Why does the US entertainment industry allow itself to be sidelined by unions for months, thereby accepting losses of billions of US dollars? There are good reasons for this existential hardening of the fronts, because this is not just about more money. The lack of transparency in performance accounting and the future use of artificial intelligence are important negotiating points for the unions. Perhaps a battle that will influence the future of filmmaking worldwide. We explain the American system and possible effects for Germany - shortly before negotiations resume tomorrow, Wednesday, after more than 140 days.
In this country, people are surprised at the great power of the unions in America. Authors started the current strike after failed preliminary negotiations after the previous contract between the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union of authors, and the Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the association of production companies, expired.
The main points of contention are: 1. Increasing remuneration, 2. More transparency on OTT platforms for performance fees, 3. Limiting the use of AI. The AMPTP has already submitted a negotiable offer on the first two points. However, it is clearly having difficulty with AI in particular. The prospect of relying on technology rather than human creation in many aspects of film production in the future seems too tempting. The success stories of AI solutions to date have mostly turned out to be insufficient, but that could change in the near future. Despite the existential challenges facing those affected, the unions are supported by the broad mass of members.
The WGA was founded in 1933 (West, 1954 East) and today acts as a strong voice and advocacy group for screenwriters in the US entertainment industry. The main focus is on improving working conditions and pay. The explosiveness of the current wage dispute, however, is primarily due to the close cooperation of the Screen Actors Guild ( SAG-AFTRA ).
The AMPTP was founded in 1982 as an industry association for production companies in Los Angeles and is comparable in Germany to the Alliance of German Producers - Film & Television eV . The 350 member companies of the AMPTP (the Producers Alliance stands for 320 member companies) include mainly the major studios.
According to various estimates, the economic damage caused by the strike is estimated at over 4 billion US dollars. In California alone, 700,000 jobs are directly affected. Film studios and international crews around the world are at a standstill. The longer the strike lasts, the more cinema releases in the coming years will be postponed - including in Germany. On the one hand, this will lead to more space for national films, but the enormous pull of Hollywood blockbusters could mean that consumers could migrate to other cultural activities.
After the end of the strike, it is expected that many productions worldwide will simultaneously be vying for skilled workers and resources. This could also affect the availability and prices for national productions. The service industry in particular, which has been hit hard by price increases on the one hand and a slump in capacity utilization on the other, will now want to be supported with long-term contracts and reasonable prices so that it is not dependent on just a few monopolists next year.
Your Ensider:Team
(Author: Markus Vogelbacher, Image by International Film Partners)