About a week and a half after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Writers Guild of America resumed contract talks, the negotiating unit representing Hollywood’s studios has released the details of its counterproposals to the writers.
Among the items in the proposed package, in the AMPTP’s words:
- “Significantly” higher wages, and increases to high-budget SVOD residuals
- A “new structure to train writers to become the showrunners of tomorrow, by guaranteeing the length of employment and requiring that at least two mid-level writers, chosen by the Showrunner, be assigned to production”
- A guaranteed minimum of 10 weeks of employment for writers in development rooms
- Viewership data that will be “provided to the WGA that will include total SVOD view hours per title”
- The assurance that “a writer will not be disadvantaged if any part of the script is based on GAI-produced material, so that the writer’s compensation, credit and separated rights will not be affected by the use of GAI-produced material”
On that “new structure”: given the high angst over staffing minimums and duration of employment minimums, this is likely going to be the page of most interest to many a writer:
The WGA did not immediately respond to request for comment late Tuesday.
Read the full proposals below in the AMPTP’s press release:
So, what do we make of the proposals? We’ll have more of a thorough breakdown and analysis in the coming days, but I’d like to hear your first impressions. Talk to me: elaine@theankler.com.
