Photo: WGA
On May 2, members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike for the first time in 15 years. The strike started the day after the previous contract expired, when talks about pay and streaming residuals, among other issues, fell apart. The effect of the strike was immediately felt, as late-night talk shows began showing repeats, and the MTV Movie & TV Awards canceled the live portion of its show after host Drew Barrymore and other presenters backed out in solidarity.
Strikes in Hollywood aren’t uncommon, and this is the eighth WGA strike since the 1950s. The last one, which started in late 2007, lasted 100 days and guaranteed that writers would have a stake in revenue when their content hit the internet. The rapid change in how we consume media is also at the heart of this strike, as streaming residuals have been a major sticking point.
The strike has made headlines around the country and has even made its way into the classroom. As shared by film and tv writer Tyler Ruggieri, one sixth-grade class in Los Angeles has learned all about the strike and wanted to send their support.
The WGA picket line at Fox just got a huge delivery of letters from students at St. Timothy’s Catholic School in Century City pic.twitter.com/SdQWSJWuMs
— Tyler Ruggeri (@t_ruggeri) May 9, 2023
Ruggieri shared letters of encouragement he and other writers received from students at St. Timothy’s private school in Century City. The letters were delivered to the picket line outside of Fox and certainly lifted the spirits of everyone.
Comments ranged from, “Writers rule!” to a very timely and wise, “Hopefully you are seen as superior to AI.” And everyone encouraged them to continue the fight by telling them to “Keep thinking about the goal,” and “Keep going.”
As the strike heads into its third week, the list of productions disrupted by the lack of writers on set keeps growing. It was announced that the final season of Stranger Things won’t be filmed until the strike finishes, as the creators shared that “writing does not stop when filming begins.” Other popular shows like Abbott Elementary, Unstable, and Yellowjackets have also either closed their writers’ rooms or shut down production due to the strike.
According to Los Angeles Times, the 2007–2008 strike cost the California economy $2 billion, so here’s hoping for everyone’s sake that everyone can come to the table to create a fair agreement sooner rather than later.
On May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America went on strike for the first time in 15 years.
Photo: David James Henry via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
A group of students from a local private school delivered notes of support to the picket line.
A few more: pic.twitter.com/MiYbNmJ8wh
— Tyler Ruggeri (@t_ruggeri) May 9, 2023
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