Los Angeles, United States, Sep 26 (EFE).- After 148 days on strike, the Writers Guild of America said it would resume working shortly after midnight Wednesday having reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios.
US actor/writer Terry Wilkerson walks for his 147th day in a row supporting SAG, Screen Actors Guild, with a sign in front of Warner Bros. in Burbank, California, USA, 25 September 2023. EFE-EPA/DAVID SWANSON
The boards of directors of the WGA West and the WGA East voted unanimously to stop striking and the tentative agreement reached Sunday will now be submitted to thea ratification vote from Monday to Oct. 9.
The measure allows writers to return to work during the ratification process and if members reject the agreement, the strike would resume.
The WGA began the strike on May 2 and on Tuesday the union made public the details of the agreement, which presents improvements on issues that were key during the dispute, such as residual payments for streaming or protections against the use of the artificial intelligence, among others.
According to the union, the agreement said artificial intelligence cannot write or rewrite literary material, and that material generated by AI will not be considered original material.
It also said screenwriters will be able to use AI if the company consents, but that companies cannot require writers to use AI software for their work.
“The WGA reserves the right to assert that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law,” read the summary posted on its website.
The guild also negotiated “a new audience-based residual” in which views will be calculated according to national streaming hours divided by duration.
“Made-for HBSVOD series and films that are viewed by 20% or more of the service’s domestic subscribers in the first 90 days of release, or in the first 90 days in any subsequent exhibition year, get a bonus equal to 50% of the fixed domestic and foreign residual…” the union said.
Additionally, residual remuneration for foreign streaming will now be based on the number of foreign subscribers for services available worldwide.
They also announced that the companies are committed to providing the union with the total hours broadcast on platforms, both nationally and internationally, of streaming programs from high-budget platforms, such as Netflix.
The end of the writers’ strike brings hope to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), which has been on strike since July 14 and has not held any meetings with the studios since then, almost completely paralyzing Hollywood productions. EFE
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