The Writers Guild of America has accepted a request from Hollywood studio leaders, known as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, to discuss resuming contract negotiations, and the two groups will meet on Friday.
“The AMPTP, through Carol Lombardini, reached out to the WGA today and requested a meeting this Friday to discuss negotiations,” the guild said in the email to members on Tuesday night, which was obtained by TheWrap.
The request came a day after insiders told TheWrap that the AMPTP was eager to find a way back to the negotiating table “soon.”
The meeting is the first sign of possible end to the labor action that has brought almost all Hollywood productions to a standstill. Independent productions have received waivers from the guilds to continue shooting, but all other production has been shut down for nearly a month, while writers have been on strike for three months.
WGA declared a strike on May 2 after talks broke down over issues such as the use of AI in film and TV production and streaming residuals. SAG-AFTRA declared its own strike on July 13 — marking Hollywood’s first double strike since 1960 — after negotiations with the AMPTP collapsed essentially for the same reasons as the Writers Guild.
An individual with knowledge of the matter told TheWrap the AMPTP has not reached out to SAG-AFTRA with a similar request. This suggests that the studios have not yet coordinated new positions to respond to SAG’s demands.
But a spokesperson for AMPTP told TheWrap, “We remain committed to finding a path to mutually beneficial deals with both unions.”
Regarding the writers, a knowledgeable individual said the studios had made progress on Monday on agreeing among themselves about what revised proposals to bring to the guilds. Of two burning issues before the group, the question of mandatory staffing “will be tough to overcome,” the insider said. The other issue involving the length of employment for writers is less thorny.
The WGA strike will pass the 100-day mark on Aug. 9 — at which point the current strike will have lasted as long as the one in 2007-08.
The WGA letter told its members, “We’ll be back in communication with you sometime after the meeting with further information. As we’ve said before, be wary of rumors. Whenever there is important news to share, you will hear it directly from us.”
For all of TheWrap’s strike coverage, click here.
