Hollywood’s writers and studios are entering the talking stage

The Writers Guild of America and AMPTP (the studios) are set to meet on Friday to discuss the possibility of resuming negotiations, after a studio negotiator reportedly reached out to the union to set up a time to chat. It’ll be the first time the two sides are meeting since the Hollywood writer’s strike began three months ago (and also weirdly reminiscent of meeting an ex for coffee).

🤔 How’s the strike going?... To be clear – just because the two sides are meeting doesn’t mean a deal is imminent.

The WGA and AMPTP remain far apart on a number major issues, including demands by writers to secure a larger share of streaming revenue, greater protections against the use of AI, and increases in minimum pay rates to offset inflation and the shift toward shorter TV seasons, the LA Times reports.

And, according to people familiar with the studios’ thinking, movement on any of these deal points could take a while. “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio exec was quoted as telling Deadline in mid-July.

📸🍿 Big picture: We’re about to run head-on into a scarcity of new content. Tens of thousands of actors joined the Writer’s Guild on the picket lines last month, bringing Hollywood productions to a standstill and marking the first simultaneous actors and writers strike since 1960.