Posts tagged Minimum Basic Agreement
Deal! WGA, AMPTP Reach Historic Contract Agreement to End 146-Day Writers Strike: ‘This Deal Is Exceptional’
September 25, 2023 // The end of the WGA strike will hasten the end of SAG-AFTRA’s walkout. It will also start the process of returning the creative community to its typical cycles of production, distribution, marketing and promotion cycle for content. Production of TV and film has been in state of turmoil since the start of the year when production slowed down in the face of the May 1 deadline set by the WGA’s contract expiration. It was no secret as early as last year that the 2023 round of guild contract negotiations would be challenging, given the level of structural change across TV and film.
Opinions | The WGA strike is part of a recurring pattern when technology changes
May 31, 2023 // Once again, writers and other workers in Hollywood are facing technological change, this time regarding the use of artificial intelligence in projects covered by the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA). The WGA has proposed that any MBA material be produced by a person, with writing credits to a human, and that no AI be used in the production of literary material for a film. The goal is to secure the jobs and pay of writers, with both initial minimum payments during production and residuals for back-end exhibition. The WGA, which has stronger residuals security and higher payments with studios than with streamers, is looking for closer parity, especially with streaming’s rise in popularity since the coronavirus pandemic. Could AI help script a sitcom? Some striking writers fear so. In a recent example of where the agreements have fallen short, Netflix forced the WGA into arbitration by withholding residuals, ultimately owing $64 million in backdated payments while still refusing to shell out $13.5 million in interest.