NEW YORK — The first Hollywood strike in 15 years started Tuesday because the financial pressures of the streaming period prompted unionized TV and movie writers to picket for higher pay outdoors main studios, a piece stoppage that already is main most late-night reveals to air reruns.
“No contracts, no content!” sign-carrying members of the Writers Guild of America chanted outdoors the Manhattan constructing the place NBCUniversal was touting its Peacock streaming service to advertisers.
Some 11,500 movie and tv writers represented by the union put down their pens and laptops after failing to achieve a brand new contract with the commerce affiliation that represents Hollywood studios and manufacturing firms.
The union is searching for increased minimal pay, extra writers per present and shorter unique contracts, amongst different calls for — all circumstances it says have been diminished within the content material increase pushed by streaming.
“There’s too much work and not enough pay,” stated demonstrator Sean Crespo, a 46-year-old author whose credit embrace the previous TBS present “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.”
The labor dispute may have a cascading impact on TV and movie productions relying on how lengthy the strike lasts, and it comes as streaming providers are beneath rising stress from Wall Street to indicate earnings.
Late-night tv was the primary to really feel the fallout, simply because it was throughout the 2007 writers strike that lasted for 100 days.
All of the highest late-night reveals, that are staffed by writers that pen monologues and jokes for his or her hosts, instantly went darkish. NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” Comedy Central’s “Daily Show,” ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live,” CBS’s “The Late Show” and NBC’s “Late Night” all made plans for reruns by way of the week.
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” which had been scheduled to air a brand new episode Saturday, may even go darkish and air reruns as a substitute.
“Everyone including myself hope both sides reach a deal. But I also think that the writers’ demands are not unreasonable,” host Stephen Colbert stated on Monday’s “Late Show.”
“This nation owes so much to unions,” Colbert stated. “Unions are the reason we have weekends, and by extension why we have TGI Fridays.”
One late-night present gained’t go darkish. Fox News’ “Gutfeld!” with Greg Gutfeld will proceed airing new episodes, Fox stated Tuesday.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and productions firms, stated it offered a proposal with “generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals.”
Writers say their pay isn’t holding tempo with inflation, TV author rooms have shrunk an excessive amount of and the previous calculus for a way residuals are paid out must be redrawn now that streaming has taken over.
The union is searching for extra compensation for writers up entrance. That’s as a result of lots of the funds writers have traditionally profited from on the again finish — like syndication and worldwide licensing — have been largely phased out by the onset of streaming.
The studios’ commerce affiliation stated Monday that the first sticking factors to a deal revolved round so-called mini-rooms — the guild is searching for a minimal variety of scribes per author room — and the length of employment contracts.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”