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WGA

Love Is Blind

The Great Streamer Transparency Fallacy

Hollywood’s fixation with forcing Netflix and the others to reveal consumption data is commendable. But what if that transparency isn’t as transparent as the writers, actors, and agents all hoped?
Julia Alexander • October 3, 2023
Matthew Belloni • October 2, 2023
And Now the TV Purge Begins…
Less than a week after the WGA strike ended, hundreds of reinstated writers have been notified that their deals will not be extended.
One of the post-strike realities: fewer shows, fewer writers on overall deals, and perhaps an amusing roundabout: after a generation of Peak TV, writers are starting to focus on movies.
Jonathan Handel • October 2, 2023
The WGA Deal Ten Commandments, Part II
Five more takeaways after five months in hell, including the much-discussed performance bonus in streaming and why the wins in A.I. might be short-lived.
The WGA says the new deal contains $233 million per year of gains, which is almost three times the $86 million that the guild says the studios were offering before the nearly five-month strike (though it’s nowhere near the $429 million the guild sought).
Jonathan Handel • September 29, 2023
The WGA Deal 10 Commandments, Part I
Herewith, the most important conclusions and long-term takeaways from five months of hell.
The studios made it clear that if there wasn’t a deal this weekend—and preferably before the Yom Kippur sundown—they were planning to move on to SAG-AFTRA.
Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • September 25, 2023
Hollywood’s Post-Writers Strike Reality
Both sides claim victory as the 146-day impasse ends, the actors wait in the wings, and the next weeks and months come into focus. A sigh of relief in Hollywood, yet there are reasons to believe this aftermath will look very different.
Drew Barrymore
Matthew Belloni • September 18, 2023
Social Media Has Already Won the Strike
The Drew Barrymore saga perfectly encapsulates an underappreciated aspect of this labor impasse. Online discourse hasn’t necessarily dictated what the studios will agree to, but it’s unquestionably offered the WGA leadership more leverage.
Fran Drescher has ceded some of the spotlight to chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who comes across as firm and determined but not ferocious.
Matthew Belloni & Jonathan Handel • September 5, 2023
The Official End-of-Summer Strike Report
A candid conversation on The Eight’s strategy, Fran Drescher’s whereabouts, why Bradley Cooper isn’t in Venice, the interim agreements and more as Hollywood’s summer of unrest turns into an autumn free-for-all.
Fran Drescher
Jonathan Handel • August 21, 2023
A Solution for Success-Based Streaming Residuals
A modest proposal for solving Hollywood’s data transparency and residuals formula problem.
When a service de-platforms a streaming series, how much does it save in residuals? Consider Diary of a Future President, the Disney+ series which first premiered in January 2020 before both seasons were withdrawn this May.
Jonathan Handel • August 18, 2023
Are Residuals Driving the Streaming Purge?
When a service like Disney+ or Max de-platforms a made-for-streaming series, how much does it save in residuals for union talent? The answer is more than just a hypothetical as the cutbacks continue.
Matthew Belloni • August 11, 2023
Strike Pressure, Iger’s Desperation, & the ‘Barbie’ Effect
News and notes on the biggest Hollywood stories of the week: Disney earnings, ‘Oppenheimer’ in China, a Globes deadline, and more.