After an "encouraging" face-to-face meeting, the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood studios are nearing an agreement to end the strike.
The two parties issued a joint statement stating, "The WGA and AMPTP met for negotiations today and will meet again tomorrow," as per CBS News.
Writers Guild of America and Hollywood Studios on the Verge of Strike Resolution
This is the closest the parties have been to reaching an agreement since the strike began earlier this year. While sources say they are optimistic, the strike could withstand the rest of the year if the deal is not reached.
According to Reuters, the meeting was attended by Disney CEO Bob Iger, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, NBCUniversal Studio Group Chairman Donna Langley of Comcast, and Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav. David Faber, a CNBC's entertainment section reporter, reported that both parties expect to reach an agreement on Thursday.
"After meeting face-to-face today, writers and producers are nearing an agreement to end the WGA strike," he tweeted Wednesday evening. According to sources close to the negotiations, the parties met today and expect to finalize a deal tomorrow; however, if no agreement is reached tomorrow, the strike will likely continue through the year's end.
Faber is confident that the strike will continue until the end of the year if an agreement cannot be reached. The Hollywood Reporter was told by a source that "CEOs have cleared their schedules and want to have a real conversation."
Before the meeting, the WGA reportedly submitted a list of issues in order of significance.
"This has been a long time; everyone is in pain. Let's hammer out the details," the source said.
According to the Daily Mail, company executives 'pregamed the negotiation' via Zoom before Wednesday's meeting.
Hope for Swift Resolution as Hollywood Parties Seek Agreement
The two parties hope to conclude a deal, and an agreement could be reached as early as Thursday. They believe that the lesser the group, the greater its significance. This month, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the ongoing actor and writer strike will cost the company $500 million in losses this year.
Hollywood is experiencing its first simultaneous work stoppage in 63 years, suspending industry-wide productions and costing the economy billions of dollars. In July, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA) resolved to stand in solidarity with the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) - striking since May - after negotiations with studios fell apart.
In August, Hollywood studios made what they claimed was their "best offer" to end the writers' strike. Still, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) slammed it for 'failing to protect them sufficiently' and pledged to continue picketing.
The Writer's Guild has been on strike since May - their first in 16 years - and was subsequently joined by the Screen Actors Guild, bringing the entertainment industry to a virtual halt.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) at the time presented a bundle that included the highest pay increase in 35 years, protection against artificial intelligence, and an increase in residual pay, the group said in a statement.
The offer presented by the AMPTP to the guild on August 11 also included a commitment not to use content created by AI as literary material and to disclose information regarding streaming viewing hours.
In response to The Hollywood Reporter, the studios proposed a wage increase of 5 percent in the first year of a contract, 4 percent in the second year, and 3.5 percent in the third year - less than the 6-5-5 formula supported by the WGA, according to the Guardian.
