Ray Richmond: The writers stuck to their guns and showed that #Solidarity is more than just a hashtag
As far back as I can remember, writers were minimized in the entertainment equation. The actors were at the top of the food chain, the stars who put people in the seats and butts on the couch in front of the TV screen. The producers put everything together. The directors told everyone what to do. The craftspeople made everything happen, The writers? All they did is create the story. The presumption was that anyone with half a brain, or even a quarter of one, could do that. Therefore, they were considered disposable, maybe not a dime a dozen but a dime for 7 or 8.
In the opening weeks of the Writers Guild of America strike, I was hearing a lot of this same crap. “Well, it’s only the writers. The producers will hire scabs if they have to. And wait and see, these guys will cave. They always do. The producers will divide ’em and that will be that.” Then, as weeks turned into months and the studios and streamers weren’t even bothering to return to the negotiating table, you started to hear, “They’re going to bring the writers to their knees, and if these people don’t settle soon they’ll just replace them with AI.”
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SEEHollywood writers reach tentative deal with studios and streamers to end strike
Yes. That’s how little respect the industry appeared to have for members of the WGA. They were so unnecessary that they could be replaced by a computer program. You know what? The writers understood this sentiment all too well, and that’s why they knew this was an inflection point for the guild. If they didn’t fight for and receive guarantees that the coming bonanza of Artificial Intelligence wouldn’t radically impact writer credit and compensation – and more to the point, wouldn’t be permitted to replace writers altogether – they were toast. Without that assurance, there might as well not be a guild at all, because not being pushed aside by software that mimics human writing needs to be pretty much the bare minimum level of protection.
The Guild stood firm and stood together. And if you think it’s easy to remain steadfast in the face of building poverty and the fear of imminent insolvency, guess again. Contrary to what you may have heard, the overwhelming majority of writers ain’t rich. Not even close. They had to have faith that their negotiating committee knew what it was doing over the course of five very long months that until last week looked like it could well go two or three more months – or even beyond that.
SEE2023 Emmys postponed indefinitely due to actors and writers strikes
So the news over the weekend that the WGA strike was making rapid progress – confirmed Sunday night with a tentative agreement – was a giant relief for everyone: the rank-and-file writers, certainly, but also those who are still holding out hope that film and TV production could soon resume and we might have something resembling a normal awards season. That last part naturally remains to be seen, as we’re only halfway there. Even if the 11,000 writers vote as expected to ratify the new three-year contract, the union performers are still without a deal. Little besides maybe the late-night talk shows and “SNL” can go back to work as long as the tens of thousands of actors represented by SAG-AFTRA continue to walk the picket line.
While we may not know specifics for another day or two, it appears the WGA got nearly everything it sought. That would include a concession to share for the first time in streaming revenue in a measurable way. For too long, it seemed the writers were always one technology behind in their negotiations, and it would be a relief to find that they’re finally on something resembling a level playing field in terms of how the pie will get divided up. All the writers have ever wanted is a slice rather than crumbs or less. It sounds like they might have gotten it.
But perhaps at least equally important has been the discussion and debate over AI. If the flesh-and-blood writers found themselves having to compete with the artificial variety for renumeration, and if it were a free-for-all without rules, they would have lost every time. So when the WGA braintrust puts out an email claiming that the deal they got is “exceptional,” you have to believe it includes specific language about AI and its limitations. That’s a giant victory all by itself.
Perhaps one question that must be asked is why it required nearly five months for all of this to happen. It took the active involvement last week of a handful of industry leaders – including Disney chief executive Bob Iger, NBCUniversal studio group chair Donna Langley, Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslov – to move this thing toward an apparent conclusion. Evidently, the studios were hoping the writers would wave a white flag before actual concessions became necessary, but hopefully they can see that it’s better this way. People who feel appreciated always work harder and better. It’s simply a fact.
What this all means is that we’re 50% of the way back to getting writers and actors back and once again permitted to promote their work during their work. Oscar publicists and lobbyists are surely excited about the prospect of getting actors back on red carpet before the stretch of year-end movies and critics events.
But that’s down the road.
Right now, it’s about celebrating the fact that writers are enjoying an all-too-rare win, perhaps driven by the fact that the studios and streamers could see a shortage that would impact them directly just up ahead. As is typically the case, the companies had prepared with a backlog of product to better survive any walkout, but it has limits. They certainly couldn’t hold out forever. As for the writers, they held firm in impressive fashion, never blinking, never panicking, never indicating that they were getting ready to reduce their demands in the interest of going back to work. Instead, they never lost their leverage, “leverage” in this case meaning their ability to remain a unified body.
Maybe the explanation for this is as simple as the writers had no other choice. If they’d have given up the fight too early, they’d probably have put themselves behind in terms of adequate compensation for their services for decades. They therefore had to take the short-term hit in the interest of making an essential long-term gain. And to the WGA’s credit, it never flinched. It behaved like a guild that understood the value of its members rather than one that was grateful for the tiniest morsel of acknowledgement.
So what this protracted negotiation really demonstrated was the writers at last showing not only genuine balls and unanimity but also a security borne of belief in themselves. Don’t let the word get out. It’s liable to make writers feel good about who and what they are, and we can’t be having that.
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