According to several statements from many Hollywood producers, they are planning to let the writers on strike go broke before renegotiating. One source close to these producers claims that Hollywood is “in for a long strike, and they’re going to let it bleed out.”
Many plan on digging their heels into the ground this fall even as the strike goes into its 71st day of striking and SAG-AFTRA is 30 hours away from considering similar actions. While some people consider this just “cynical strike talk,” studios like Disney, Amazon, and Netflix apparently plan on using this strategy to “break the WGA” based on positive news from Wall Street brokers. When asked by Deadline, one executive explains, “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.” According to this plan, the studios will wait until about October to consider talking to the WGA heads and offer deals to go back to work, knowing that no one would refuse at that point. Even if it’s considered cruelty, many say that it’s a necessary evil to bring people back to the studio.
However, many members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have publicly denied supporting this plan, claiming the ones proposing it do not speak for their union. Instead, they claim that they are working to reach a deal with the WGA “and getting everyone back to work.” Even though most studio heads have been offering simple vocal support, they have not made an effort to engage in any further talks with the WGA. The AMPTP claims that the WGA itself has not made any effort to reach out for any negotiations.
Currently, the WGA has not commented on this supposed plan.
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