United States: Thousands of Hollywood screenwriters go on strike

A photo of the 2007 strike organized by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the American writers' union (Illustration image). © Reed Saxon / AP

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3 min

In Hollywood, the writers' strike will take place. The WGA, the writers' union, is demanding better financial compensation in an industry transformed by streaming. Proposals estimated at $600 million. But no agreement was reached with the alliance of film and television producers before the fateful hour.

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The strike was announced well before the deadline. A sign of the irreconcilable differences between the two camps, reports our correspondent in Los Angeles, Eric Pialat. The proposals of the alliance of film and television producers do not respond to "the existential crisis" experienced by screenwriters, the WGA explained. The studios, meanwhile, say they have offered "generous" salary increases and increased royalties for streaming. But they seem to have a problem with the guaranteed minimum number of writers on a series claimed by the WGA.

How many writers for a series?

In negotiations with the alliance of producers and television since March, the WGA has not reached an agreement on the financial compensation of authors in an industry changed by streaming, but also on topics such as the minimum number of authors for writing episodes or the use of artificial intelligence by studios.

Succession produced byHBO is one of the reference series. A season lasts ten episodes, a format that has become the norm with streaming. That's half as much as a series on terrestrial channels. A problem when a writer is paid per episode and platforms usually pay smaller royalties.

Eric Haywood, a member of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), details the shortfall on the union's website: "Over the last ten years, the budget of series for streaming has increased by 50%. But the writer-producer's salary, adjusted for inflation, fell by 23%. And at the same time, the share of screenwriters working at union minimum wage fell from 33% to 50%. »

In an American industry where formulas, sequels to remakes are a recipe, authors are also worried about producers using artificial intelligence. The strike should not immediately affect the cinema, where unlike television, the author is not on the set on a daily basis.

► Also listen: Without a deal on wages, Hollywood prepares for a writers' strike

Towards a general strike in the cinema?

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Many episodes have already been produced. And so they will be broadcast normally. Evening talk shows, on the other hand, since they are written the same day, will be impacted immediately, "says Gene Maddaus, reporter for the weekly Variety.

But the directors' and actors' unions will start negotiating in a few days. And if they don't come to an agreement either, the industry will come to a complete halt in the summer. A nightmare scenario for Hollywood. The previous WGA strike, in 2007, lasted 100 days and cost Hollywood hundreds of millions of dollars. By 1988, it had exceeded 150 days.

The first pickets are expected to appear in the afternoon in Los Angeles. This time, the WGA would have a $20 million fund to help its 11,000 members during the movement. For its part, Netflix has indicated to its investors that it has enough content in stock to continue to offer new products to its subscribers for a long time.

► Also listen: Today the economy - Hollywood alert: screenwriters ready to strike

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• United States
• Employment and Labour
• Unions
• Cinema