Studios Call AI Conversations “Complicated” as 2023 Strike Heats Up

Since the Writers Guild of America began striking on Tuesday, they’ve been driving the narrative about the work stoppage. Thousands of writers have spread out across Los Angeles and New York to picket outside the biggest entertainment studios, including Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Netflix. The famous faces who have joined the picket lines and their clever signs—they are writers, after all—have dominated headlines. So, too, has their long list of demands. 

After the WGA announced plans for the strike on Monday night, it released a document outlining just how far it was from a deal with the studios. According to the two-pager, WGA’s proposal for the regulation of AI on Hollywood projects was met with a rejection from the group negotiating on behalf of the studios, which instead offered to hold “annual meetings to discuss advances in technology.” WGA said that the studios also outright rejected its proposal to establish minimums for the size and duration of writers rooms. The document had its intended effect, riling up writers as they headed out to the picket lines. “When the Writers Guild said here’s what we proposed and here’s what their responses were, it was like, oh my God, we were miles apart,” said showrunner David H. Steinberg from the picket line outside Fox on Tuesday afternoon. 

Beyond issuing a statement as negotiations broke down, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers remained rather quiet during the first two days of the strike. And the studios it represents have followed suit, directing press inquiries back to the AMPTP. Now they’ve issued a response. 

In a four-page document dated May 4, the AMPTP—which is led by Carol Lombardini—laid out its argument for why negotiations with the WGA broke down. On the issue of the writers room and the WGA’s request for mandatory staffing and minimum duration of employment—which seems to be a key negotiating point for the WGA—the AMPTP said, “If writing needs to be done, writers are hired, but these proposals require the employment of writers whether they’re needed for the creative process or not….We don’t agree with applying a one-size-fits-all solution to shows that are unique and different in their approach to creative staffing. Some writers are the sole voice of a show and others work with only a small team. The WGA’s proposals would preclude that.” 

The AMPTP also clarified its position around the use of AI, which has become a hot-button issue in the early days of the strike. “We’re creative companies and we value the work of creatives. The best stories are original, insightful and often come from people’s own experiences,” it said in the document. “AI raises hard, important creative and legal questions for everyone. For example, writers want to be able to use this technology as part of their creative process, without changing how credits are determined, which is complicated given AI material can’t be copyrighted. So it’s something that requires a lot more discussion, which we’ve committed to doing.” 

The studios are taking issue with writers’ complaints that their jobs have essentially become “gig economy” work thanks to the shrinking size and duration of writers rooms, which has forced them to seek jobs in multiple rooms in one year. The AMPTP said that working as a Hollywood writer “has almost nothing in common with standard ‘gigs’ jobs. For one thing, most television writers are employed on a weekly or episodic basis, with a guarantee of a specified number of weeks or episodes. It’s not uncommon for writers to be guaranteed ‘all episodes produced.’ Plus, writing jobs come with substantial fringe benefits that are far superior to what many full-time employees receive for working an entire year, including employer-paid health care, employer-paid contributions into a pension plan and eligibility for a paid parental leave program.”

As if to illustrate just how generous the studios have already been, the AMPTP pointed out that its most recent offer to increase minimum wages would equate to an extra $97 million annually for writers. (The WGA had previously said it would increase writers’ pay by $41 million per year.) And it noted that the 46% increase in streaming residuals negotiated three years ago only recently took effect, meaning that writers might not be feeling the full effect of those bigger checks just yet. Vanity Fair has asked the WGA for a response. 

It’s unclear when the WGA and the AMPTP will resume their talks. WGA negotiating committee cochair Chris Keyser said earlier this week that the writers are prepared to strike as long as it takes to “get the deal that we need to make sure that writing is a viable profession.” AMPTP seems to be arguing that it already is—which means Hollywood might want to settle in for a long work stoppage.