Hollywood writers to strike as talks with studios fail
- Hollywood writers to strike for the first time in 15 years, triggering TV shutdowns amid streaming disruption
- Writers Guild of America failed to reach an agreement for higher pay from studios including Disney and Netflix
Thousands of Hollywood television and movie writers will go on strike Tuesday, their union said, after talks with studios and streamers over pay and other conditions ended without a deal.
The strike means late-night shows could immediately grind to a halt, and television series and movies scheduled for release later this year and beyond may face major delays.
Writers Guild of America (WGA) board members “acting upon the authority granted to them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike,” the organisation tweeted.
Studios’ responses to its demands had been “wholly insufficient given the existential crisis writers are facing,” the writers’ union said.
It came after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), representing studios including Disney and Netflix, said in a statement that negotiations “concluded without an agreement”.
The last time Hollywood writers laid down their pens and keyboards, in 2007, the strike lasted for 100 days, costing the Los Angeles entertainment industry around US$2 billion.