Hollywood studios released the details of their contract proposal to film industry’s screenwriters, the latest salvo in their bid to end a months-long strike that has stalled production and delayed new releases across the entertainment industry.
The studios proposed increasing the salary for writers, protections against the use of artificial intelligence and sending the writers’ union quarterly reports disclosing viewership for series. Bloomberg reported many of the details of the offer last week.
Chief executive officers of major media companies have gotten more involved in the negotiations in recent weeks, hoping to bring the dispute that has lasted all summer to an end. A group of CEOs, including Walt Disney Co.’s Bob Iger, Netflix Inc.’s Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros Discovery Inc.’s David Zaslav met with the leadership of the Writers Guild of America on Tuesday.
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“Our priority is to end the strike so that valued members of the creative community can return to what they do best,” Carol Lombardini, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, said in a statement. “We have come to the table with an offer that meets the priority concerns the writers have expressed.”
The WGA and the studios have continued to meet since the studios proposed the new deal earlier this month. But the two sides have yet to resolve all their disagreements. The writers are still pushing for the studios to staff a mandatory number of writers on every show and pay them additional money based on the popularity of their work.