Hollywood is speechless, the writers are not

taketonews

the huge inflatable rat scabby, symbol of labor protests in New York, has appeared in front of the Netflix offices at 888 Broadway, just north of Union Square. From a portable speaker you can hear at full volume at Donna Summer singing that of “She works hard for the money & rdquor; her (she works hard for her money). Down the sidewalk, around the block, she flows a human tide armed, in ingenious banners and shouts, with what they know best how to use: wit and word. Why are scriptwriters.

Specifically, they are members of the East Wing of the Writers Guild of Americahe union with 11,500 members that on Tuesday, after unsuccessful negotiations to renew his contract with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP) that brings together the big studios and platforms, started a strike that has paralyzed not only a good part of Hollywood, but the entire United States entertainment industry. The programs of late night They have been since Tuesday in fade to black. The pickets They have already begun to alter filming that was still underway.

At the moment there is power. The previous writers’ strike, in 2007 and 2008, lasted 100 days. This, as many fear, is also going to be long, and no one would be surprised if it lasted at least until end of Junewhen the studios and platforms have to renew the agreements with the actors and directors unions. The union (as union is said in English) makes the force.

“Nobody wants a long strike”

“Nobody wants a long strike but we all want a fair contract and the plan is to stay until we have it & rdquor ;, he explained on the New York scene on Wednesday josh gondelman, who was a writer for John Oliver and on the Showtime show of comedians Desus & Mero. “Studios could end this if they wanted to today. All they have to do is offer us a deal that allows the writers to have sustainable careers and it gives us only a part of the benefits that we are generating& rdquor ;.

In the sheet of your claims there is 21 proposals, that go from updating salaries to guaranteeing a minimum number and time of work, improving the “residuals & rdquor; that are charged for streaming broadcasts, regulate limits on the use of artificial intelligence in film and television or prevent writing from becoming “uberized& rdquor; and is treated as another part of the “gig economy”. But the AMPTP had only responded to six before negotiations broke down.

That’s a problem for Tasha Stewart. “It may seem like we have a lot of demands, but they are all in fact very important, and they all work together to create a sustainable race. If you eliminate one all the others collapse & rdquor ;, assured the screenwriter, who before the strike had finished writing a miniseries for FX and also has the Larry Wilmore show on Comedy Central and the Netflix series ‘Amend: The fight for America’. “The responses to our requests are often no response or direct rejection & rdquor ;, she also said. “We cannot negotiate with a wall. AND we will not negotiate with ourselves”.

Solidarity

The scriptwriters are currently counting on strong participation and many samples of solidarity and with the projection impulse that the most recognizable names give. On Tuesday, when the pickets were opened in New York in front of the NBC headquarters, there was a writing heavyweight like Tony Kushnerwhich he denounced as “insulting and disgusting” the “myopia, greed and utter indifference (of the studios) towards the lives of the people who create the content that enriches them.”

On Wednesday, the actress of ‘Sex and the City’ and former progressive candidate for governor of New York participated in the protest in front of Netflix Cynthia Nixon; actors Michael Rapaport and Zoe Kazan; ‘Saturday Night Live’ comedian Andrew Yangrepresentatives of musicians, students, other unions, Amazon and Starbucks workers… And even the California Congressman Ro Khannawhich represents the district that includes Silicon Valley and which many see as a potential replacement on the left of Bernie Sanderswho went to Twitter to recall that “last year eight Hollywood CEOs earned 800 million dollars while the salary for television writers has fallen 23% in a decade.”

The strike undoubtedly comes at a time when the union movement is regaining strength in the US, which has an ally in the Oval Office in Joe Biden. “People see that it’s not just writers against studios,” Gondelman said. “This is part of something bigger than corporate greed against the workers who generate the profits”.

The threat of AI and creativity

Ilana Glazer, the creator and protagonist of ‘Broad City’, also went through the protest, appealing to “dignity & rdquor; and turning her critical focus with special intensity to the threat of the Artificial intelligence. “Creating a formula based on stories already told deepens the pressure system that has brought us here to fight & rdquor ;, she said. “What’s this going back and having someone ChatGPT writing stories based on John Wayne or whatever? We have to keep moving forward. This is conservatismand is directly related to the global threat of fascism what we are seeing & rdquor ;.

Related news

Those critical references to AI dotted with clever witticism some of the banners, who have become one of the best exponents of the talent and creativity of the scriptwriters who are missing out on studies these days. In them there are good puns that are difficult to translate, such as “Do the write thing” or “Write vs Wrong”, references that many viewers will recognize as”This will not be The Last of Us& rdquor ;, “We are not in Severance & rdquor ;, “Do not pay us crumbs to write billions” or “I see rich people & rdquor ;. One of the most celebrated reads: “Fair contract or spoiler for Succession”. And there is another one in that line: “Spoiler warning: we will win & rdquor ;.



ttn-24