WASHINGTON: Negotiators for the striking Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Hollywood studios will meet again today (Thursday) to try to resolve a nearly five-month standoff that has disrupted film and television production.
On Wednesday, the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), representing media giants like Walt Disney and Netflix, held talks for the first time in about a month on Wednesday.
Early on Wednesday evening, the two sides issued a joint statement saying: “The WGA and AMPTP met for bargaining today and will meet again tomorrow.”
Notably, Wednesday’s meeting featured prominent figures such as Disney CEO Bob Iger, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Comcast’s NBCUniversal Studio Group Chairman Donna Langley, and Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, all of whom were present to help facilitate a resolution, as per an insider with ties to the studios.
Sources within the negotiation room described the session as “encouraging,” and it is anticipated that these four executives will return for further discussions on Thursday. According to reports from CNBC, which relied on insiders close to the negotiations, writers and producers are on the verge of reaching an agreement and are optimistic about concluding a deal on Thursday.
However, CNBC also warned that if an agreement isn’t reached, the strike could persist until the end of the year.
The strike initiated by the WGA in May arose from an impasse in negotiations, primarily centered around issues related to compensation, minimum staffing requirements for writers’ rooms, and the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry, among other concerns.
In July, the SAG-AFTRA actors union also called for a work stoppage, resulting in an unprecedented situation with Hollywood experiencing two concurrent strikes for the first time in over six decades. As of now, there are no scheduled talks between the actors’ union and the studios.
