Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
On September 24, the Writers Guild of America members received a remarkable email: Dear Members.
After 146 days on strike, a tentative agreement with the AMPTP has been reached.
Why did the WGA deal get done now?
Frankly, its a disgrace that they werent in the room 150 days ago.
What do we know so far about the agreement?
Basic wages was an easy one.
Second: staffing in mini rooms.
How do you preserve the sustainability of the profession with fewer jobs available?
Now there is some staffing-level protection.
It appears to have proved the right strategy to make a very high ask and end up somewhere else.
With streaming residuals, our understanding is that they got increases for the top shows.
Exactly how many of the hits and how thats measured is not known.
Is it the top ten?
Is it the top 10 percent?
Is it the top 15 percent on a platform?
Is that why so many streaming services haveannounced that they will be publicly sharingwhat their top shows are?
The causality is a little deeper than that.
They were asking for 2 percent of the revenue of the gross product.
Theyre obviously not going to get 2 percent, but they would compromise on something less.
Its connected to the platforms robustness, not connected to the residual.
That is basically an arbitrary amount in the contract, although platforms with more viewers pay a higher amount.
And is the dollar amount large enough?
Is that the same for SAG?
AI affects them differently.
There are two kinds of replicas of actors.
One is a replica of an actual actor.
The other is a completely synthetic thespian replacing what otherwise wouldve been a hired actor.
The other big issue is the issue of basic wage increases.
The writers wanted six percent, but the studios were offering five last we knew.
SAG wanted 15, and theyve gone down to 11.
Two months ago, the studios were offering five.
The studios said that their last offer to SAG was worth a billion dollars.
What were the major points of concession by the union?
Its limited information, but seems like both sides gave on the staffing issue.
It seems that the union strategically did not push for an inflationary basic wage adjustment on residuals.
On AI, it sounds like the studios conceded more than the union did.
Congress is attempting to get its arms around.
Are they protected in regards to AI?
Theres no way to know without seeing the language.
It does sound like they had to partially concede on training of LLMs.
Both sides apparently gave into language that says, our position is X, your position is Y.
We each reserve our positions.
Whether that horse can be kept tethered as time goes on?
Its important to recognize that copyright law doesnt solve that problem.
Those cases are in early stages in the courts, and may be decided by the Supreme Court.
And that makes them good enough to train on.
The major companies have enormous reservoirs.
Amazon bought MGM, so MGM probably has a lot of scripts in its library.
Apple and Netflix may have less access to material, but Disney has both Disney and Fox materials.
SAG has said that its already willing and able to negotiate.
But now theyre going to pivot.
It could take two to three weeks under best circumstances to negotiate a SAG-AFTRA deal.
Imagine 1,500 productions suddenly given the okay and all competing for overlapping resources at the same time.
When will we find out more details about the contract?
Given that theres a lot we dont know yet about, when will we find that information?
Over the next few days there will probably be continued leaks of details.
The members then have several weeks to vote.
Do you think this set a tone for future labor discussion in Hollywood?
Were only looking eight months ahead.
The big ticket issues are going to be basic wage increases and AI.
Youre talking about four contracts.
Theyre going to be influenced by it.
And then for SAG, youre talking two other contracts, because you get cross sector signaling.
They dont want self-driving trucks to put the Teamsters out of work.
Then, probably this week, we are going to see SAG go out against the video-game companies.
Youve got this perfect storm of contract after contract with all these intertwined issues of inflation and technological displacement.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
