[Global Times Special Correspondent Luc] With the box office sales of new summer movies such as "Inside Out 2" and "Despicable Me 4", the popularity of Hollywood seems to have returned to the level of previous years. However, American film and television practitioners and media have not The "lessons" of last year have not been forgotten: the general strike jointly launched by the Screenwriters Guild and the Screen Actors Guild plunged Hollywood into a shutdown for several months, with the number of productions significantly reduced and postponed, and the subsequent effects have been felt to this day. On the first anniversary of the Hollywood strike, media such as "The Hollywood Reporter" and "Variety" conducted a large number of interviews and follow-up reports. While reviewing the storm, they also found that the interests and rights that the screenwriters and actors originally fought for were not fully realized. into a more serious unemployment problem.
Crowds on strike outside Paramount Studios last September. (Visual China)
Total output fell by 37%
Due to dissatisfaction with salary packages, job opportunities, and the threat of artificial intelligence (AI), the American Screenwriters Guild began a general strike last summer, negotiating on behalf of 11,000 screenwriters and employers, and affecting the American film and television industry The production had quite an impact. Later, the Screen Actors Guild of America, which has 160,000 members, also joined the strike. This was the first time since 1960 that the two major unions had joined forces to strike. This move directly plunged Hollywood into a shutdown.
After lengthy bargaining, the Producers Alliance of America, which represents the interests of Hollywood employers, reached a settlement agreement with the two major labor unions at the end of September last year, reaching consensus on screenwriters' salary and actor dividends, ensuring the scale of project employees, and strengthening control over the use of artificial intelligence. Later, Hollywood practitioners returned to work in October last year. However, this strike of nearly three to four months has seriously delayed the progress of many movies, series and TV shows, and its destructive power has continued until this summer. In the eyes of industry media such as the "Hollywood Reporter", the wages that screenwriters fight for And the bonuses were not fully received, but the jobs and employment rate in the entire industry were even lower.
"Although the entire industry gradually emerged from labor disputes after October last year, Hollywood still feels like it is on the Titanic. These creative practitioners feel that they are increasingly devalued, and major studios are actively cutting costs and reorganizing their businesses." The "Hollywood Reporter" found after statistics that compared with the same period in 2022, the total output of the U.S. film and television industry dropped by 37% in the past six months this year, resulting in insufficient production. Some screenwriters and actors did not even meet the minimum income threshold for guaranteed medical insurance. Less than. Therefore, now looking back on whether the reasons and demands of the general strike were reasonable, and whether the new contract won by the union has improved the lives of practitioners, different interviewers gave inconsistent answers.
"One of the biggest self-inflicted injuries"
In the view of David Slack, a board member of the Writers Guild of America: "The strike is absolutely right. Artificial intelligence protection measures are particularly effective." However, some screenwriters/producers who did not want to be named disagreed: "Last year's writers' strike was one of the biggest self-inflicted injuries. The shutdown caused by the strike gave those production companies time to reflect on the previous model and consider how to Further substantial cuts in spending."
Actor Thomas Oschla belongs to the "strike works" group. "In the early stages of negotiations, the strike played a positive role, which shows that when people are closely united, they can go further." However, in the view of studio executives, the strike has dealt a heavy blow to the business, especially at a delicate moment when the traditional film and television industry is being integrated by Wall Street into the streaming business. The general strike has intensified the shrinkage of the industry. The union insists that the industry has reached a "life or death" moment. "We had to do that at that time, otherwise the production companies would never agree to those agreements. If necessary, we will do it again."
Hollywood management and labor unions still take different stances on the general strike. Although one year has passed, given the long-term development of film and television projects and the industry, it is still not enough to determine the merits and demerits of the general strike. The media predicts the follow-up It will take several years for the impact to be truly felt.
However, the controversy is now very fierce on some specific terms, such as one of the main rights negotiated by the Writers Guild last year - "mini studio". Film and television projects adopting this model employ fewer screenwriters and have shorter creative cycles. It is also shorter than regular programs, allowing producers to control costs more easily.
However, the union believes that this mini-model squeezes practitioners and insists on requiring the film studio to hire at least 3 to 6 screenwriters and receive more additional compensation. Although the film studio made concessions on this item, the consequence is that it no longer wants to operate a "mini studio" in the future. Instead of having the union focus on the minimum number of employees and salary bonuses, it is better to directly hire independent screenwriters to complete all the work. Hollywood practitioners have different opinions on the evolution caused by the strike. Some people criticize that it has led to a decrease in project approval, while some screenwriters believe that their income has indeed increased after receiving work.
The film studio has not yet fully fulfilled its promise
Members of the Hollywood Screen Actors Guild are still staring at another item closely related to their income-the implementation of streaming media on-demand dividends. Last year's new contract stipulated that 75% of the bonuses will be distributed to these actors. , but it’s still unclear how the money will be distributed. Kevin McCorker, director of the Los Angeles Screen Actors Guild, said: "The terms of this bonus pool are very complicated and must meet some prerequisites. We still can't figure out the details. So far, the Screen Actors Guild has only received the bonus package in the first quarter of this year. "
" In addition, there is a major item that the screenwriters and actors' unions are paying close attention to, but it is full of variables: the use of artificial intelligence. Last year, the union obtained a commitment to prohibit the use of AI to write scripts or generate materials. Film producers must also obtain the consent of the actors themselves before creating and using their "digital images" to prevent real-life characters from being replaced.
However, with the rapid advancement of AI technology, the previous terms have not had time to be implemented. This year, actor Nandini Bapat and stuntwoman Mary Funk were required to agree to the use of "digitally synthesized images" in their contracts. Facing the powerful Warner company, two practitioners gave up signing after hesitating. The former completed the performance after refusing to be scanned, and the latter failed to get a job opportunity. This shows that Hollywood studios have not been able to fully fulfill their promises so far. In addition to creating scripts and copying actors' images,
artificial intelligence can also reproduce actors' voices. In this regard, there is still some kind of game between Hollywood studios, technology companies and actors. In May of this year, OpenAI, a leading AI company, used the voice of Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson to create an AI voice without her consent. Although it apologized afterwards, it was still regarded as a provocation to personal dignity and union terms. , and also exposed the shortcomings that laws and regulations often lag behind the development of science and technology.
According to the British "Guardian", last year's Hollywood strike certainly achieved a certain consensus on wages, streaming media dividends and artificial intelligence supervision, "but this sense of relief and joy is also mixed with fear, and Hollywood can no longer recover." Back in the old days. Writers and actors with higher salaries are finding fewer job opportunities, the development strategies of various streaming media are still undecided, and whether artificial intelligence will really become 'a tool', people still need to Return to a rational perspective. But on the bright side, the new contract after last year's strike at least made people actively face future changes."
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