The WGA and AMPTP have released the details of their historic deal. It took a strike of 146 days to reach this end, but the deal contains massive leaps forward for writers in Hollywood.
There are protections against artifical intellegence, a way to get more people hired into rooms, and a guaranteed second step for feature writers, among many other things.
We broke down some of the key areas for you.
What Happens with AI?
The WGA has outlined parameters on how AI can be used when it comes to writing in Hollywood.
They have established that:
- AI can’t write or rewrite literary material, and AI-generated material will not be considered source material under the MBA, meaning that AI-generated material can’t be used to undermine a writer’s credit or separated rights.
- A writer can choose to use AI when performing writing services, if the company consents and provided that the writer follows applicable company policies, but the company can’t require the writer to use AI software (e.g. ChatGPT) when performing writing services.
- The Company must disclose to the writer if any materials given to the writer have been generated by AI or incorporate AI-generated material.
- The WGA reserves the right to assert that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law.
What About Room Size?
Room size was one of those issues people talked about for a long time, and the WGA made real strides there.
The size of the room depends on the number of episodes, and breaks down like this:
| 6 or fewer | 3 | 3 |
| 7-12 | 5 | 3 |
| 13+ | 6 | 3 |
Anything for Feature Writers?
As a mostly feature writer myself, I was happy to see significant gains for us.
Feature writers got:
- Guaranteed 2nd step: A second step is required whenever a writer is hired for a first draft screenplay for 200 percent of minimum or less, including original and non-original screenplays. The requirement also applies to spec purchases.
- Accelerated payment structure for flat deals: Screenwriters hired on a flat deal basis for 200 percent of minimum or less must be paid 50 percent of their fee on commencement. If the writer has not delivered within 9 weeks of commencement, 25 percent of the fee is payable upon invoice. The final 25 percent is due on delivery of the step.
- Streaming features: When a feature-length project is made for streaming with a budget of $30 million or more, the minimum initial compensation for a story & teleplay is $100,000 (an 18 percent increase from the current rate) and a 26 percent increase in the residual base. Combined with the foreign residual improvements described below, this results in a 3-year residual of $216,000 for projects on the largest services, a 49 percent increase from $144,993 under the 2020 MBA.
There is so much more available from the WGA on what actually made it into the new contract.
I encourage you to take a peek at it.
The term of the agreement is September 25, 2023, through May 1, 2026, and you can read the WGA’s summary of the deal below.
WGA-Negotiations-Tentative-Agreement.pdf
Let us know what you think in the comments.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
