When 11,500 film and TV writers went on strike in May, Netflix, NBCUniversal, Disney and other Hollywood companies reacted with a shrug. The strike wasn’t great, but executives had expected it for months. they were able to get through it.
Hollywood executives’ outraged reactions to Friday’s outings were dramatically different. What started as an inconvenience became a crisis.
First, the Actors Guild is much stronger than the Writers Guild, with about 160,000 members, including some world-famous celebrities who have learned the art of getting their message across to captivated audiences. ing. Film and TV scripts that studios have been storing in preparation for writers’ strikes suddenly stop working, robbing them of the actors they bring to life. Twisters, Venom 3, Deadpool 3, Gladiator 2, and many other big-budget movies that were in the works were quickly canceled.
The three studio chairs, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive labor situation, said in an interview that Hollywood’s content factories could be out of business for a little over a month before publishing is severely affected, which means Labor Day. said there is Calendar for 2024, especially for movies. If work is suspended until September, studios will be forced to delay next year’s big projects by six months, making 2024 akin to the ghost towns of recent memory caused by the coronavirus pandemic. could become
The studio had just returned to its normal release schedule of one blockbuster movie after another. Another major stagnation in showings could have devastating consequences for theaters. With box office numbers already sluggish this year and impressive actors being squeezed out of publicity, movies slated for the second half of 2023, especially award-hunting ones, could be impacted. . On Friday, one movie company executive predicted that this could put at least one of the national movie theater chains in crisis.
Bobby Bagby Ford, Chief Creative Officer and Executive Vice President B&B TheatersThe mid-sized chain, which has more than 50 stores in 14 states, said the strike “affected the industry during a difficult time.”
“The duration of the ongoing strike will play an important role in the impact on cinemas,” Bagby-Ford said. “If it’s short enough to prevent a lot of film backlog, things will work out.”
Greg Marcus CEO Marcus Corporation The company, which owns the country’s fourth-largest theater chain, agreed the strike would cause unrest, but said it was less of a threat to the industry than the pandemic.
“Depending on the length of time, there could be a one-year gap,” Marcus said. “But it’s not like it’s closed for months on end, people debating the value of the play, and then there’s a huge gap because of production delays.”
With Labor Day just around the corner, it seems studios are being urged to break the deadlock with their actors sooner or later. But there is a problem. Studio executives were genuinely surprised by the Screen Actors Guild’s reaction to the proposed terms. They felt they had made significant concessions and were stunned by the union’s rhetoric, especially since they were able to negotiate amicably on favorable terms. new contract in 2020.
The terms proposed included higher salaries, protections related to the audition process, and more favorable terms for pension and health insurance premiums. They also suggested that dancers receive an on-camera fee on rehearsal days.
In particular, studios admitted in a private conversation that they made a mistake in largely ignoring screenwriters’ demands for guardrails around artificial intelligence, while negotiators argued that the terms of use for AI would protect actors. proposed.
But it wasn’t enough to evade the attack. Duncan Crabtree Ireland, the actors’ chief negotiator, said in an interview on Saturday that the studio’s offer was unreasonable. Crabtree Ireland said terminology around artificial intelligence is endangering “the whole field of acting”, adding that studios also don’t offer streaming participation income to actors.
“These are the core issues,” Crabtree Ireland said. “And the fact that companies are unwilling to cater to them reflects a colonial attitude towards workers, the basis of their existence.” He said he was.
The Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance, which is negotiating on behalf of the studios, has challenged Crabtree Ireland’s characterization of members’ attitudes, calling it a “groundbreaking AI proposal to protect actors’ digital likenesses.” The content of the proposal, including
The frustration across the negotiating table was evident in a comment made by Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger in a CNBC interview on Thursday that the workers were “unrealistic.” Adding fuel to the fire was an article on showbiz website Deadline, which quoted an unnamed studio executive and threatened to “drain” screenwriters until they “start losing their apartments.” Studio Alliance said an anonymous executive did not speak for its members.
While some executives see a brief shutdown as an opportunity to cut costs, a prolonged shutdown would wreak havoc on an entertainment industry already hit by the rise of streaming and box office struggles. there is a possibility.
“While media executives are trying to see this double strike positive as production spending halts, investors are far more likely to see this as a long-term strike that will hurt the box office of already-finished films and TV series. I’m concerned,” said analyst Rich Greenfield. Research firm Lightshed Partners.
According to Michael, if the twin strikes lasted just a month or two, companies would likely see the closures as an opportunity to otherwise spend pre-production (the work done before filming begins) and script bidding. Save money that would have been spent Nathanson is an analyst at SVB MoffettNathanson, who specializes in the media and entertainment industry. Either way, some of those costs will come later, he noted.
It can also review ongoing shows and movies and weed out ones that cost too much, Nathanson said. He likened the brief strike to a half-time break for the losing team that needs to come up with a new strategy.
The strike was also signed by media companies willing to spend staggering sums of money to lure creators like Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy and J.J. Abrams during the streaming boom. , also threatened a lucrative long-term contract. Some long-term contracts have force majeure clauses that go into effect 60 or 90 days after the strike, allowing the studio to terminate the contract without penalty. Greenfield said these clauses could theoretically allow studios to win expensive off-the-books contracts, but that invoking them would jeopardize relationships with top talent in the future. rice field.
Nathanson said if the actors don’t return to work by the fall, it will hurt network television, which needs them for new shows coveted by advertisers. He added that traditional U.S.-based media companies are at a disadvantage compared to Netflix, a streaming powerhouse that can leverage production facilities around the world.
“It’s like when the U.S. Auto Workers goes on strike, all of a sudden there are more Japanese and German cars on the roads,” Nathanson said.
Studio executives have publicly urged Hollywood to get back to work.Mr. Eiger Said In an interview at the annual Sun Valley Conference for Businesspeople last week, he said the strike would have a “very detrimental” effect on the entertainment industry.
But there are few signs that a deal is near.
All negotiating parties say they want to hold the other side accountable for the stalemate and reach a fair deal. But they all privately admit that if Hollywood doesn’t thaw in time, they’ll all get frostbite.
Writers Guild of America chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman said: “With the fall TV season fast approaching and advertisers and consumers expecting new shows, doing nothing is a cost-cutting strategy. It’s stupid,” he said.
