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When the clock struck midnight one year ago today, the Writers Guild of America officially ended its historic 148-day strike against the major Hollywood studios.

It was just a few days shy of the guild’s longest strike ever, and as a result, the WGA managed to secure just about everything members had picketed in the hot, summer sun for in its current contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. But, while many writers hoped that the new year would bring relief after more than five months without work, the reality has been much less promising.

While last year was certainly a win for the WGA, the union has also had to contend with the fact that many of its members are still unable to find a writing job.

“I always go back to, ‘What did the companies offer on May 1, and where did writers end up 148 days later?...

A year to the day after the Writers Guild strike settlement, Ellen Stutzman has been ratified as Executive Director of WGA West in a referendum. The vote was 2,279 “yes” to 72 “no.”

The union also revealed results of its 2024 Board of Directors elections, with eight members being named to two-year terms. They are incumbents Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Deric A. Hughes, Justin Halpern, John Rogers and Travis Donnelly and new electees Melinda Hsu, Chris Hazzard, and Danny Tolli. They beat out 10 other finalists for board seats.

Having served as Wgaw’s chief negotiator during its 148-day strike against the AMPTP, Stutzman was promoted to Executive Director after David Young announced his resignation in November. She was part of numerous Mba negotiations before heading up the Wgaw negotiating committee last year.

Stutzman began her Wgaw tenure as a researcher in January 2006 and rose to become the Research & Public Policy Director. She was promoted to...

The members of the Writers Guild of America West have voted overwhelmingly to approve Ellen Stutzman’s contract as the union’s executive director, a year after she led the union through a historic strike.

Stutzman’s contract was ratified with 97% of the vote, with 2,279 in favor and 72 opposed.

Stutzman was promoted to executive director last November, when the union announced that David Young, its longtime leader, would retire. Young had taken a medical leave earlier that year, leaving Stutzman in place as chief negotiator during the talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Stutzman was paid $680,000 in the last fiscal year, about double her salary when she was assistant executive director.

The union also announced Tuesday that three new members have been elected to the Board of Directors.

Melinda Hsu, who was the showrunner of “Nancy Drew,” was the top vote-getter, with 1,491 votes. Chris Hazzard and...

The Writers Guild of America West ratified the appointment of Ellen Stutzman as its top staffer and re-elected incumbent board members in the latest test of member support of the union’s leadership since the 2023 writers strike.

Member leaders Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Deric Hughes, Justin Halpern, Travis Donnelly and John Rogers — in short, all the incumbents who ran — were re-elected to their board seats in the 2024 election, results released on Tuesday revealed. New members Melinda Hsu, Chris Hazzard and Danny Tolli were also elected in the contest.

Union members additionally supported the board of directors’ appointment of Stutzman as the union’s executive director in November 2023 by a wide margin: 2,279 members, or nearly 97 percent, supported the decision, while 72, or about three percent, voted against it.

Appointed as the chief negotiator for the writers union just weeks before 2023’s contract negotiations began, as the union’s then-executive director suddenly went on medical leave,...

2023 proved to a be a landmark year for Hollywood labor as actors and writers called a historic double strike in the name of reshaping a transforming industry. As that battle was waged over issues like AI and compensation in the streaming age, chief negotiators for the striking unions, as well as the directors’ union, took home the top labor leader salaries in Hollywood.

SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland led the pack with a gross salary of $1,016,182, according to the labor group’s latest Lm-2 filing, a form of annual financial reports for unions. He was followed by Directors Guild of America national executive director Russell Hollander, with a gross salary of $775,000, and Writers Guild of America West executive director Ellen Stutzman, whose gross wages constituted $682,692. (The figures compiled by The Hollywood Reporter included data from both 2024 and 2023 Lm-2s, whichever constituted the latest filings, spanning a period between Jan.

SAG-AFTRA’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland was the highest paid among the Hollywood union leaders and the ninth highest-paid labor official in the country last year.

The National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, who helped lead the actors union through a historic 118-day strike last year, earned a salary of $1.02M in 2023, according to filings with the U.S. Department of Labor.

That marks a 6.5% increase versus the year prior, when his salary was just shy of the $1M mark at $954,357, and it’s a hefty raise from the roughly $700,000 that his predecessor David White made in his final year at the helm of the union.

SAG-AFTRA reported $116,412,527 in dues and agency fees last year, marking about a $10M decrease from the year prior, likely due to the strike. It paid its employees a total of $58,985,778 — a nearly $9M increase from 2022.

Crabtree-Ireland’s salary still pales in comparison to the more than...

Four hundred and eighty-seven members of the global film community — among them Killers of the Flower Moon star Lily Gladstone, Past Lives filmmaker Celine Song, CAA managing partner Chris Silbermann, and SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland — are receiving invitations on Tuesday to become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization announced this morning.

“We are thrilled to welcome this year’s class of new members,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang said in a joint statement. “These remarkably talented artists and professionals from around the world have made a significant impact on our filmmaking community.”

Invitees who wish to accept, as the vast majority tend to, will join the specific branch of the Academy that invited them. Eight were invited by more than one branch — Michael Andrews (film editors and short films/feature animation), Bahram Beyzaêi (directors and writers...

The Writers Guild of America resurfaced its 2023 strike in a comedy bit that unfurled at the union’s Los Angeles awards ceremony Sunday night.

More than half a year after the union ended its 148-day strike, the union spoofed the top negotiator representing studios and streamers during those talks, Carol Lombardini, in a raunchy and at times brutal routine at the Hollywood Palladium. Nearly an hour into the union’s annual awards ceremony and between awards presentations, host Niecy Nash-Betts began interacting with an image of “Lombardini” on a screen behind her. (Only the mouth of the image moved, and the rest was static.)

When Nash-Betts asked why “Lombardini” was there, the image responded by congratulating the co-chairs of the WGA’s negotiating committee during the 2023 strike, David Goodman and Chris Keyser, for winning the Morgan Cox Award for service to the union. “First of all, I want to congratulate all the nominees and winners,...

The Writers Guild of America East has named Sam Wheeler executive director after its previous staff leader announced his departure last fall.

Wheeler, currently the national executive director of the American Guild of Musical Artists, will start at the writers’ union on April 1. The union’s council announced the hire on Monday, saying that Wheeler’s appointment came after a “months-long search.”

“I am honored to join the Wgae as Executive Director,” Wheeler said in a statement. “I want to thank President Cullen, the Officers, and the Council for placing their trust in me. Wgae members have built a dynamic, member-led, fighting union and I am thrilled to be part of the work ahead.

Wheeler has held his current leadership position at the Agma, which represents staging staffers, singers and dancers in the fields of opera, ballet and choral performance, since 2022. He joined the union originally in 2019 as its eastern counsel,...

Longtime Writers Guild of America West general counsel Tony Segall is retiring from the position, the union announced to members on Monday.

As Segall steps into an outside counsel role, in-house WGA West lawyer Sean Graham, currently the director of the union’s agency department, will ascend to the general counsel position. In addition, Jonah J. Lalas — a partner at the labor-focused firm Segall co-founded, Rothner, Segall & Greenstone — will join the union as an outside counsel after previously working on arbitrations for the union.

“I have been fortunate to work with and learn from Tony throughout my time at the Guild as he has played a role in every part of the Guild’s work, from organizing drives to public policy to negotiations,” WGA West executive director Ellen Stutzman said in the message to members on Monday. “We all owe Tony a great debt for the work he has done...

As the town flocked to picket lines during a historic 148-day writers strike and 118-day actors strike, moguls took a hit (looking at you, Bob Iger), stars made blunders (why, Drew Barrymore?) and others saw their stock rise (Lindsay Dougherty holds court next with the studios) …

Winners

Fran Drescher & Duncan Crabtree-Ireland

To be sure, SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating team faced its challenges in 2023, from growing impatience in the industry over the length of its bargaining process to celebrity resistance to the union’s restrictive Halloween strike rules. Ultimately, though, Drescher in particular ably combated some of the criticism (openly discussing the heart-shaped plushie she brought to negotiations) and the union won a wide-reaching contract.

Ellen Stutzman

The WGA West assistant executive director was thrust into the spotlight in February when the union’s usual chief negotiator, David Young, stepped out on medical leave. Stutzman was named to take his place in negotiations,...

“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline. One insider called it “a cruel but necessary evil.”

We’re all glad the strikes are finally over, but I feel misunderstood. I mean, sure, I pull down tons of cash to stonewall and bulldoze artists on behalf of multinational media conglomerates who want to protect their many billions of dollars in beautiful, beautiful profits. And I get that a certain amount of public condemnation and mockery come with the gig (yes, I’ve seen your mean tweets and memes and yes, I hope all of you die). But before I crawl back into my office in the bowels of a Sherman Oaks shopping mall, before little ol’ Carol is gone and forgotten for the next three years (or at least until next summer when...

David Young, the longtime executive director of the Writers Guild of America West, is stepping down, the guild announced on Friday.

Ellen Stutzman, who served as chief negotiator through its 148-day strike this year, will take over as executive director.

Young was initially expected to lead this year’s negotiations, but surprisingly took a medical leave in February, shortly before talks began.

“It has been an honor to work with and for writers,” Young said in a statement on Friday. “I’ve also been lucky to collaborate with the Guild’s staff, which is superb.”

Even though Young has been on leave since February, he was still consulting with the WGA behind the scenes, according to a source who spoke with him over the summer.

Several guild leaders issued statements in praise of Young’s tenure. Meredith Stiehm, the president of WGA West, called Young a “shrewd, creative strategist.” David Goodman,...

The David Young era is ending at the Writers Guild.

The WGA West Board of Directors told members in a letter today that the union’s longtime Executive Director, who has spearheaded multiple bargaining campaigns on behalf of the writers including the 2020 negotiations, is exiting when his contract expires. Ellen Stutzman, who served as Wgaw’s chief negotiator during its 148-day strike this year, has been promoted to the post.

Young went on medical leave in February, ahead of the Writers Guild strike, and 18-year Wgaw vet Stutzman was tapped to lead contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers.

Known for his bare-knuckle negotiating style, Young joined as the head of the guild’s organizing department in 2004 and was upped to Executive Director the following year. During a heated phone call in 2020, Young famously told WME partner Rick Rosen that he “should kick his ass” but...

After 18 years at the top of the Writers Guild of America West, executive director David Young is departing. And the chief negotiator who led the union in its latest round of negotiations amid a historic strike — Ellen Stutzman — will take his place.

The WGA West board of directors announced the leadership transition to members on Friday. “Our membership owes David a great debt. His organizing experience and strategic acumen were essential to building the Guild into the fighting organization it is today,” the group stated in it message. Young will remain at the union through the remainder of his contract, but Stutzman’s promotion is effective immediately.

Young, who joined the union in 2004 as an organizing director and stepped into the executive director role a year later, led the union through a momentous period, including the 100-day strike in 2007-8 that tackled what was then called “new media” and the...

Ellen Stutzman, who served as chief negotiator during the strike, has been named the new director of WGA West, the guild’s President Meredith Stiehm announced on Friday. Outgoing veteran David Young has held the position since 2005.

“Ellen is a steady, calm force to be reckoned with, as we all witnessed these past five months as she led us to victory in the 2023 strike,” said Stiehm. “She is beloved by staff and members, and I have every confidence in her as she steps into this role. Writers could not be in better hands.”

“There’s nothing more important – that determines the outcome of things more – than the right person at the right time. Ellen was that for us. The exact right person at a tenuous moment,” said former Wgaw president and 2023 WGA Negotiating Committee co-chair Chris Keyser.

“The first, maybe most important, decision we all made in the course of...

I proudly voted “yes” for the new WGA Minimum Basic Agreement. It is an immense achievement, and Ellen Stutzman, Chris Keyser, David Goodman and the rest of the negotiating committee should take well-deserved bows.

Regarding artificial intelligence, the WGA negotiated a smart, forward-thinking set of guardrails for guild members even though the technology is still sorting itself out and very few can predict its ultimate manifestation.

But given the powerful nature of AI and its potential to save the studios countless millions, I can’t help but wonder how these profit-seeking monoliths will side-step the new restrictions in the years to come as the technology improves.

By looking back at a particular experience of my own, I think I know of one way they can.

I cite this story as a warning to both my guilds, the WGA and DGA, as well as IATSE and Teamsters as they negotiate future...

Dan Gordon, the screenwriter of “The Hurricane” and “Wyatt Earp,” resigned from the Writers Guild of America on Tuesday over the guild’s silence on the Hamas attacks on Israel.

A 56-year member of the union, Gordon is also a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces. He grew up in Israel and the U.S., and holds citizenship in both countries and in Canada.

He wrote a letter to WGA West leadership on Tuesday saying he will elect “financial core” status. In an interview, he noted that the guild had previously taken stands in support of Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movement, and that its refusal to condemn the Hamas attacks is “appalling.”

“We had no trouble, as we should not have had, weighing in after George Floyd was killed. We had no problem, as we should not have had, weighing in on the #MeToo movement. No one said at the time,...

Dan Gordon, a 56-year member of the Writers Guild of America and reserve captain for the Israeli Defense Forces, published an open letter on Tuesday resigning from the union over its failure to condemn the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

“The failure of the Guild’s leadership to issue even the mildest condemnation of the worst massacre of a religious minority in the Middle East since Isis carried out similar atrocities against the Yezidis is appalling,” Gordon said in his letter. “It is corrosive to me as a writer and repugnant to every fiber of my being as a person of conscience.”

Gordon will assume “financial core” status, or “fi-core” for short. Those with fi-core status cannot vote in guild elections or receive other perks of full members, but still pay reduced dues and work under the same bargaining agreement terms as full members. Those who assume fi-core...

Longtime Writers Guild member Dan Gordon is resigning over the union’s lack of public support for Israel.

“I am resigning my membership in the WGA West and electing financial core status because I no longer wish to be a fellow traveler with those who hide behind the fetid veil of a morally bankrupt wokeism and stand silent in the face of a fanatical ideology no less explicit in its genocidal intent toward the Jewish people than that of Nazi Germany,” The Hurricane screenwriter said Tuesday.

In a letter sent to WGA West brass Patrick Cannon and Ellen Stutzman, the Israeli-American writer and former Idf member added: “The failure of the Guild’s leadership to issue even the mildest condemnation of the worst massacre of a religious minority in the Middle East since Isis carried out similar atrocities against the Yezidis is appalling. It is corrosive to me as a...

A 56-year veteran of the Writers Guild of America West is becoming a Financial Core (Fi-Core) non-member over the union’s lack of official statement about Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel.

Dan Gordon, the writer of Wyatt Earp with Kevin Costner and The Hurricane with Denzel Washington, is intending to inform the WGA West on Tuesday that he is renouncing his membership as a result of the guild’s silence on the Oct. 7 assault on the country that killed 1,400 people, many of them civilians.

“When you sit there and say there has not been an act of this magnitude, a tragedy of this magnitude befall Jewish people since Nazi Germany and you can’t find language to condemn it? And you’re writers? It’s staggering,” Gordon told The Hollywood Reporter. The scribe, who counts Highway to Heaven among his lengthy list of credits, said his adopted sister “just escaped...

WGA members voted in favor of a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that ended one of Hollywood’s longest strikes.

The union reached an almost unanimous decision of the three-year Minimum Basic Agreement. Members of both the WGA West and WGA East cast their votes, with 99% of those who voted approving the now sealed deal that will run from Sept. 25, 2023 to May 31, 2026.

“Through solidarity and determination, we have ratified a contract with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of our combined membership,...

It’s officially over: The Writers Guild of America has ratified the three-year contract deal that ended the second-longest strike in the union’s history.

Ninety-nine percent of union members voted to support the contract in a vote that ended on Monday; the WGA says of the 8,525 valid votes cast there were 8,435 “yes” votes and 90 “no” votes (1 percent). The term of the new agreement is from Sept. 25, 2023, through May 1, 2026.

“Through solidarity and determination, we have ratified a contract with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of our combined membership,” said Wgaw president Meredith Stiehm. “Together we were able to accomplish what many said was impossible only six months ago. We would not have been able to achieve this industry-changing contract without WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman, negotiating committee co-chairs Chris Keyser and David A. Goodman, the entire WGA negotiating committee, strike captains, lot coordinators, and the staff...

Writers are overwhelmingly in favor of the new contract its guild has won from the studios. WGA members have voted in favor of ratifying the new minimum basic agreement, with an enormous 99 percent of members who voted approving the contract. The strike is officially over.

The guild said of the 8,525 valid votes cast, there were 8,435 “yes” votes and 90 “no” votes. Back in 2020, the last time the contract came up for a ratification vote, 98 percent of members approved it, but only 4,155 valid votes were cast.

Writers will now work under this contract effective through May 1, 2026.

“Through solidarity and determination, we have ratified a contract with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of our combined membership,” said Wgaw president Meredith Stiehm. “Together we were able to accomplish what many said was impossible only six months ago. We would not have been able to achieve this industry-changing contract without WGA Chief Negotiator Ellen Stutzman,...

The writers’ strike officially ended Monday as the Writers Guild of America announced that its members overwhelmingly voted to ratify the contract negotiated by guild leaders after 148 days on the picket lines.

The WGA announced the result of the ratification vote on Monday, with 8,435 out of 8,525 votes received in favor of ratification for a vote percentage of 99%. The voter turnout was significantly above the ratification vote for the 2020 contract, in which 4,155 votes were received.

The term of the new agreement is from Sept. 25 through May 1, 2026.

“Through solidarity and determination, we have ratified a contract with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of our combined membership,” WGA West president Meredith Stiehm said in a statement. “Together we were able to accomplish what many said was impossible only six months ago. We would not have been able to achieve this industry-changing contract without WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman, negotiating...

(Updated with SAG-AFTRA statement) Writers have officially approved their deal with the studios.

This afternoon, the WGA membership ratified its contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, bringing to a final end to the strike that lasted for nearly five months.

After a week of voting, a vast majority of the WGA membership cast their ballot in favor of ratifying the three-year Minimum Basic Agreement. Some 8,525 valid votes, or “99% of WGA members,” as the guild termed it just now, were cast by members of the 11,000-strong Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East.

“There were 8,435 ‘yes’ votes and 90 ‘no’ votes,” the guild announced in an email sent to members.

With major strides for scribes in terms of A.I. guardrails, residuals, writers room staffing, and data transparency, as well as pay hikes, the now sealed deal runs from September 25, 2023 to May 31, 2026.

Monday...

Exclusive: As the striking actors guild sits down today with the studio bosses for the first new talks in over 80 days, the writers are one step closer to officially ending their nearly 150-day labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

“We strongly endorse this proposed contract and encourage you to vote for its ratification,” said Writers Guild of America West president Meredith Stiehm and WGA East president Lisa Takeuchi in a joint message to guild members that started landing in scribes’ inboxes late this morning (read the full email below).

Over 11,000 members of the WGA on both coasts received their ratification ballots and support material Monday via email. Garnering unanimous support from the WGA West board and the WGA East council the tentative agreement that guild negotiators came to with studio CEOs on September 24 is now out for “members in good standing” to give a Yea or Nay to.

The tentative agreement between studios and writers heads to a vote by Writers Guild of America membership that opens Monday morning. But not all WGA members will get to vote on whether to approve it, even if they regularly joined picket lines — those who didn’t earn enough from WGA-covered work in recent years will have to sit this one out.

WGA member Aadip Desai spoke with TheWrap about why he was among those who wrote on social media about his frustration with the Guild for not letting him and others vote, as well as why he views this as a significant diversity issue.

The WGA did not immediately return a request for comment.

Sharing an email from the WGA on social media, noting that he’s not eligible, Desai wrote, “Marginalized writers enthusiastically sacrificed our time, energy, money, health, and safety for 148 days. The WGA PR machine benefited from our diverse visibility.

This is Day 78 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

It was everything everywhere all at once Thursday in New York City: Striking actors getting ready for contract talks were joined by writers who have just wrapped up theirs at a rally in Manhattan that also highlighted Asian American Pacific Islander culture in film and television.

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated by Asian communities worldwide, about 200 people gathered outside the Manhattan offices of Warner Bros. Discovery for pickets and speeches that marked the official end of one strike against the major studios and the continuation of another whose end might be in sight.

Speakers including Joel de la Fuente of Hemlock Grove, Perry Yung of The Knick, Celia Au of Wu Assassins and Ivory Aquino of When We Rise hailed the growing visibility of Asian-Americans onscreen and said that their strike demands — including sustainable wages and limits on the use...

The Writers Guild of America, on the union’s first day after its historic 148-day strike, staged a “rock concert” — as one showrunner described it — Wednesday night at the Hollywood Palladium as the guild celebrated its leadership and solidarity while outlining the deal points in its tentative Minimum Basic Agreement to its membership.

The meeting opened with a minutes-long standing ovation for the negotiating committee and was followed by a video featuring scenes and interviews from the picket lines and from various rallies held throughout the past 148 days of the work stoppage.

WGA West President Meredith Stiehm opened the meeting with the “official” announcement that the guild had reached a tentative new three-year Minimum Basic Agreement after what was the union’s second-longest strike in its history. Her remarks were met with one standing ovation after another as she recognized each and every member of the WGA’s leadership, board...

The Writers Guild of America’s tentative agreement with studios and streamers includes several firsts for the union, including protections against artificial intelligence encroaching on writers’ work and guarantees on minimum staffing levels for many series. It also can cut writers in on the success of streaming shows, something that’s never happened before.

The success-based residual will pay writers of streaming series and movies a bonus if the equivalent of 20 percent or more of a streaming service’s U.S. subscribers watch it within three months of release. It won’t be an easy threshold to reach, based on the limited viewing data on streaming programming that’s publicly available, but it’s not impossible, either.

Here’s how the new residual will work.

The Basics

The WGA’s agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers enshrines the recent definition of a streaming “view” as its measure of success.

Exclusive: “This strike was way too long, because the companies took so long to get serious,” WGA West President Meredith Stiehm declared tonight of the nearly 150 days the Writers Guild was out on the picket lines before a tentative agreement was reached on September 24.

“I feel sad and pained that it took this long because when we got serious, we got it done in a reasonable amount of time. So much was wasted and lost by just not acting earlier,” the guild leader added, with WGA West chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman by her side.

And now, the end is here. The nearly five-month Writers Guild strike met its official end at 12:01 a.m. Pt Wednesday, after the WGA leadership approving the tentative deal struck on Sunday with the AMPTP.

“I would just say member power is what brought this deal in,” Stutzman said of the writers who held out...

After 146 days on the picket line, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has struck a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end the writers’ strike.

The two groups reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year deal on Sunday night.

WGA West announced the news to Twitter, sharing, “The WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement. This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who stood with us for over 146 days. More details coming after contract language is finalized.”

There was reason for optimism following Wednesday’s meeting between the writers and Hollywood studios. Deadline reported that an insider described the CEO-attended session as “very encouraging.” The meeting was attended by Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Disney’s Bob Iger, Universal’s Donna Langley and Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, alongside AMPTP...

The Writers Guild of America’s announcement that it has reached a potentially strike-ending deal with Hollywood studios was met with cheers by entertainment union members, including the union that it shared picket lines with for months, SAG-AFTRA.

“SAG-AFTRA congratulates the WGA on reaching a tentative agreement with the AMPTP after 146 days of incredible strength, resiliency and solidarity on the picket lines,” the actors’ guild said in a statement.

A more barbed statement came from Lindsay Dougherty, Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 399, who praised the WGA for their resilience while swiping at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios in labor talks.

“The militancy of the writers holding the line and hitting the pavement exemplified their unwavering commitment to their core issues,” Dougherty wrote “Their fight has also inspired a renewed solidarity among Hollywood workers that will live long past this bargaining cycle.”

“Solidarity,...

Updated with WGA-amptp joint statement: The Writers Guild has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end its strike after nearly five months. The parties finalized the framework of the deal Sunday when they were able to untangle their stalemate over AI and writing room staffing levels.

“The WGA and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement,” the WGA and the AMPTP said in a joint statement this evening.

“We have reached a tentative agreement on a new 2023 Mba, which is to say an agreement in principle on all deal points, subject to drafting final contract language,” the WGA told its members in a release, which came just after sunset and the start of the Yom Kippur holiday that many had seen deadline to wrap up deal after five days of long negotiations.

Related: SAG-AFTRA Congratulates WGA On Tentative Deal, Urges Studios To Return...

Exclusive, Updated with joint statement: The roller coaster ride of the Writers Guild and the Hollywood studios trying to seal a deal to end the writers’ nearly 5-month-long strike isn’t over yet.

After a day many thought would see an agreement between the WGA and the AMPTP finalized, it looks like things are on pause — at least until Sunday morning. “The WGA and the AMPTP met for bargaining on Saturday and will meet again on Sunday,” the two sides said late Saturday in their second joint statement in a week.

With claims of a “best and final offer” from the studios and streamers on the table and lawyers from both sides still poring over the fine print, the WGA strike is going to go at least one more day.

One more day that looks likely to see another so-called “best and final offer,” a fairly standard legal term that...

Updated, 6:02 Pm: After a full day of negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP, the guild’s lawyers are reviewing what the studios call their “best and final offer.” We understand that the WGA is going over deal points, and we should have more clarity on Sunday.

Previously, 1:22 Pm: A deal in the latest negotiations between the WGA and studios CEOs to end the nearly five-month-long writers strike looks within sight.

During the meeting today at the AMPTP Sherman Oaks office, the parties appear to have essentially untangled their stalemate over AI, writing room staffing levels, and the last remaining matters of contention.

With Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Universal’s Donna Langley, Disney’s Bob Iger and Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav participating from afar, attorneys are now said to be deep-in working on final language for a three-year deal.

The lack of in-room attendance from the CEO...

The Writers Guild of America West’s former chief negotiator David Young has been pulling the strings on negotiations with the Hollywood studios, Hollywood showrunners said in a private text group.

According to a text shared on Friday night in a 500-member WhatsApp group of showrunners: “Turns out the WGA negotiating committee calls David and runs everything by him.”

The text went on to say that on Thursday night, the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had agreed to a deal — but Young told them to go back and “ask for those other two points and ‘squeeze their nuts the same way we did the agents.'”

The text continued, “That’s what happened and that’s who’s been behind the scenes this entire time, hence why it’s taking so long.”

The WGA did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Young left...

(Updated with WGA statement) The Writers Guild brass and studios CEOs were working Friday night to close a deal to end the scribes’ strike, but it seems they aren’t quite there yet.

Running from around 11 a.m. to 8:45 p.m., the third day of direct talks between the WGA negotiating committee and the heads of Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery has ended without a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract. While the two sides were able to find accord on a number of issues, a solution acceptable to all on matters like AI and writers rooms’ minimum staffing levels has eluded the negotiators so far, we hear.

However, while nothing was etched in stone, it does appear Bob Iger, Donna Langley, Ted Sarandos and David Zaslav and the other principals are open to reconvening at some point over the weekend. In fact, the CEO Gang of Four,...

On day 144 of the writers strike — a week and a half shy of becoming the longest in Writers Guild of America history — there was a renewed sense of optimism on the jam-packed picket lines Friday as guild members heeded their union’s call to hit the pavement as negotiations with studio CEOs and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers entered their third consecutive day.

At Disney, more than a thousand members of the WGA and performers union SAG-AFTRA walked the woodsy Burbank grounds where many scribes expressed cautious optimism that a deal to end the work stoppage could be imminent following two days of progress at the bargaining table.

“I always feel good when they’re talking … the fact that they’ve been talking for three days straight is terrific,” said veteran showrunner Marc Guggenheim (Legends of Tomorrow).

Following a nearly month-long stalemate, the WGA and AMPTP returned...

The WGA is heading back to the bargaining table with the CEOs of Netflix, Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros Discovery on Friday.

“The WGA and AMPTP met for bargaining today and will meet again tomorrow,” said the guild in a message to members after a long session Thursday night. Executives Ted Sarandos, Bob Iger, Donna Langley and David Zaslav are all anticipated to be in attendance Friday, along with AMPTP president Carol Lombardini and a praetorian guard of lawyers. On the other side, WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman, along with David Goodman and Chris Keyser, will also be in the room at the AMPTP’s Sherman Oaks offices.

Scheduling and attendance weren’t the only messages the guild wanted to convey late tonight after an unresolved marathon negotiating session with the studies and streamers.

“Your Negotiating Committee appreciates all the messages of solidarity and support we have received the last few days,...

3rd Update, 9:59 Pm: In a note to members that just went out, the WGA says it will be meeting Friday with the AMPTP and CEOs from Netflix, Universal, Warner Bros Discovery and Disney for more talks.

2nd Update 8:55 Pm: The writers’ strike is not over yet,

Despite putting in a long second day of direct talks, top CEOs, the AMPTP and the WGA did not close a deal tonight. While sources say both sides are open and willing to gather round the bargaining table, no further talks are officially scheduled.

However, negotiating committees for both the writers and the Carol Lombardini-run AMPTP plus Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Disney’s Bob Iger, Universal’s Donna Langley and Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav have all indicated they will try to convene a meeting tomorrow, we’re told.

Bob Iger, Ted Sarandos, David Zaslav & Donna Langley

As rumors of...

Estimates on strike end range from October to early 2024.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Hollywood companies have said they will continue contract negotiations on Thursday after resuming talks on Wednesday in efforts to reach a deal on a new three-year agreement.

After 142 days of the work stoppage since negotiations initially broke down on May 1 – not to mention SAG-AFTRA’s own industrial action, which is in its 69th day – strike fatigue is rife in Hollywood.

Yet according to sources Wednesday’s session in Shermon Oaks north of Hollywood was encouraging as Disney CEO Bob Iger, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav,...

Estimates on strike end range from October to early 2024.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Hollywood companies have said they will continue contract negotiations on Thursday after resuming talks on Wednesday in efforts to reach a deal on a new three-year agreement.

After 142 days of the work stoppage since negotiations initially broke down on May 1 – not to mention SAG-AFTRA’s own industrial action, which is in its 69th day – strike fatigue is rife in Hollywood.

Yet according to sources Wednesday’s session in Shermon Oaks north of Hollywood was encouraging as Disney CEO Bob Iger, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav,...

Estimates on strike end range from October to early 2024.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Hollywood companies have said they will continue contract talks on Thursday after resuming contract talks today in efforts to make a deal on a new three-year contract.

After 142 days of the work stoppage since negotiations initially broke down on May 1 – not to mention SAG-AFTRA’s own industrial action, which is in its 69th day – strike fatigue is rife in Hollywood.

Earlier this week the WGA met with showrunners who expressed mounting concerns over the ongoing work stoppage as rank and file members struggle to make ends meet.

Exclusive, updated with WGA/AMPTP statement: The Writers Guild and studios and streamers are set to meet again Thursday for further talks on a new contract for scribes.

After a long, CEO-attended session today that one insider described as “very encouraging,” the WGA and the AMPTP will return to the latter’s Sherman Oaks offices on September 21, we’re told.

With Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Disney’s Bob Iger, Universal’s Donna Langley and Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav in the room (as Deadline reported earlier today) joining AMPTP president Carol Lombardini and WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman and others, the sit-down saw “incredible progress,” a source close to events says.

“This is what happens when principals get serious,” another well-positioned source noted. “Things start moving.”

From lefT: Bob Iger, Ted Sarandos, David Zaslav & Donna Langley

Unsurprisingly, neither the WGA nor the AMPTP responded to request for comment on...

More than 140 days into the WGA strike, the latest resumption of talks today between the scribes and studios and steamers are leaving nothing to chance.

Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Disney’s Bob Iger, Universal’s Donna Langley and Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav are joining negotiating teams for both sides sitting down at the AMPTP’s Sherman Oaks offices right now.

“There’s an impetus to find a real pathway to an agreement now, and to close that [deal],” a studio insider told Deadline Wednesday. “The CEOs have to be directly engaged – to show the writers we’re serious.”

It is unclear how personally involved, if at all, the CEO Gang of Four will be in further talks anticipated later this week.

Contrary to the expectations of some and his recent CNN interview stressing his involvement talking to the WGA and the AMPTP, Gavin Newsom is not a participant in today’s talks.

Meredith Stiehm has been re-elected president of the WGA West, defeating Rich Talarico in a landslide.

A total of 3,783 valid ballots were cast, and Stiehm received 3,354 to Talarico’s 300. Stiehm’s running mates were also easily elected. Michele Mulroney, a member of the guild’s negotiating committee, was re-elected as vice president, and Betsy Thomas was re-elected as secretary-treasurer. Mulroney defeated Isaac Gómez, who’s currently serving as a strike captain, by a vote of 3,235 to 411. Thomas beat Jeffrey Thompson 3,182 to 421.

Stiehm’s re-election, which in effect was a referendum on the guild’s ongoing strike, comes the day before the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are scheduled to resume negotiations for a deal that, if successful, would end the WGA’s strike, which is in its 141st day.

Related: WGA West President Meredith Stiehm Says “Fair Deal” For Writers & Actors That “Shares The...

After days of back-and-forth about whether there would be a meeting between WGA leadership and a dozen or so high-level showrunners about the status of negotiations and concerns about ending the strike, the previously scheduled meeting has been canceled, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.

The meeting was allegedly canceled as news broke on Thursday evening that the WGA union and the AMPTP were potentially returning to the negotiation table. The writers strike began on May 2 and is about to end its 20th week. Beyond the announcement which renewed hopes of a swift or swifter resolution, that the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah beginning Friday night at sundown was reportedly a factor in the scuttling of the meeting.

The AMPTP and the WGA both released statements on Thursday night indicating that they were attempting to schedule a return to negotiations as soon as next week. Talks had been frozen in place...

Updated with WGA statement: The writers and the studios are set to get back around the negotiating table.

The AMPTP revealed Thursday that the two parties are “working to schedule a meeting next week.”

“On Wednesday, September 13, the WGA reached out to the AMPTP and asked for a meeting to move negotiations forward. We have agreed and are working to schedule a meeting next week. Every member company of the AMPTP is committed and eager to reach a fair deal, and to working together with the WGA to end the strike,” the studio alliance said this afternoon.

No longer afterward, the scribes offered their own no-frills statement on further bargaining. “The WGA and AMPTP are in the process of scheduling a time to get back in the room,” said a self-titled “Negotiations Update” email sent out to members from the Ellen Stutzman, David Goodman and Chris Keyser-led negotiating committee.