The Strike’s Over…Now What?
We spoke with a writer to discuss the strike that shut down Hollywood- and what it means for the future of the industry.
On September 27th, after many attempts at negotiation, the Writer’s Guild of America, or WGA, officially ended their strike against production studios. The strike had been going on for almost five months, or 148 days. The two main reasons for both this and the SAG-AFTRA strike are the use of AI in Hollywood and streaming services causing many paychecks to decrease. The Screen Actor’s Guild started striking after the WGA, and as of the time of writing, is currently still on the picket line, or the position held by striking workers outside their workplace.
Many studios took a great loss because of the strikes. Hollywood lost almost $3 billion in total over the past few months. Many higher-ups hoped to starve the workers out. According to a studio executive, “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.” It wasn’t about the money to them. The top studio executives’ pay has been increasing over the last couple of years, while writers’ pay has decreased. And those same executives, who complained that the writers were asking for too much, make an average of $28 million a year. Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive at Netflix, made $50.3 million last year. Clearly, the studios could afford to pay their writers. That’s the thing. They could.
To get an idea of how writers feel about the strike and how they plan to move on from here, I spoke with Casey Vera, a writer, actor, and filmmaker in L.A. He’s been working in Hollywood for almost twenty years and has a lot to say about the industry and how to navigate it.
Question: How did the strike intervene with your daily life?
“LA gas prices are crazy. It’s hard to get to the strike lines five days a week because of the cost. Same thing with a lot of people coming from a lot of different places. So yeah, it definitely affects things.”
Question: Were you involved with the picket line?
“I’ve been on the picket lines ever since SAG-AFTRA joined in. I’ve been there talking to people and documenting this historical timepiece. I’ve been in the industry for quite some time and I haven’t seen or felt anything like this ever in the industry and everyone out there feels the same way. This time it’s different because of what they’re trying to do with the human element, which is to completely remove it from the industry in so many ways.”
Question: What was your reaction when you heard the news about the WGA deal?
“I didn’t think too much about it. When you know you’re going to win there really isn’t any panic either way. This business forces you to play everything cool, you’re used to having opportunities taken away from you. The only difference here is that they’re trying to take the entire industry away from everyone.
I never thought that anyone had that much power, to completely move on without the human element. Our industry is just one of thousands that will be continuously threatened by this each year as AI continues to gain strength over us. The new deal is only a three-year deal which means this only plugs the holes in the boats for now. We’ll be back here in two and half years again, so reaching a new deal is delightful but you can’t blink in this business ever again or you’ll wake up and your dreams of working in the arts will be completely eviscerated. The fight continues.”
Question: How are you planning to move forward and continue your work in the future?
“Nothing for me has changed. I have always thought independently even while going out for roles in the industry. I will continue to write my own projects, produce, direct, and edit them. The more things you learn how to do on your own will always be your keys to success. You have to know how to source people that think like you do so you guys can build projects together. My main focus for the last two years has been me and my brothers’ documentary which will showcase an entire behind-the-scenes look into our Hollywood journey.”
Question: What advice would you give to any young writers who will be going into the film industry after this?
“Nobody makes it the same way. You can be in this business for 50 years and never make it and someone else comes to town and skyrockets to the top in a flash. All I can say is be prepared to keep your soul because losing it will not be worth it. It may be a longer route to where you want to go but it’ll make for a happier life. Dream as if you’ll make it on day one but be prepared to outwork everyone just in case you don’t. Write biconically, think in levels, layers, drift into the matters of your mind, and pull those fragments down so that people become so captivated by your thoughts. Say things in ways that no one quite has. Be brilliantly brilliant.”
The WGA came to a deal with Hollywood studios on the 27th. This contract lasts for the next 3 years, and would have to be renewed or potentially indict another strike. The new contract includes but isn’t limited by; staff writers’ wages increasing and being paid script fees, having a minimum amount of writers for shows that changes depending on the number of episodes, restrictions on the use of AI, and writers having an easier time reaching the requirements for health insurance. A lot has been won for writers, but the battle for companies to give workers what they’re due is never over.
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