When the writers’ union in the United States, the Writers Guild of America, denounces the precariousness of their working conditions and the insufficient compensation for their successes, they possibly do not speak on behalf of the industry’s heavyweights: that minority of screenwriters who, after chain successes in the medium, they have obtained exclusive contracts valued at tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. But, according to specialized media reports, the persistence of the strikers is putting the agreements at risk.
Since the strike began on May 2, studios have been suspending contracts and, in the case of Warner Bros TV, this means that Greg Berlanti (Arrow), Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso), Chuck Lorre (The big bang theory ), Mindy Kaling (I never) or J.J. Abrams (Fringe) from his production company Bad Robot have stopped charging for their services. While Variety is now reporting on the status of these deals, it is assumed to be a reality for every writer and producer with an exclusive contract with the studios.
At the beginning of the union maneuver, some of them were able to maintain the validity of their contracts because, as they also act as producers of their works, they could continue working on the productions as long as they did not touch a single point of the scripts written to date. You only have to look at the case of Ryan Murphy, creator of American Horror Story, who remained active on the set as director and producer. But, with the actors’ strike called by the Screen Actors Guild on July 14, the possibility of keeping filming sets open became an impossibility.
This, for the moment, does not mean that these agreements have been terminated. This is a temporary suspension while they cannot offer a work activity to the studios. However, the strike is opening up a possibility: that studios permanently suspend these links with talent, alleging force majeure, as they have not developed or produced content for their companies for more than 90 days.
While the studios are firm in the face of the demands of the scriptwriters, it is increasingly evident that the creatives are wreaking havoc. In the film programming in cinemas, films are being delayed either due to the impossibility of finishing them or because of the senselessness of launching them without having the actors to promote them. Disney already reported that it had to change the planned dates of the Marvel series. Free-to-air television begins the season without fiction to offer and platforms could run out of American fiction content by 2024.
And, after Amazon studied the performance of its audiovisual investments, the platform canceled series such as The Peripheral or Ellas dan el corazón, which had been renewed for a second season, arguing that they had been victims of the strike. They did not want to bear the costs and consequences of this. The decision also attracted attention because The Peripheral is produced by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, authors of Westworld and with an exclusivity agreement signed with Amazon Studios, for which they were to receive 150 million in five years.
The strike and lack of activity, therefore, is providing a solid argument for the termination of million-dollar agreements. J.J. Abrams obtained a $250 million deal for his production company; Mindy Kaling’s was 60 million; and it is estimated that Berlanti, who recently produced Red, White and Blue Blood for Amazon, has a contract of around 400 million. If studios want to save or dispense with the services of a scriptwriter and producer that they do not consider profitable, they have the ideal context.
