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Hollywood studios and screenwriters have reached a tentative deal to end the nearly five-month-long strike that has largely shuttered production of film and television in the world’s entertainment hub, the Associated Press is reporting.
Negotiation meetings between the sides have made considerable progress in recent weeks, which may be attributed to the presence of four top executives: Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Disney’s Bob Iger, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos.
Nearly 20,000 writers have been without work or pay since May 2 as negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, halted over the summer.
The WGA began its strike on May 2 with the Screen Actors Guild joining them in striking on July 14, marking the first time in over 60 years both unions have been on strike at the same time.
Striking writers say they were split with producers over issues such as higher residual pay, viewership transparency from streaming services, the size of writing staff on shows and the use of artificial intelligence in the creation of scripts.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass weighed in on the tentative deal in a Sunday evening statement, reading:
“After a nearly five-month long strike, I am grateful that the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have reached a fair agreement and I’m hopeful that the same can happen soon with the Screen Actors Guild. This historic strike impacted so many across Los Angeles and across the nation. Now, we must focus on getting the entertainment industry, and all the small businesses that depend on it, back on their feet and stronger than ever before.”
The actors strike has its own issues but there have been no discussions about resuming negotiations with their union yet. Representatives from SAG-AFTRA are still hammering out a deal with AMPTP as actors remain on the picket line.
The WGA strike was nearing record length. If it had lasted until Sept. 30, it would have been the longest strike in the union’s history and the longest Hollywood strike since 1945.
A deal has not yet been reached for members of the Screen Actor’s Guild.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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