Ha!
American screenwriters are going on strike?
To listen is to be excited.
The last time there was a vigorous collective strike of screenwriters was in 2007, when more than 12,000 film and television screenwriters were all out of business, put down their pens and raised signs and walked to the street, and the strike lasted for 100 days.
During this period, all TV movie production was stopped, hundreds of thousands of relevant employees in the industry were fired, countless projects faced abortion, suspension, reduction, postponement and other problems, the entire industry has generated huge economic losses, just the screenwriter has lost about 342.8 million US dollars in salary, and many actors will reduce their participation in program recording in order to support the screenwriter's strike.
And this year, a new round of strikes has begun to brew.
we are all on the same page
From April 11 to April 17 this year, the American Writers Union WGA held a "screenwriters strike" authorization vote, with 9,218 members participating in the vote, with a turnout of 79%, and the final result was 97.85% in favor and 2.15% against, and the strike authorization was passed with overwhelming support.
Does this mean that the strike is about to begin?
No, this vote is actually an important bargaining chip in labor negotiations, which is equivalent to gathering troops and going to war if they can't get together.
The labor contract between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the American Federation of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP) expires on May 1 this year, and negotiations between the two sides began on March 20 to develop a new labor contract for the next three years.
For screenwriters, of course, what they want is better pay.
In the golden age of streaming gods fighting, studios and actors enjoyed the spoils of streaming wars, but writers felt marginalized.
In 2022 last year, nearly 600 original screenplay programs were launched, which is the highest figure ever, but the screenwriters found that their income has become less, the average salary has also dropped by 4% in the past decade, and the work has gradually depreciated, because the total length of a single season has decreased, in the past there were usually 22-24 episodes in a single season, but now there are only 6-12 episodes, shorter the length means higher quality scripts and greater creative pressure.
Secondly, the production interval is also gradually lengthened, such as the gap between the second and third seasons of "Stranger Things" is 20 months.
Then, funding is shrinking, and most screenwriters, with the exception of the well-known screenwriters or producers, are struggling to make ends meet.
"Our request is not ridiculous." Brittani Nichols, writer and producer of the ABC sitcom "Elementary School," said. "It's so that screenwriters can be treated fairly because now we're being taken away."
Moreover, the WGA also put forward a new proposition in this negotiation - against the use of AI to create (or assist in the creation) of scripts.
Daniel Kwan (an Academy Award winner) co-director of Instantaneous Universe also called on his colleagues to support the strike, "It's about writers getting their fair share, it's about showing our collective power because new technology has the potential to take away our influence." ”
David Goodman, former WGA chairman and co-chair of the negotiating committee, told The Times: "We're going to make it clear that you can't replace writers with AI. ”
It seems that sensitive people have sensed the fear brought by AI to the world and taken measures.
Although AI is still at the elementary school level, who knows how far it can grow? Perhaps, everyone will experience one or more dimensionality reduction blows from AI in the future.
In addition to Daniel Kwan, writers of many popular TV and movies, including Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians), Ashley Nicole Black (Ted Lasso, Miss Black Sketch Comedy), Justin Halpern (Harley Quinn, Abbott Elementary), Jeffrey Lieber (Lost), Ashley Lyle, and Bart Nixon (The Wasp) and so on.
The contract expires on May 1, getting closer, so what happens next?
In this TV series called "Strike", we just wait for the next episode.
Of course, for strike operations, WGA is also an old player.
To date, WGA members have gone on strike six times:
1960, 1973, 1981, 1985, 1988, lasted 153 days, the last time was 2007, lasted 100 days, this number of days is nothing in the strike session, in 2016, the American game voice actors strike lasted almost a year, lasting 340 days to end.
The impact of strikes on the entire industry and society is enormous. But strikes are also a powerful tool, a sacrifice made to ensure a better and fairer future.
While this may not necessarily be the best time for a strike, it is never too late to stand up for yourself.
On the other hand, the survival state of domestic screenwriters ... It's miserable, not the other way around.
Moreover, in addition to the WGA, the labor contracts of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), the Directors Guild (DGA) and others will expire one after another today, and the outcome of the WGA's negotiations directly affects the negotiations between the Directors Guild and the Screen Actors Guild later.
For us audiences, it is probably that some love dramas will be seen later, but it doesn't matter much, and the old dramas have already saved a big basket.
The strike is a protracted tug-of-war, let's all be prepared.