it will eliminate jobs," one writer says.