The strike by writers that shook Hollywood and brought all production work to a halt for about 150 days, has come to an end. Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has finally borne some fruit. At last, a deal has been arrived at.
The deal will be valid till May 2026, and will include a minimum pay hike of five per cent on ratification of the contract. A four per cent bump will take place in May next year, followed by yet another three per cent hike a year later, that is, in May 2025.
Additionally, writers will also be protected to some extent against the increasing employment of artificial intelligence (AI) by studios. Henceforth, no literary content can be either written or re-written by AI. Any content or material that is created by AI will not be considered as source content.
A viewership-based bonus has been agreed upon in cases of streaming of high-budget subscription video-on-demand show and movieswhich have a viewership of at least 20 per cent in the first 90 days of release. These will receive a bonus equivalent to 50per cent of the fixed domestic and foreign residual. Views will be determined by diving the hours of the film or show streamed domestically by the runtime.
The writers can now look forward to being paid a bonus of $9,031 for a half-hour episode, $16,415 for a one-hour episode, or $40,500 for a streaming show that exceeds a budget of $30 million.
Writers can now look forward to a better contribution rate to their health cover and pensions along with increased contributions for writing teams. Screenwriters can also hope to receive better compensation and a revised $250,000 showrunner training initiative.
