Screenwriters and Hollywood studios reach pay deal
The screenwriters union and Hollywood studios have reached a surprise interim four-year deal after nearly three weeks of negotiations.
The Writers Guild of America West said at X that its negotiating committee unanimously approved a tentative agreement with the Motion Picture and Television Producers Guild, which represents the studios. The alliance confirmed the agreement in a separate statement on its website on Saturday.
“We look forward to building on this progress as we continue to work on agreements that support long-term industry stability,” the alliance statement said.
The exact terms of the agreements were not immediately disclosed, but they are expected to include some of the authors’ priorities, such as better health care plans and greater protection against artificial intelligence.
The agreement preserves the writers’ health plan based on 2023 earnings and “helps address the challenges of unpaid work,” the union said in a statement to X.
The contract agreement, which is one year longer than a typical three-year agreement, must be approved by the guild’s board of directors and members before being approved.
The surprise deal came within weeks of negotiations; This was in stark contrast to the contentious contract dispute three years ago, when Hollywood writers went on a historic strike that brought the industry to a partial halt.
The screenwriters almost unanimously approved this deal, which gave them more compensation, working time and control of the AI. The current contract was planned to expire in May.
The studios were also working on new deals with union leaders representing actors and directors whose contracts expire at the end of June.
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