Three years after a crippling dual strike by actors and writers that brought film and television production to a halt, contact talks are set to begin Monday between Hollywood studios and the Writers Guild of America, with health insurance and artificial intelligence issues again expected to be a major discussion points.
The guild will begin talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the major Hollywood studios, on Monday. The AMPTP had been in negotiations during the past several weeks with the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union, but no deal has yet been reached.
“SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP completed productive bargaining sessions, including going several days beyond what was originally planned,” the two sides said in a joint statement on Sunday. “While we will continue ongoing conversations, formal negotiations will resume later this spring as planned, before the current contract expires June 30. We thank both negotiating committees for their shared commitment to reaching a fair deal and their thoughtful engagement, including over this entire weekend. We will continue to respect the press blackout and will provide an update in the coming months.”
With that pause in talks with the actors, the AMPTP will turn its attention to the WGA in hopes of reaching a deal with writers. The talks follow a 148-day strike by the WGA in 2023 — coinciding with a walkout by SAG-AFTRA — that crippled the industry.
The WGA’s contract with the studios expires on May 1.
While artificial intelligence — a top issue that helped fuel the 2023 strike — will again be a major talking point, health care is expected to take center stage.
“We’ve been very open that this will be a headline issue, and that we will be asking the companies to increase their contributions and put a significant amount of money into our health fund,” WGA West President Michele Mulroney told Variety last week. “It’s too early to talk about potential plan changes, because we have to see what we get from the companies first, and then we’ll figure things out after that. But if it comes to health plan changes, we’re always going to prioritize affordability and member choice and make sure that we are sensitive in that way.”
In terms of artificial intelligence, John August, co-chair of the WGA Negotiating Committee, told Variety that protections the union achieved in the 2023 strike-ending contract appear to be holding up, and studios to not appear to be using it in any ways that threaten writers, But improving those protections is expected to be discussed at the bargaining table.