WGA & SAG Strike of 2023

[Jake S]

—Gran Turismo, originally dated for Aug. 11, is now going to sneak preview over that weekend and Aug. 18, officially opening on Aug. 25 wide. Said a Sony spokesperson on the unique last minute, promo shift, “The stars can’t promote the film, but the audience can.”

sure, jan.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I was right:

Sony Shakes Up Release Dates: ‘Bad Boys 4’ & ‘Venom 3’ Set; Strikes Push ‘Ghostbusters’ Sequel, ‘Kraven The Hunter’, ‘Beyond The Spider-Verse’ & More

Sony Dates 'Bad Boys 4', 'Venom 3'; and is pushing back 'Beyond Spider-Verse' & 'Kraven the Hunter' due to SAG-AFTRA strike.

deadline.com

Honestly this is good news
I would not be able to see Gran Turismo its opened weekend, no idea if it will really help it but I'm glad they aren't making all these filsm just coming out at once

 

[rageofthegods]

Studios Seek To Reopen Talks With WGA On Friday

There’s movement! The WGA has confirmed that it will sit down with the AMPTP on Friday to try to put an end to the writers strike that has been going on since May 2. The guild sent a note to its me…

deadline.com

Lol. I thought they were gonna starve us out!

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Studios before Strike:


Studios after Strike:

 

[Nick]

They have realized that they are massively losing the battle it seems. I do wonder if this is a good faith attempt or not though. They could try to use this meeting with WGA to make the WGA look like the studios are trying to concede but the WGA Is simply being unreasonable.

 

[Jerroddragon]

This is good news

The studios are making millions suffer for nothing

Glad they are willing to talk now over this fall

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

This is a good sign. They could drag this out forever if they wanted but they have absolutely zero public support. I also would like to think they see the money being made currently from theatres and realize next year will see no profits even close to this. I hope this is resolved by October.

 

[GAcoaster]

The studios are still trying to drag it out until after Christmas figuring it gives them the upper hand. They have piles of money, the strikers do not and will start getting more desperate to return to work.

 

[Mad Dog]

Studios will try to portray themselves as the good guys by going back to negotiations, but I'm 'guessing' it's just a false flag, mostly for PR purposes, and they're not going to make a substantial offer. Studios are throwing so much money away on too many streaming projects, and they don't know how to solve that, and this stoppage, in a strange way, keeps them from losing money, until they figure out a way out of the mess they've trapped themselves in. They killed the golden goose without breeding a replacement.

 

[Tbad556]

Disregard.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Dan with more info on Sag's/the writers wants and demands (Dan also talks about the Tree's trimming by Universal)


Also if your interested in hearing more about the situation when Universal cut the tree's where the strikers were striking. (Spoilers Universal lied and summer is not normally when you trim these trees)

 

[MrBlonde]

Warner Bros. Discovery Says Strikes Saved It More Than $100 Million in Q2, David Zaslav Hopes Negotiating Resumes Soon

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav commented on Hollywood writers and actors' ongoing work stoppage during the company's earnings call

variety.com

The Strike’s Side Effect: A Cash Hoard for Studios

As Hollywood enters earnings season amid a double walkout, it’s becoming clear that, in the short term, the work stoppage is adding to struck companies’ bottom line. What will CEOs do with the windfall?

www.hollywoodreporter.com

CEO of WB decides to spin the strikes as a good thing since they've saved $100 millon in costs since the strikes started,

After years of overspending on streaming content across the industry, plus WB's financial engineering/merger, this strike actually helps them dig out of the nearly $50 billion in debt they're in while not spending as much as they usually do. All these studios will have better expenses purely by the fact they're not burning cash. I hope this doesn't incentivize the studios to drag it out.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Warner Bros. Discovery Says Strikes Saved It More Than $100 Million in Q2, David Zaslav Hopes Negotiating Resumes Soon

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav commented on Hollywood writers and actors' ongoing work stoppage during the company's earnings call

variety.com

The Strike’s Side Effect: A Cash Hoard for Studios

As Hollywood enters earnings season amid a double walkout, it’s becoming clear that, in the short term, the work stoppage is adding to struck companies’ bottom line. What will CEOs do with the windfall?

www.hollywoodreporter.com

CEO of WB decides to spin the strikes as a good thing since they've saved $100 millon in costs since the strikes started,

After years of overspending on streaming content across the industry, plus WB's financial engineering/merger, this strike actually helps them dig out of the nearly $50 billion in debt they're in while not spending as much as they usually do. All these studios will have better expenses purely by the fact they're not burning cash. I hope this doesn't incentivize the studios to drag it out.

lol

Dear God, they are learning the wrong lessons. If the strike goes on for another few months they will have NOTHING for the next year to year and a half, how do they expect to have revue without new movies?

 

[quinnmac000]

With reality/unscripted also seemingly on the verge of unionizing, the studios better come out and get the scripted side done fast because reality stars are already starting to sue the studios.

NBCUniversal & Bravo Slammed For “Sordid & Dark Underbelly” Of Reality TV; Porn, Sexual Violence, Booze & More Alleged As Potential Suit Looms

In Hollywood’s current labor climate, Bethenny Frankel’s desire for a reality TV stars union may seem like a sideshow. However, as NBCUniversal learned this week, the Real Housewives vet and her la…

deadline.com

 

[Jerroddragon]

More people in the industry wanting to become an union

 

[Mad Dog]

Warner Bros. Discovery Says Strikes Saved It More Than $100 Million in Q2, David Zaslav Hopes Negotiating Resumes Soon

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav commented on Hollywood writers and actors' ongoing work stoppage during the company's earnings call

variety.com

The Strike’s Side Effect: A Cash Hoard for Studios

As Hollywood enters earnings season amid a double walkout, it’s becoming clear that, in the short term, the work stoppage is adding to struck companies’ bottom line. What will CEOs do with the windfall?

www.hollywoodreporter.com

CEO of WB decides to spin the strikes as a good thing since they've saved $100 millon in costs since the strikes started,

After years of overspending on streaming content across the industry, plus WB's financial engineering/merger, this strike actually helps them dig out of the nearly $50 billion in debt they're in while not spending as much as they usually do. All these studios will have better expenses purely by the fact they're not burning cash. I hope this doesn't incentivize the studios to drag it out.

Yep. I recall I earlier said that was going to happen. Streaming over production is a financial black hole, and an addiction that the Studios, like a drug addict, couldn't keep themselves from doing. The longer term question, is how the Studios will ever get Streaming to do as well, profit wise, as the former home entertainment venues that had carried the Studio's profits since the 1980's. They have no clue, and the present subscription price level is woefully low to ever support these networks. Unfortunately, for the Studios, they've accustomed customers to expect low rates and they'll probably never accept the $30 to $40 monthly fee that's needed to replace what existed before. They have backed themselves into a corner.

 

[Nico]

Yep. I recall I earlier said that was going to happen. Streaming over production is a financial black hole, and an addiction that the Studios, like a drug addict, couldn't keep themselves from doing. The longer term question, is how the Studios will ever get Streaming to do as well, profit wise, as the former home entertainment venues that had carried the Studio's profits since the 1980's. They have no clue, and the present subscription price level is woefully low to ever support these networks. Unfortunately, for the Studios, they've accustomed customers to expect low rates and they'll probably never accept the $30 to $40 monthly fee that's needed to replace what existed before. They have backed themselves into a corner.

Customer expectation is definitely a key here. As annoying as it is to have to pay and keep track of all these streaming apps, the only solution I see to this seems like it’s going to be “worse” for the customer. I really see an Amazon model being the future here. A combination of “free” content (if you have subscription) and then the option of paid rental/purchase for others. Hopefully based on release date instead of popularity.

It’s basically going to replicate the 90s/00’s. A combination of Blockbuster, standard tv channels, premium tv channels, and DVD sales (now digital).

The hard part would be getting customer acceptance. I’m sure no one wants to be the first. In a way, we’ve been lucky for a while. But the reality is, creatives aren’t getting paid in this current model.

 

[Grabnar]

Customer expectation is definitely a key here. As annoying as it is to have to pay and keep track of all these streaming apps, the only solution I see to this seems like it’s going to be “worse” for the customer. I really see an Amazon model being the future here. A combination of “free” content (if you have subscription) and then the option of paid rental/purchase for others. Hopefully based on release date instead of popularity.

It’s basically going to replicate the 90s/00’s. A combination of Blockbuster, standard tv channels, premium tv channels, and DVD sales (now digital).

The hard part would be getting customer acceptance. I’m sure no one wants to be the first. In a way, we’ve been lucky for a while. But the reality is, creatives aren’t getting paid in this current model.

I liked the initial concept that Disney had for D+ with Black Widow

You can pay now to watch closer to release, or you can wait 6+ months for free streaming. I'd gladly drop $30-60 to watch a film at home at the end of its theatrical run. Hulu is probably the closest to a freemium model, though I think Amazon has dipped its toes in the water with FreeTV replacing OTA TV.

I think this is the first rumble of the tech industry collapsing in on itself though, a lot of these tech firms were only profitable due to essentially free money from decades of insanely low interest rates. This is the opening salvo of a financial correction coupled with "industry disruption" falling apart.

 

[Nick]

Disgusting that the AMPTP essentially set the WGA up. Also, do they realize that it was recently ruled by a judge that AI written works are not copyright-able? Do the studios not want to own their content?

 

[Mad Dog]

That scenario was obvious. The Studios have no incentive to seriously bargain at this point in time. They're actually saving money by not 'losing the billions that streaming over production was costing them'. This contract will not settle in the near future. The Studios are just playing PR games now.