What Exactly Is The Screenwriters’ Strike?

So far, we have conveyed the cancellation news of different TV series to you, and you probably did not take these news seriously.minor setbacksYou described it as. However, although the productions are different, there is always the same reason behind the cancellation news. This too Writers Guild of America or the strike by the Writers-or Screenwriters-America.

As an example of those affected by the situation we’re talking about, we can show the following production in our content (or this, or that. You get it). This strike, which appears again after 15 years, also disrupts the progress of many famous productions. But when you learn the background of events, you will think that these delays are insignificant compared to the actual injustices.

First of all, why is this strike being held?

As you can imagine, the reason for this strike was from low salaries originates. More precisely, the industry is becoming more and more despite growing This is due to the fact that the salary of screenwriters and writers is always kept to a minimum. While the parties reacting here are the screenwriters, they are in front of them. Producers is located.

Screenwriters, over the years wages with inflation demanded an increase. Besides, the producers ChatGPT The effort to replace the writers with artificial intelligence tools such as artificial intelligence He argued that the tools should only be used as a support in matters such as research. Producers, on the other hand, seem to consider screenwriters an ‘expense’ in this case.

The cuts in payments were also a result of the profits of streaming services like Netflix.

WGA (Screens Guild), says that after the transition to broadcast platforms, payments to employees have decreased significantly. The strange thing is that in the entertainment industry in general, especially after the transition to streaming services. a huge growth to have occurred. But it seems that although the rate of profit has increased over the years, the writers have been left behind.

On May 1, 2023, the WGA announced this strike on its website.

In the previous 6 months Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony announced that he spent interviewing with companies. However, the feedback received from the studios by the community trying to reach a common point was not enough. Although the companies do not even want to move their fingers on this issue, the screenwriters almost as if being exploited The current strike emerged from their feelings.

So the point here is not to cause confusion or envy; to reach a joint agreement with the producers by resisting exploitation. Finally, the following statements are also included in the announcement: … We hoped we could do this with reasonable negotiation. Now we’re going to do it by fighting. For the sake of our existence and our future, we were given no other choice.

If the WGA’s list of recommendations is made, writers could make $429 million a year in total.

It may seem like a lot to you, but this number is Hollywood’s not even 3% of his annual profit. There is even more. Director of 8 of Hollywood’s leading studios in the same year 733 million dollars won.

The estimated $429 million for all writers is $344 million less than the total payments received by the 8 people we mentioned. This was one of the developments that inflamed the strike.

There are names like Snoop Dogg among those who support the said strike.

Dr. dre And Snoop Doggspecial for the 30th anniversary of the Doggystyle album Hollywood Bowl They postponed the concert for this reason and supported the screenwriters.

Apart from this, the screenwriters of many important productions you see at the beginning of the content and the teams in general, authors’ rights becomes a partner in their lawsuit so that they can receive the payment.

There is no one who does not know Squid Game.

In a news we conveyed to you about 1 year ago, the screenwriter of the series was released by Netflix. any bonus We said we didn’t. While the series became famous enough to be seen everywhere from the Thursday market to the biggest YouTube channels, the screenwriter said, “Enough, I have enough money to put food on the table” he said.

It directly to WGA It will not be very consistent, but it is certain that he showed us the situation of the screenwriters long ago, even when there was no strike. Of course, let’s mention that the screenwriter received the money in his original contract. The only problem here the creator of the series except that only the producers made money. There are many such examples.

What was the difference between the strike in 2007?

In this strike, which started on May 2, 2007, approximately 20 thousand screenwriters, who were members of the WGA, participated in the strike. The reason was that while producers and streaming services were making profits, screenwriters were paid less than they should have been.

This 100-day strike hit America’s entertainment industry in full force. 500 million dollars it was owned. According to the US independent news radio NPR, this strike has hurt the Los Angeles economy. 1.5 billion dollars struck a blow. According to the Milken Institute, it said it expected the 2007 strike to deal a $2.1 billion hit to the already ailing California economy.

from the 2007 strike; Many famous productions such as The Office, Breaking Bad and Prison Break were affected.

In the third season of Prison Break, the WGA went on strike, and this season has only 13 episodes. Normally, in the third season of the series, the characters that will take place in the spinoff would be introduced. But in the process disrupted by the strike, this spinoff was completely It is cancelled.

Breaking Bad also dealt with seasons that had to be delayed and shortened all the time. In this process, the screenwriter of the series Vince Gilliganconstantly changed their minds about the characters, and as a result, we came across the series we know.

of The Office The fourth season coincided with the strike. The number of episodes in this season has been reduced to 11 and there have been constant delays. For example, between the eighth and ninth episodes of this season a gap of 5 months there was. There was also a 4-month gap between the fourth season and the fifth season.

Hundreds of thousands of people were laid off as a result of the strike, and numerous award ceremonies were also cancelled.

strike in 2007 one hundredIf the 1988 strike 153 days had lasted. We will see together how the result and process of the present will go. We will also be reporting the developments.