According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Writers Guild of America has recently stated that the studios and streamers have asked to meet on Friday, August fourth. The location was not disclosed for the potential meeting and the WGA did not confirm whether or not they were meeting on Friday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers who are the negotiators on behalf of the major entertainment companies.
“The AMPTP, through Carol Lombardini, reached out to the WGA today and requested a meeting this Friday to discuss negotiations,” the WGA negotiating committee said in a statement to members on Tuesday. “We’ll be back in communication with you sometime after the meeting with further information. As we’ve said before, be wary of rumors. Whenever there is important news to share, you will hear it directly from us.”
An AMPTP spokesperson stated, “We remain committed to finding a path to mutually beneficial deals with both unions,” referring to both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, which has also gone on strike.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, if the meeting takes place it will be the start of a process to finally bring both sides together. The WGA has now been on strike for about 14 weeks after the negotiation of contracts back in May. The two sides have yet to agree since producers refuse to budge on instituting viewership-based residuals, regulating artificial intelligence, and establishing minimum staffing numbers. The two sides have not agreed on many things, such as “guaranteeing a second ‘step’ in screenwriters’ deals and allowing weekly minimums for WGA members in postproduction.”
AMPTP has spoken about the A.I. issue and said, “it requires a lot more discussion, which we’ve committed to doing.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the SAG-AFTRA followed in the footsteps of the WGA by calling forth its strike after its three-year contract expired and a deal between the two parties was not reached. This dispute was centered around the issue of A.I. that has irrupted in the past few years. The issue of giving streaming project casts a cut of subscriber revenue has also been an issue since its proposal.