Hollywood loves a story where the worlds of robots and humans collide—think I, Robot or Westworld. But Tinseltown’s employees are pushing back against that becoming a reality in their work. Workers’ groups in the industry have been fighting for safeguards against A.I., along with higher pay and better benefits that matches the rise of a streaming-first era.
Now, major studios have reached a tentative agreement with a directors union in a landmark move for the entertainment industry.
“We have concluded a truly historic deal,” Jon Avnet, chair of the Directors Guild of America’s Negotiations Committee said in a statement Saturday, when the deal was announced. As part of the agreement, wages will be hiked 5% in the first year of the contract, followed by 4% and 3.5% increases in the subsequent two years for the 19,000-member group. Other breakthroughs include a revamped structure of paying residuals, which is a form of royalty, and protections against novel technologies threatening the jobs of directors.
The agreement between directors and studios also includes guidelines for the use of A.I., now a major flashpoint among Hollywood labor unions. Entertainment industry employees fear that the powerful tech could do their jobs if studios adopted these tools.
The DGA appears to have won protections against A.I. in its tentative deal, with the guild stating that it had arrived at an “agreement confirming that A.I. is not a person and that generative A.I. cannot replace the duties performed by members.”
For studios, this agreement could be a relief as it likely averted a strike from directors, which impacts the movie- and show-making process. The DGA deal with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the likes of Disney and Netflix, could also be a leading indicator of the current strike roiling Hollywood—the labor action from the Writers Guild of America.
The writers’ strike began a month ago, grinding several TV and film productions to a halt, including the popular sci-fi show Stranger Things, and talk shows like HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.
A.I. and other fights
Executives at top production houses like Paramount Global and Fox Corp. indicated that a future where A.I. is used in writing scripts and editing was not too far away.
“A.I. is going to be able to do absolutely all of these things,” Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade said, Bloomberg reported in May. AMPTP has said that A.I. “raises hard, important creative and legal questions for everyone” and that content generated using the tech won’t receive writing credit, according to Axios.
Writers’ grievances aren’t limited to A.I. The growth of streaming platforms prompted the WGA strike, because productions for streaming sites demand more work from fewer staff, who receive a smaller slice of the budget and lower residuals than they would on traditional TV.
“More writers are working at minimum regardless of experience, often for fewer weeks,” the WGA’s March report noted. It said that pay increases didn’t keep pace with inflation and the seasonal nature of streaming content drove writers’ pay down further.
The WGA congratulated and supported the DGA’s new deal in a statement. But some WGA members weren’t too happy with what the deal could mean for their negotiations.
“Thrilled that the DGA was able to use the power of the WGA’s labor action to secure a deal that works for them,” screenwriter Amy Berg wrote on Twitter Sunday. “We proposed a number of these terms…before the AMPTP cut off negotiations in order to hand a deal to the DGA.”
Thrilled that the DGA was able to use the power of the WGA’s labor action to secure a deal that works for them. https://t.co/zkQEVSuTf2
— Amy Berg (@bergopolis) June 4, 2023
Another writer, Steven DeKnight, posted on Twitter: “The AMPTP continues to use their tired old playbook. And the DGA sadly continues to toe the line, knowing that they can draft off of the WGA’s resolve to strike for a truly historic deal. Disappointing, but not surprising.”
Zero surprise. The AMPTP continues to use their tired old playbook. And the DGA sadly continues to toe the line, knowing that they can draft off of the WGA’s resolve to strike for a truly historic deal. Disappointing, but not surprising. https://t.co/BLQ4SvcQuO
— Steven DeKnight (@stevendeknight) June 4, 2023
In the past, a deal with the directors’ alliance has typically been used as a reference for other guilds. For instance, in the previous 2007-08 writers strike, a deal between studios and the DGA led to further negotiations with the WGA. But WGA negotiator Chris Keyser cautioned that that may not be the case this time, according to Reuters. It’s unclear what the impact of the DGA deal may be on the WGA, since some of their terms pertain to writers alone.
“Since there isn’t a ton of overlap with us I don’t see this having a huge impact on the current WGA strike but only time will tell,” writer and producer Phillip Iscove wrote on Twitter.
The tentative DGA deal is set to be submitted to the Directors Guild of America National Board on Tuesday. The WGA and studios have no new discussions planned. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is scheduled to meet producers for negotiations later this week.
