President Joe Biden demanded a "fair deal" for Hollywood's striking writers as he hosted a screening of the impending streaming series 'American Born Chinese' at the White House to celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Monday.
Biden made his first public remarks on strike, which is approaching the one-week mark, on Tuesday, prior to the screening of the pilot.
WGA Strike: Biden Calls for 'Fair Deal'
In the East Room and the State Dining Room, he was joined by hundreds of community leaders, elected officials, and cast members and producers from the program.
'American Born Chinese' is a film adaptation of Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel of the same name, starring Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. On May 24, it will premiere on Disney+, as per ABC News.
During his brief remarks onstage, President Biden detailed the efforts of his administration to highlight the achievements of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities and to speak out against prejudice and violence against them.
Per USA Today, Biden stated, "Hate can have no safe harbor in America. Silence is complicity, and we will not remain silent."
Quan, who introduced Biden, reflected on his journey from his arrival in the United States as an 8-year-old Vietnamese immigrant to his first visit to the White House months after receiving an Academy Award.Biden used his brief remarks to enumerate his administration's efforts to emphasize the achievements of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities and to speak out against prejudice and violence against them.
Quan, who introduced Biden, reflected on his voyage from arriving in the United States as a Vietnamese exile at the age of eight to making his first visit to the White House several months after winning an Oscar.
Hollywood Writers' Strike Continues
The Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union that represents thousands of TV and film writers, announced a week ago that it would be going on strike after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down. On Tuesday, picket lines were established.
Late-night talk shows and other programs that rely on writers to create content on the day of airing were promptly taken off the air. Per Newsweek via MSN, prerecorded and scripted television programs filmed before the strike were able to air normally.
Studios have already halted production of highly anticipated content, including Netflix's 'Stranger Things,' Disney and Marvel's 'Blade,' AppleTV+'s 'Severance,' and Paramount's 'Evil,' less than a week after the writers' strike.
The writers and AMPTP, representing entertainment titans like Disney and Netflix, were at odds over contractual terms, including compensation. The tension escalated due to the studios' refusal to rule out the possibility of artificial intelligence replacing human employees in the future.
Biden appeared to offer support and praise for the writers as studios reported that the strike had halted productions. While employees are picketing outside studios in New York and Los Angeles, the WGA and AMPTP have issued online statements, each blaming the other for the breakdown in negotiations.
The WGA announced last week that, following six weeks of negotiations with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Brothers, NBC Universal, Sony, and Paramount, the Board of Directors of WGA West and the Council of WGA East unanimously voted to launch a strike.
The last time the WGA went on strike, in 2007 and 2008, lasted 100 days and forced the cancellation of scores of television programs. The nonpartisan Milken Institute for Policy and Data Research estimated that the strike 15 years ago cost the California entertainment industry $2.1 billion and resulted in the loss of 37,700 employees.
