Writers' strike: studios hope to enter the final stretch of negotiations

Towards white smoke in Hollywood? According to the trade press, the studios and the writers' guild (WGA) have never been closer to reaching an agreement to end the writers' strike that has plagued the entertainment mecca for 145 days. The studios, through their joint organization, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), on Saturday sent the Writer's Guild Association their "latest and best offer." In other words, the employers do not intend to put more on the table.

The two sides meet this Sunday for a fifth straight day of negotiations at the end of which the WGA will announce whether or not to accept the AMPTP's proposal. This dialogue is a major gesture of goodwill: for weeks the big pundits of the studios refused to dialogue with the WGA.

According to Variety, the WGA has obtained guarantees on the issue of streaming revenue sharing and on the mandatory minimum number of writers in the writing room. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the bulk of the discussions since yesterday have focused on the legal wording of this new collective agreement valid for three years. The issues surrounding the regulation of the use of artificial intelligence are among the thorniest points. Progress in this area is unpredictable.

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The actors' guild is waiting for its turn

The tug-of-war between the AMPTP and the WGA was defused Thursday when the big pundits of Disney (Bob Iger), Netflix (Ted Sarandos), Warner Bros (David Zaslav) and NBCUniversal (Donna Langley), returned to the table. According to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, both sides would like to validate the agreement before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which begins this Sunday evening.

If the WGA ever ratifies this new collective agreement, the AMPTP will then have to sit down at the bargaining table with the Actors' Guild (SAG-AFTRA). The union, which is the first walkout in four decades, has not spoken to employers since mid-July. The mobilization of actors has completed to put Hollywood at a standstill, permanently suspending filming and promotional activities.