HOLLYWOOD STANDSTILL: The WGA Strike
With your favourite TV shows and upcoming movies put on pause, this episode dives into the WGA strike, unmasking the face-off between Hollywood scribes and the AMPTP. Witness how this standoff is turning the tables in the film and TV industry and setting a new precedent for giants like Netflix in the age of streaming.
The episode dives into what’s happening now, what’s going to happen from here, what’s happened in the past, and what the future ramifications of this strike are. This episode is, my attempt, at more investigative journalism into the questions surrounding the WGA Strikes that Hollywood is facing. I found when looking online there was a lot of information spread out all over the place, so this is my attempt to condense it all down into a simpler narrative, to help you better understand the situation and what this might mean for the future of Hollywood, along with your favourite shows.
00:00:00: Introduction
00:01:15: Fighting Factions Form
00:03:39: Strike Situation Standoff
00:04:16: Residuals + Revenue Reckoning
00:06:44: Streaming Service Strife
00:10:03: The Rest
References,
WGA: State of the Industry Address
SAG-AFTRA: Strike Authorisation
Disclaimers.
All is used fair thanks.
00:00:00:04 - 00:00:02:17 As some very much know and some very little know, 00:00:02:18 - 00:00:06:09 many of the most popular TV and movies have had their production shut down 00:00:06:09 - 00:00:09:14 in the last two weeks due to the Writers Guild of America striking. 00:00:09:15 - 00:00:12:19 It's currently closed all the late night shows to cease their live production 00:00:12:19 - 00:00:16:23 aspect, and many TV shows and movies have been put on hold due to the strikes. 00:00:16:23 - 00:00:20:17 Marvel, HBO, Netflix, Amazon all waiting on their writers 00:00:20:17 - 00:00:22:10 so they can resume production. 00:00:22:10 - 00:00:25:00 Shows like Stranger Things Five House of the Dragon, Good 00:00:25:00 - 00:00:28:24 Omens, Cobra Kai and The Walking Dead spin offs all halted with Marvel's 00:00:28:24 - 00:00:32:09 New Blade film suspended awaiting conclusion from the strike. 00:00:32:13 - 00:00:33:17 On May 1st, the Writers 00:00:33:17 - 00:00:37:10 Guild of America tweeted out, the board of directors of the WGA West 00:00:37:11 - 00:00:41:15 and the Council of the WGA East, acting upon the authority granted to them 00:00:41:16 - 00:00:45:12 by their members, have voted unanimously to call a strike effective. 00:00:45:12 - 00:00:46:23 12:01 a.m. 00:00:46:23 - 00:00:48:17 Tuesday, May 2nd. 00:00:48:17 - 00:00:50:21 For those of you asking how did it come to this? 00:00:51:06 - 00:00:54:09 And those of you not asking at all hang around because there's plenty here 00:00:54:09 - 00:01:00:14 to dissect and. 00:01:00:14 - 00:01:02:19 All right, first things first. We got to get it out of the way. 00:01:02:22 - 00:01:04:12 Who are the players in this fight? 00:01:06:01 - 00:01:06:12 In one 00:01:06:12 - 00:01:10:20 corner, we have the Writers Guild of America, the WGA, and the other corner 00:01:10:20 - 00:01:15:24 we have the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers or the AMPTP. 00:01:16:11 - 00:01:18:09 It doesn't really roll off the tongue as well. 00:01:18:09 - 00:01:21:12 The WGA, as the name suggests, is a labor union 00:01:21:17 - 00:01:25:07 that represents writers in film, television, radio and other online 00:01:25:07 - 00:01:28:20 media and comprises of the WGA West based in L.A. 00:01:28:20 - 00:01:31:05 and WGA East based in New York. 00:01:31:10 - 00:01:35:13 It's a joint effort, the AMPTP or the Alliance, as I'll be referring 00:01:35:13 - 00:01:37:12 to them, sounds rather harmless. 00:01:37:12 - 00:01:39:22 However, it's comprised of the largest studios 00:01:39:22 - 00:01:43:23 in the world, including but not limited to Disney, Netflix, 00:01:44:02 - 00:01:48:19 Warner Brothers, Discovery, Paramount, NBC, Amazon, Sony and Apple. 00:01:48:20 - 00:01:51:01 Basically, it's a joint alliance that represents 00:01:51:01 - 00:01:54:06 the largest media conglomerates and their interests. 00:01:54:22 - 00:01:57:20 The whole narrative already seems a little David and Goliath. 00:01:58:00 - 00:02:01:01 So what's happened? 00:02:02:07 - 00:02:03:24 The WGA union represents 00:02:03:24 - 00:02:07:12 the interests of some of the most talented and successful writers in the world. 00:02:07:20 - 00:02:11:10 Approximately 11,500 writers are represented by them. 00:02:11:15 - 00:02:12:14 Just about every show 00:02:12:14 - 00:02:15:16 that's currently airing or film, going into cinemas or streaming 00:02:15:16 - 00:02:19:17 has a WGA writer attached participating in the writing for the project. 00:02:19:23 - 00:02:23:20 So if almost every project in production in Hollywood needs a writer 00:02:24:01 - 00:02:27:17 and almost all the projects with a writer, a WGA, then that leaves Hollywood 00:02:27:18 - 00:02:29:20 at a little bit of a standstill. On writing content. 00:02:29:20 - 00:02:32:12 If there are no writers to write. Right. Correct. 00:02:32:19 - 00:02:36:17 And due to the current writer's strike, a ton of shows in the pre-production stage, 00:02:36:19 - 00:02:40:11 that is the stage before filming typically where the writing for a project is 00:02:40:11 - 00:02:45:00 undergone have been put on pause as the members of the WGA strike and march 00:02:45:00 - 00:02:46:04 along the picket lines. 00:02:46:04 - 00:02:48:03 Why, though, are all the writers striking? 00:02:48:03 - 00:02:50:03 Well, a little known fact about me. 00:02:50:03 - 00:02:51:09 I'm indeed a mind reader. 00:02:51:09 - 00:02:53:10 So glad you're asking that question. 00:02:54:01 - 00:02:56:09 If the writers and I'll say along with it. 00:02:56:09 - 00:02:59:19 So here's my good friend Tom Hanks explaining what's happening for a living. 00:03:00:00 - 00:03:05:14 Have to work so hard and get paid so they get paid as little as possible 00:03:05:22 - 00:03:08:22 in order to bring these things fruit to fruition. 00:03:09:15 - 00:03:10:23 That's not good for the food chain. 00:03:10:23 - 00:03:14:18 That's not that's not good for the ecological atmosphere 00:03:15:02 - 00:03:19:04 of the arts and sciences of of a movie 00:03:19:08 - 00:03:21:13 for legal disclosure, I believe I need to say 00:03:21:13 - 00:03:24:05 that I've actually never met Tom Hanks and he's not my friend, 00:03:24:05 - 00:03:26:21 and that that interview was an excerpt from PBS. 00:03:27:03 - 00:03:30:19 But nonetheless, back to the boxing match between the WGA 00:03:30:19 - 00:03:32:03 and the Motion Picture Alliance. 00:03:33:20 - 00:03:36:06 So it's mid-March 2023. 00:03:36:10 - 00:03:40:10 The WGA contract with the Alliance is about to expire and when this happens, 00:03:40:10 - 00:03:43:14 the union will go back to the alliance and begin to renegotiate 00:03:43:14 - 00:03:45:24 a bunch of clauses and requirements for its workers, 00:03:45:24 - 00:03:49:08 usually to do with pay conditions, etc., to maintain 00:03:49:08 - 00:03:52:05 and increase the quality of the work conditions for its members. 00:03:52:09 - 00:03:53:23 Pretty standard stuff. 00:03:53:23 - 00:03:56:13 So the WGA goes to the Alliance and says, 00:03:56:13 - 00:03:59:15 Hey, we're here to negotiate with you and get some results for our members. 00:03:59:19 - 00:04:02:15 And exactly what they ask for can be found in the show notes 00:04:02:15 - 00:04:05:11 if you want to read it. But I'm going to summarize it here. 00:04:05:11 - 00:04:08:18 While there was a little bit of technical jargon, as you'd expect, 00:04:08:19 - 00:04:11:24 the gist of it came down to demanding fair pay, job security 00:04:12:04 - 00:04:16:03 changes to how streaming services paid people involved, and writers residuals. 00:04:16:03 - 00:04:19:18 In fact, a lot of the problems they had came down to pay and residuals. 00:04:20:14 - 00:04:22:11 Now, don't forget, I'm still a mind reader, 00:04:22:11 - 00:04:24:20 so I know you're asking what residuals for writers are. 00:04:25:15 - 00:04:28:12 Well, residuals, put simply, are additional payments. 00:04:28:12 - 00:04:32:08 The writers receive when a TV show or film or any other content they've written 00:04:32:08 - 00:04:35:04 is reused or shown again beyond its initial run. 00:04:35:10 - 00:04:38:06 For example, if a movie that a writer worked on is released 00:04:38:07 - 00:04:41:11 on iTunes or an shown on cable TV or streamed online, 00:04:41:11 - 00:04:44:22 the writer would receive a later payment for each use known as a residual. 00:04:45:18 - 00:04:48:05 Residuals are essentially a way for writers to continue 00:04:48:05 - 00:04:51:21 earning money from their work, even after it has been initially aired or screened. 00:04:51:24 - 00:04:54:04 There's usually a formula that studios will use. 00:04:54:04 - 00:04:57:06 It's based on how much the writer contributed, how the film or show 00:04:57:06 - 00:05:00:04 performed, how much it cost to make, how well it did, etc.. 00:05:00:12 - 00:05:02:18 Notably, however, this core part of the writer's 00:05:02:19 - 00:05:05:21 income has been thrown out the window when it comes to streaming services, 00:05:05:21 - 00:05:07:21 as there really hasn't been much definition 00:05:07:21 - 00:05:11:12 or transparency from streaming services about how they're calculating the payments 00:05:11:12 - 00:05:12:10 to writers. 00:05:12:10 - 00:05:15:20 Now, it's super important to make clear that the strike didn't include extreme 00:05:15:21 - 00:05:18:21 demands either, as late night TV host Seth Meyers claimed. 00:05:19:05 - 00:05:23:00 I also feel very strongly that what the writers are asking for 00:05:23:02 - 00:05:24:12 is not unreasonable. 00:05:24:12 - 00:05:27:21 It's also important to understand that if writers are on strike right now, 00:05:27:21 - 00:05:31:16 this only really affects TV and film that are in their pre-production stages. 00:05:31:17 - 00:05:32:16 But it's also stopping 00:05:32:16 - 00:05:36:02 future film and TV from even starting their pre-production stage. 00:05:36:12 - 00:05:39:08 So this means post-production work such as editing and sound 00:05:39:08 - 00:05:42:08 editing can continue along with field production, like filming. 00:05:42:09 - 00:05:44:20 They just can't be done with writers from the WGA. 00:05:44:23 - 00:05:48:15 And remember, if the WGA represents 11,500 writers, 00:05:48:20 - 00:05:51:15 that's 11,500 people without jobs right now. 00:05:52:03 - 00:05:54:23 Now, if there's a strike, clearly somewhere along the line, 00:05:55:04 - 00:05:57:02 negotiations didn't go to plan. 00:05:57:02 - 00:06:00:20 It was after six long weeks of negotiation between the WGA and the alliance 00:06:00:20 - 00:06:02:08 that the studios declined 00:06:02:08 - 00:06:04:18 to continue negotiations further, allegedly 00:06:04:18 - 00:06:08:07 stating that the WGA were not cooperating, nor were they willing to negotiate 00:06:08:07 - 00:06:09:11 any further. 00:06:09:11 - 00:06:12:04 So on May 1st, 2023, negotiations 00:06:12:04 - 00:06:16:07 came to a close and the WGA announced that as of the following day, precisely 00:06:16:08 - 00:06:20:17 as the clock hit 12:01 a.m., WGA writers were on strike. 00:06:22:00 - 00:06:23:18 So throughout the research for this episode, 00:06:23:18 - 00:06:25:20 I've been reading a lot over and over 00:06:25:20 - 00:06:29:22 again that many of the members of the WGA and people within the film and television 00:06:29:22 - 00:06:33:08 industry have been labeling this union's strike as the Netflix strike. 00:06:33:09 - 00:06:34:20 And really that makes a lot of sense. 00:06:34:20 - 00:06:37:20 While possibly still an oversimplification of the problem. 00:06:38:02 - 00:06:41:02 A lot of the problems seem to come from the streaming model that Netflix 00:06:41:02 - 00:06:44:11 pioneered into mainstream success. 00:06:44:11 - 00:06:46:18 The streaming model as it goes, as corporatized, 00:06:46:18 - 00:06:48:21 a lot more of the industry than previously. 00:06:49:03 - 00:06:52:12 Rather than simply caring about box office revenue and production costs, 00:06:52:12 - 00:06:55:11 now a lot of these publicly traded entertainment companies 00:06:55:16 - 00:06:58:23 care a lot more about viewer retention and other metrics they can track. 00:06:59:07 - 00:07:03:02 Also, let's not forget, streaming services are very expensive to create 00:07:03:03 - 00:07:03:21 and maintain. 00:07:03:21 - 00:07:08:02 Disney just last year voted on the CEO stepping down and reintroducing its former 00:07:08:02 - 00:07:10:20 CEO, Bob Iger, to help make Disney plus profitable. 00:07:11:04 - 00:07:14:19 With companies like Apple, Amazon joining the fray, the first and fifth 00:07:14:19 - 00:07:16:07 largest companies on the planet, 00:07:16:07 - 00:07:19:13 of course, the corporate structure of these companies has bled into squeezing 00:07:19:13 - 00:07:22:13 every penny out of a production in the name of profits. 00:07:24:06 - 00:07:25:05 And in the last ten 00:07:25:05 - 00:07:28:20 years, there's been a huge cultural shift from studios and networks being run by, 00:07:29:03 - 00:07:33:05 if not artist, then at least art lovers to a highly corporate structure. 00:07:33:05 - 00:07:35:12 And as a result, this has led to a ton of downward 00:07:35:12 - 00:07:37:17 pressure being put on cutting costs any way they can. 00:07:37:17 - 00:07:42:00 And as a result, this pressure's boiled into the creation of the product itself, 00:07:42:06 - 00:07:44:13 trying to pay the writers as little as possible. 00:07:45:01 - 00:07:45:23 A lot of the changes 00:07:45:23 - 00:07:49:06 have led to the system where writers can't come up without being financially 00:07:49:06 - 00:07:51:24 supported by someone else, like a partner or parents. 00:07:52:08 - 00:07:55:10 I love a comment made by showrunner, writer and producer on HBO 00:07:55:11 - 00:07:57:20 is the last of US, Craig Mazin, who put it perfectly. 00:07:57:21 - 00:07:59:04 You're not just working 00:07:59:04 - 00:08:03:00 with Warner Brothers and Disney, and you're also there's Apple like Apple. 00:08:03:24 - 00:08:06:04 Apple has more money than most nations. 00:08:06:04 - 00:08:06:16 Yeah. 00:08:06:16 - 00:08:09:18 And this perfectly segways us into a letter written by the WGA 00:08:09:18 - 00:08:14:22 to its members just a few days ago, prior to recording, the Writers 00:08:14:22 - 00:08:19:02 Guild of America has now been on strike for two weeks because the AMPTP refuses 00:08:19:02 - 00:08:23:14 to negotiate a fair deal to address the existential crisis writers are facing. 00:08:23:15 - 00:08:27:11 The letter then goes on to say that the WGA estimates it would cost the industry 00:08:27:11 - 00:08:31:17 collectively $429 million per year, which sounds like a lot in to you. 00:08:31:17 - 00:08:33:10 Scroll to the bottom of that article 00:08:33:10 - 00:08:35:11 and see what kind of chunk this would actually take out 00:08:35:11 - 00:08:37:02 of the studio's annual revenue. 00:08:37:02 - 00:08:39:24 Just to briefly summarize, it would reportedly cost Disney 00:08:39:24 - 00:08:42:21 0.091% of their revenue. 00:08:42:21 - 00:08:45:21 Netflix 0.21% of revenue, and Apple 00:08:45:21 - 00:08:49:09 just 0.004% of their revenue. 00:08:49:10 - 00:08:53:16 Apple, who, as Craig Mazin mentioned, has more money than some nations does. 00:08:54:00 - 00:08:55:24 The article finishes by saying These companies 00:08:55:24 - 00:08:58:02 have made billions in profit off of writers work, 00:08:58:05 - 00:09:00:05 and they tell their investors every quarter 00:09:00:05 - 00:09:02:03 about the importance of scripted content. 00:09:02:03 - 00:09:05:08 I also wanted to quickly hit on a super interesting part of the proposals 00:09:05:08 - 00:09:08:16 from the WGA that specifically highlights the use of AI. 00:09:10:01 - 00:09:10:09 We've all 00:09:10:09 - 00:09:13:11 seen online the shocking practicality of producing 00:09:13:16 - 00:09:16:21 what would seem like creative work, whether it's the generation of so-called 00:09:16:21 - 00:09:21:14 art based on language or chat, is incredible mastery of language. 00:09:21:20 - 00:09:25:19 The WGA proposes regulation on the use of artificial intelligence, on copyright 00:09:25:20 - 00:09:29:13 covered projects that can't write or rewrite literary material. 00:09:29:14 - 00:09:30:15 It can't be used as source 00:09:30:15 - 00:09:34:06 material and copyright covered material can't be used to train A.I. 00:09:34:08 - 00:09:35:17 All that makes sense, really. 00:09:35:17 - 00:09:37:01 There's a clear value for human 00:09:37:01 - 00:09:40:20 input in the process of creating art, and the WGA wants to protect that. 00:09:40:20 - 00:09:44:03 But you'd also notice that the studios directly rejected this proposal 00:09:44:08 - 00:09:47:16 and countered by offering annual meetings to discuss the advancements 00:09:47:16 - 00:09:52:01 in technology, whatever that means. 00:09:53:17 - 00:09:56:00 Throughout the researching for this episode, there was a 00:09:56:01 - 00:09:59:02 lot of different social media websites that I would check in on regularly 00:09:59:07 - 00:10:02:06 to see what people at the actual marches were saying, mostly across 00:10:02:06 - 00:10:03:21 platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. 00:10:03:21 - 00:10:06:22 It highlighted one key thing to me that a lot of writers are both 00:10:06:22 - 00:10:11:04 underappreciated or the jobs are completely misunderstood. 00:10:12:09 - 00:10:15:12 The writer's job in film and television most of the time 00:10:15:16 - 00:10:19:23 is to brainstorm, develop and or fine tune story ideas and scripts. 00:10:20:07 - 00:10:22:02 Sounds simple, but it's really not. 00:10:22:02 - 00:10:23:05 A writer's job is to work 00:10:23:05 - 00:10:27:02 collaboratively with other writers and showrunners and directors 00:10:27:03 - 00:10:30:23 and sometimes actors to develop a cohesive and compelling storyline. 00:10:31:02 - 00:10:36:11 Characters, world dialog, everything in TV there are often up to 5 to 6 writers 00:10:36:11 - 00:10:39:05 per episode, and a lot of the writers get shifted around, 00:10:39:06 - 00:10:42:19 so most stick around for most of, if not all, the episodes of a TV show. 00:10:42:20 - 00:10:46:02 While some may stick around for only an episode or two, the biggest shift, 00:10:46:02 - 00:10:49:13 however, has come as a result of the streaming model in television. 00:10:50:02 - 00:10:53:07 In the last few years, television has become a bigger and bigger investment. 00:10:53:10 - 00:10:56:17 See the meteoric rise in budget and viewership of Game of Thrones 00:10:56:17 - 00:10:58:02 as an example. 00:10:58:02 - 00:11:01:13 Traditionally, TV episodes had a 16 to 24 episode 00:11:01:13 - 00:11:04:15 season, each episode lasting between 20 and 30 minutes. 00:11:05:03 - 00:11:09:03 And I'm a mind reader, so I know that, you know, seasons have become a lot shorter 00:11:09:03 - 00:11:10:13 with longer episodes. 00:11:10:13 - 00:11:12:09 So what big deal you thinking? 00:11:12:09 - 00:11:16:07 Well, writers have always been paid for the output that is the episode itself, 00:11:16:07 - 00:11:18:16 rather than the time taken to write the episode. 00:11:18:18 - 00:11:21:02 And if TV episodes are getting longer, that would mean 00:11:21:03 - 00:11:23:24 that writers are getting paid the same amount for more work. 00:11:24:03 - 00:11:27:04 And due to seasons being shorter, it's become a lot more like gig work. 00:11:27:04 - 00:11:28:17 When you couple in the fact that writers 00:11:28:17 - 00:11:32:04 aren't being asked to write anywhere near as many episodes per season. 00:11:32:09 - 00:11:35:07 And so this means that a writer that sticks around for an entire season of 00:11:35:07 - 00:11:37:06 writing will be paid per episode. 00:11:37:06 - 00:11:40:08 While episodes have been getting longer and there are less episodes per 00:11:40:08 - 00:11:43:08 season to be made. 00:11:45:12 - 00:11:48:08 And all of this gets thrown on top of a new methodology 00:11:48:09 - 00:11:52:03 that has sprung up in the last few years, colloquially dubbed as many rooms. 00:11:52:04 - 00:11:56:04 Now, keeping it brief a mini room is traditionally and that's the key. 00:11:56:10 - 00:11:58:23 A scaled down version of a standard writer's room 00:11:59:01 - 00:12:01:05 and typically consists of a smaller team of writers 00:12:01:08 - 00:12:05:05 utilized in the very early stages of development to see where a series will go. 00:12:05:12 - 00:12:07:21 It's a lot more of a focused approach to script development, 00:12:07:21 - 00:12:10:23 but as a result leads to less job security for the writers involved. 00:12:10:23 - 00:12:14:04 And up until a few years ago, this was a completely legitimate system. 00:12:14:04 - 00:12:18:03 But lately, this concept has been completely exploited, and instead studios 00:12:18:03 - 00:12:20:07 are gathering these mini rooms to do a lot more work 00:12:20:07 - 00:12:23:13 than usual, essentially writing an entire episode, paying a writer 00:12:23:13 - 00:12:25:15 even less, and paying them for only one episode. 00:12:25:15 - 00:12:27:24 And again, back to Twitter and other social media. 00:12:28:00 - 00:12:30:03 These problems don't really seem to be highlighted often. 00:12:30:09 - 00:12:34:19 Unless you're listening to this podcast, which I know you hit the follow button on. 00:12:35:01 - 00:12:36:19 Right? Right. 00:12:38:01 - 00:12:38:19 And due to a lot 00:12:38:19 - 00:12:41:23 of misunderstanding, it's led to really mixed reactions. 00:12:42:00 - 00:12:43:12 There's been a really supportive reception 00:12:43:12 - 00:12:46:12 from celebrities, TV host, directors, actors. 00:12:47:03 - 00:12:49:23 While it seems that while perhaps just a vocal minority, 00:12:49:23 - 00:12:52:23 the general public shows little sympathy for the writers on strike. 00:12:53:07 - 00:12:54:03 But I think a lot of 00:12:54:03 - 00:12:57:04 it comes down to the misunderstanding of the conditions and pay 00:12:57:04 - 00:13:01:19 and how the system works, and perhaps also the idolization and adoration 00:13:01:23 - 00:13:04:13 that's built around Hollywood and the supposed fairy tale 00:13:04:14 - 00:13:07:05 that working in the film and television industry is meant to be. 00:13:07:13 - 00:13:10:04 Perhaps a lot of it comes down to the stardom and media coverage 00:13:10:08 - 00:13:12:06 and the stories of the few ultra successful 00:13:12:06 - 00:13:14:19 that made their living in Hollywood. But you can be the judge of that. 00:13:15:20 - 00:13:18:07 And speaking of actors in a developing story, 00:13:18:12 - 00:13:20:22 the union that supports a wide cast of actors, 00:13:21:00 - 00:13:24:00 the screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television 00:13:24:00 - 00:13:26:09 and Radio, actors better known as SAG-AFTRA. 00:13:26:10 - 00:13:27:22 On the day of writing the script, 00:13:27:22 - 00:13:30:06 they'll be counting votes to authorize an actor's strike. 00:13:30:06 - 00:13:32:12 If this happens, all projects that haven't completed 00:13:32:12 - 00:13:35:14 filming will come to a complete halt along with the pre-production. 00:13:35:15 - 00:13:36:18 The filming of television 00:13:36:18 - 00:13:40:16 shows and films will completely stop if authorized on June 30th. 00:13:40:16 - 00:13:44:09 If there is no conclusion to negotiations that the Actors Guild can come to 00:13:44:10 - 00:13:45:18 with the alliance. 00:13:45:18 - 00:13:48:21 And in even more alarming news for the studios and streaming services. 00:13:49:02 - 00:13:52:14 The Directors Guild of America, or the DGA, are also predicted 00:13:52:14 - 00:13:55:20 to be voting on a strike authorization in the near future as well. 00:13:55:20 - 00:13:58:08 With directors on strike, even film and television 00:13:58:08 - 00:14:01:03 that has already been filmed will also completely come to a stop. 00:14:01:05 - 00:14:05:05 No editing, no sound editing, no editing, no sound editing and mixing 00:14:05:05 - 00:14:06:16 and no collaborating. 00:14:06:16 - 00:14:10:07 As far as I'm aware, this would virtually take the entire industry to a stop 00:14:14:02 - 00:14:16:17 and the ramifications for all of this are huge. 00:14:16:18 - 00:14:18:16 It's not the first time this has happened either. 00:14:18:16 - 00:14:22:04 There's been strikes by the Actors Guild, the directors Guild, the Writers Guild, 00:14:22:10 - 00:14:25:03 all the guilds going way back to 1940. 00:14:25:11 - 00:14:28:05 But for now, let's just go back 15, as I am today. 00:14:29:00 - 00:14:31:22 Beside, of all you people gathered here 00:14:32:11 - 00:14:35:20 in Unity together to fight for your right to a fair contract 00:14:36:09 - 00:14:40:06 tells me without a shadow of a doubt, we are going to win this thing. 00:14:42:12 - 00:14:45:07 That was Seth Macfarlane, the wiseguy behind Family Guy. 00:14:45:08 - 00:14:48:00 It's 2008, the last time the writers were on strike. 00:14:48:03 - 00:14:50:21 And it's coming to the end of a 100 day strike. 00:14:51:04 - 00:14:54:16 That's like 100 days for writers, largely without pay studios 00:14:54:16 - 00:14:56:07 only giving out unpaid leave. 00:14:56:07 - 00:15:00:21 The effects of the last strike were huge, and it being around 2007 and 2008 00:15:00:22 - 00:15:04:00 meant the economy was about to tip due to the global financial crisis. 00:15:04:05 - 00:15:08:13 With the economy already teetering on the brink of failure, the WGA called a strike 00:15:08:13 - 00:15:09:19 and what followed was a strike 00:15:09:19 - 00:15:12:18 lasting 100 days and pushing the economy into recession. 00:15:12:22 - 00:15:16:22 With an estimated loss incurred of about $1.5 billion to the California 00:15:16:22 - 00:15:20:18 state revenue, affecting about 37,500 jobs. 00:15:22:01 - 00:15:24:15 And a little less worryingly, that year, the Golden Globes 00:15:24:15 - 00:15:27:06 were announced as a press conference due to the strikes. 00:15:27:15 - 00:15:31:00 The last strikes, big concern was with how studios were treating residuals 00:15:31:00 - 00:15:33:24 for writers surrounding new media, such as the Internet distribution 00:15:34:04 - 00:15:37:11 like iTunes and other online rentals, along with DVD royalties 00:15:37:15 - 00:15:41:21 and the way studios treated reality TV writers. 00:15:43:05 - 00:15:46:17 In the end, the WGA came out on top, but of course they did. 00:15:47:00 - 00:15:49:20 Storytelling and writing is such a crucial part of our lives. 00:15:49:23 - 00:15:52:15 Everyone's got their favorite TV show and their favorite movies, 00:15:52:21 - 00:15:55:04 let alone the shows that they're currently engrossed in. 00:15:55:19 - 00:15:59:00 Along with that, the streaming platforms reiterate every investor's call 00:15:59:06 - 00:16:00:12 that there's a clear demand 00:16:00:12 - 00:16:02:18 for scripted content, and there's always going to be a demand 00:16:02:19 - 00:16:05:07 for storytelling and especially a demand for writers. 00:16:05:12 - 00:16:08:02 There's already so much free content available in the world. 00:16:08:06 - 00:16:10:08 Spotify, YouTube, TikTok. 00:16:10:08 - 00:16:12:10 And they all provide endless hours of entertainment. 00:16:12:10 - 00:16:15:02 And yet people still pay for Netflix and Disney plus. 00:16:15:06 - 00:16:17:13 And the cinema industry is on a high at the moment. 00:16:17:13 - 00:16:19:09 New records being beat every other year. 00:16:20:12 - 00:16:23:06 There's always been such a great demand for deep, funny, 00:16:23:06 - 00:16:27:12 entertaining stories and behind all of it, even reality and documentary. 00:16:27:18 - 00:16:30:16 As writers, they say, storytelling is one of the biggest 00:16:30:16 - 00:16:33:11 differentiators between humans and all other creatures. 00:16:33:23 - 00:16:36:06 Do you really think aliens tell stories? 00:16:36:06 - 00:16:39:21 Yeah, I didn't think so. 00:16:39:21 - 00:16:41:01 Well, thanks for listening. 00:16:41:01 - 00:16:43:24 I just wanted to quickly apologize for all the acronyms in this episode. 00:16:44:03 - 00:16:48:02 All the WGA, WGA'S and the alliances and the letters and the DGA is in 00:16:48:02 - 00:16:50:00 the USA is hoping you got through all of that. 00:16:50:00 - 00:16:53:07 And if you're listening on Spotify, you can scroll down just a touch. 00:16:53:08 - 00:16:54:14 There's two quick questions 00:16:54:14 - 00:16:57:04 that I'd love to see your opinions on there, real quick ones. 00:16:57:04 - 00:16:59:22 And if you can just spare me a few more seconds of your time, it would mean a lot. 00:16:59:23 - 00:17:01:17 Anyway, thank you for listening. 00:17:01:17 - 00:17:04:00 I'll talk to you soon.