David Zaslav, Bob Iger, Donna Langley and Ted Sarandos Join WGA Talks as Strike Nears Record Length
20.09.2023 - 21:55
/ variety.com
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Writers Guild of America resumed bargaining with the major studios on Wednesday, as the 142-day writers strike closed in on a record duration. In a break from previous sessions, several top CEOs joined in the talks on Wednesday in Sherman Oaks. They were Bob Iger of Disney, Ted Sarandos of Netflix, Donna Langley of NBCUniversal and David Zaslav of Warner Bros.
Discovery. Earlier on, the CEOs generally left the bargaining to professional negotiators at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. But as the strike has worn on, they have become more personally involved.
On Aug. 22, the CEOs met with WGA leaders for what the writers described as a “lecture.” In the month since then, each side said it was waiting for the other to issue a response to its latest proposal. At one point, the WGA suggested that the AMPTP was too inflexible to adequately meet writers’ demands, and might have to be broken up.
The studios have expressed frustration at being forced to “negotiate against ourselves,” while the WGA has said the studios have yet to fully address the guild’s entire agenda. The WGA is seeking a residual formula that would be based on the number of views each show gets on a streaming platform. The studios have refused to do that, though they have agreed to share some viewership data with the union.
The guild is also seeking a mandatory minimum staffing level for each writers room in TV. The AMPTP countered with a proposal to allow showrunners to hire at least two writers per show. The AMPTP is also offering a 15% first-year hike in minimum rates for writer-producers, which would include a new minimum tier 10% above the rates for story editors.
The website celebfans.org is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can
send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.