Writers Guild and studios conclude final bargaining session, more talks expected Friday – The Hollywood Reporter

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After a long day of bargaining on issues including artificial intelligence and data transparency, Thursday’s meeting between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers concluded without a statement from either side.

Sources familiar with the negotiations say much of the session was spent alternating between the parties meeting together, followed by several caucuses, where workers and management met each other. The negotiations, which began around 8:30 a.m. and ended around 6 p.m. at the AMPTP offices in the Sherman Oaks Galleria, covered issues surrounding the WGA’s top priorities including artificial intelligence and residual compensation tied to the success of individual broadcast projects.

Sources on the studio side indicated that steps have been taken on both, and there is still more work to be done regarding both issues as well as TV staffing requirements. One of the central issues regarding flow transparency and compensation is the metric by which success can be calculated. According to several sources from the studio who were briefed on the discussions, AI remained a sticking point for both parties during the session.

As of press time, neither the AMPTP nor the WGA had commented on the talks or announced a new date for bargaining. but, Hollywood Reporter It is understood the two sides are expected to meet again on Friday, with four senior Hollywood executives in attendance.

Once again, those top leaders — Disney’s Bob Iger, Universal’s Donna Langley, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros.’ David Zaslav — participated in the negotiating session Thursday, as they did Wednesday. Their highly unusual presence (major Hollywood companies typically send their labor relations executives to handle the negotiations) as well as the joint statement from the WGA and AMPTP, their first in this contentious round of 2023 negotiations, sparked some optimism among observers on Wednesday that Progress was being made. Rumors spread throughout the industry on Thursday that a deal was close or imminent.

But the talks ended on Thursday evening without reaching an agreement, even as sources confirmed that concessions had been reached.

After 143 days so far, the ongoing WGA strike is now approaching the longest strike in the union’s history: the 1988 work stoppage, which lasted 154 days. The length of the SAG-AFTRA strike that began on July 14, and its decisiveness, have tested worker solidarity, studio purses and wills across the industry.

Kim Masters contributed reporting.