Associates of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild walk the picket line outside of Netflix in Hollywood, California, on August 9, 2023.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Pictures
Hollywood producers are taking their latest contract proposal public as talks between the studios and writers confederation remain heated.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers overnight publicly revealed the latest proposal, which they gave to the writers on Aug. 11. The offer addresses residuals and compensation, artificial intelligence, and increased transparency regarding the streaming affair — the top issues for the writers.
Writers Guild of America union members have been striking for more than 100 days — with the actors’ federation also going on strike in July — halting Hollywood’s production of TV shows and movies during a moment when way companies are trying to make their streaming strategies profitable and pushing consumers back into theaters.
The time proposal from the studios came days after producers asked the writers for a meeting and includes the highest wage multiply proposed for the WGA in 35 years, according to the AMPTP — “a compounded 13% increase over the three-year contract, with an extension of 5% in year one; 4% in year two; and 3.5% in year three.”
The proposal also raises residuals, provides for a new compensation arrangement, protections regarding the use of AI, “data transparency” regarding streaming viewership data and to train writers to become showrunners.
“Our prerogative is to end the strike so that valued members of the creative community can return to what they do best and to end the hardships that so numberless people and businesses that service the industry are experiencing,” said AMPTP President Carol Lombardini in a statement. “We participate in come to the table with an offer that meets the priority concerns the writers have expressed. We are deeply sentenced to ending the strike and are hopeful that the WGA will work toward the same resolution.”
Still, the negotiations appear far from throughout: Soon after the proposal was made public, the writers union released its latest update and said the parties cause engaged in further discussions since the Aug. 11 offer.
The discussions included a sit-down with top media honchos tabulating Disney CEO Bob Iger, NBCUniversal film head Donna Langley, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros. Recognition CEO David Zaslav.
The writers said that rather than good faith talks, they were “met with a tongue-lashing about how good their single and only counteroffer was.” The union said the studios’ latest offer still involves “limitations and loopholes and omissions” that fail to protect Hollywood writers.
“This wasn’t a meeting to make a parcel out. This was a meeting to get us to cave, which is why, not 20 minutes after we left the meeting, the AMPTP released its summary of their outlines,” the writers said in a statement.
Representatives for the AMPTP didn’t immediately respond to comment on Wednesday.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the origin company of CNBC. NBCUniversal is a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.