What motivated the Hollywood strikes of 2023? On May 2, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) put the brakes on the entertainment industry. “Strike” became the word of the moment, after the major Hollywood studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), refused to provide a satisfactory response to the most urgent demands of the union writers.
Ten weeks later, on July 14, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) also took to the picket lines for very similar reasons. In common, both groups fought for better salaries, fair royalties from streaming and appropriate regulations in the face of the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
Hollywood strikes 2023: the damage count
The WGA strike lasted 148 days, making it the second longest in history by this union, which today represents more than 11,000 film and television screenwriters. More than 50 films were affected by this stoppage of activities, whether their production was suspended or postponed, or their release date was modified. The same thing happened with more than 150 television series.
For its part, having spanned a total of 118 days, the recent SAG-AFTRA strike became the longest in history regarding the actors’ union—today made up of around 160,000 members—paralyzing Hollywood. Due to this interruption of work, almost a hundred affected films and series have been listed, whether due to suspension or delay in their production or development.
There were also a couple of projects canceled permanently, including the second season of A very special team (Prime Video) and the third season of Lakers: Time to win (HBO), due to the impact of both strikes. These together also dealt a strong blow to the economies of California, Georgia, New Mexico and other states with high audiovisual production. Preliminary estimates indicate that Monetary costs were more than $6 billion after six months of fierce union struggle. Since 1960, the actors’ and screenwriters’ unions have not been seen going on strike simultaneously.
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes ended, respectively, on September 27 and November 9, 2023, after both unions reached a tentative agreement with AMPTP for a new contract (actors only). has yet to be ratified).
Agreements from the 2023 strikes in Hollywood
Actors (key points)
In the case of SAG-AFTRA, a salary increase of 7% for actors and 11% for extras, lighting doubles and photo doubles was achieved (with immediate effect). In both cases, there will be another 4% increase in July 2024 and another 3.5% increase in July 2025.
With respect to streaming, actors involved in high-budget original productions released on or after January 1, 2024 will be able to earn a “success bonus” in addition to the corresponding royalties. To measure the success of a project streaming, the total number of hours of domestic viewing in the first 90 days of each exhibition year must be divided between the total duration of the movie, miniseries or season of the series in question. This is how the number of “domestic views” is obtained, which when divided by the total number of subscribers locally of the platform, allows the “success metric” to be calculated. If the resulting number is greater than or equal to 0.2the actors involved obtain said bonus, equivalent to 100% of the applicable royalties.
Linked to the above, the producers of streaming They will be required to report each quarter on the total number of hours viewed of each of their high-budget original productions, both in the US and Canada and abroad.
Regarding the use of AI, every film and television producer must obtain the actor’s consent before creating and using a digital replica of the actor, clearly stating its purpose. The actor will receive compensation calculated from the days he would have had to work to resolve the scenes of his replica in person.
Check HERE the summary of the (tentative) agreement between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP.
Screenwriters (key points)
In the new three-year contract, the WGA achieved an annual increase of 5%, 4% and 3.5% in workers’ salaries. Furthermore, in the field of television series, it was achieved that the writers’ room for each season has a minimum of three scriptwriters/producers, among whom may or may not be included the showrunner. In any case, apart from the showrunnertwo other scriptwriters/producers must be hired to work during the production stage, either for 20 weeks or the total time it lasts (whichever is less).
Apart from the scriptwriters/producers, each room must have a variable number of screenwriters of staff. In a six-episode season, there should be three of them; in one with 7-12 episodes, five, and in one with 13 or more episodes, six. Television projects such as The White Lotus that they only use one scriptwriter to write all their chapters.
In matters of streaming, screenwriters may aspire to a “success bonus” according to the same criteria (explained above) that applies to actors. Only in this case, the bonus is equivalent to 50% of the national and foreign fixed royalties.
Regarding the use of AI, it was agreed that no material written by this fear can be considered literary material nor should it be used to undermine the credit of a screenwriter. The latter, on the other hand, can use AI when performing writing services, as long as he has the consent of the company, but the company cannot require the writer to use it. In addition, the same company must inform the scriptwriter if he has placed partially or completely AI-generated material in his hands.
come in HERE to learn more details of the agreement.
What did we learn from the 2023 Hollywood strikes?
The work stoppage by actors and screenwriters was just one of several manifestations of widespread unrest in the American economy. Harsh inflation as a result of the pandemic had surpassed the purchasing power of the average worker, whose hourly income in the last two years did not increase, but rather fell by 2%. By October 2023, the figure indicated that this year alone, there were 312 strike actions throughout the country, involving more than 453 thousand employees from a huge variety of industries, including the automotive industry.
On the side of the major film studios, the post-COVID-19 crisis also led to significant staff cuts. There is the case of The Walt Disney Company, which in the spring of 2023 resolved the layoff of 7,000 employees. Then there are also the drastic maneuvers of the streamingwho in order to save money allocated to royalties, have chosen to cancel shows or eliminate them from their respective catalogues, which only worsened the income (in itself insufficient) of the talent involved in their production, in front of and behind the cameras .
It was a matter of time before the tide of dissent overflowed, and the most valuable lesson Hollywood bigwigs must learn is that they answer not only to Wall Street, but also to the workforce that supports them.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to get lost too. Preferably, in a movie theater.