Across the spectrum, 2023 left us on some real cliffhangers, wondering how some big issues were going to play out. For better or worse, 2024 will bring some answers.
In part two of my tip sheet for the year head (yesterday’s was about our CEO Gang of Five) here are the big looming questions that will shape 2024:
I. Are we heading for Double Strike II?
Last year it was the actors and the writers. This year IATSE and the Teamsters will take their turns at the bargaining table. Are we headed for the third industry shutdown in half a decade?
I’ve already heard scuttlebutt along the lines of, “After what happened last year, these unions know they can’t shut Hollywood down.” Which reminds of a time way back, about one year ago, when all the geniuses were assuring us that after all Hollywood had been through with Covid, the writers would never be so foolish to shut Hollywood down (and the actors weren’t even an afterthought).
Anyone who believes IATSE and the Teamsters will not walk out no matter what they are offered managed to make it through the trials of 2023 without learning a single thing.