WGA Sets Rescheduled Meeting With Kenya Barris, Noah Hawley and Other Showrunners
A meeting between Writers Guild of America leaders and top showrunners has been scheduled for Thursday, TheWrap has learned. The move comes amid increased concerns about restlessness among the members of the WGA concerning the length of the ongoing strike. The financially brutal work stoppage, which began on May 2, has now gone on past four months.
As TheWrap previously reported, the likes of Kenya Barris, Noah Hawley and other A-level showrunners had been demanding answers from WGA negotiating leadership, including chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman and committee co-chairs Chris Keyser and David A. Goodman. There were reportedly concerns about whether the guild was motivated to get to a deal.
“The showrunners are quite pissed,” declared a high-level studio executive speaking to TheWrap. “They are mad at the guilds and feel that they are not responding to the studios’ offer. Now even the higher-paid members of the guild are expressing concern over the inability to end the strike.”
A previously scheduled meeting between the WGA and the showrunners was canceled on Monday, although there was discourse online as to whether the guild or the showrunners canceled the previously scheduled sitdown. There had been some concern within the industry that the guild leadership was less concerned about making a deal and more inclined to hold the line to get its first ask.
The WGA and the studios, represented by the AMPTP have not engaged in direct negotiation since a meeting between the committee and several studio CEOs on Aug. 22. That ended with the AMPTP publically releasing details of its potential contract. Meanwhile, the guild released a public statement last week arguing that studios should make separate deals with the WGA. The AMPTP swiftly rejected that notion.
Writers Guild of America leaders are fielding a stepped-up volume of inquiries from prominent members who are frustrated with the duration of the work stoppage and looking to understand the guild’s strategy in engaging with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In response to this heightened activity, multiple sources say several guild leaders are set to meet in person with a group of showrunners on Friday at WGA West headquarters.
The canceled and rescheduled meeting comes amid studios suspending overall deals with high-profile showrunners, including top-tier creators like Lorne Michaels, J.J. Abrams and Chuck Lorre.
The post WGA Sets Rescheduled Meeting With Kenya Barris, Noah Hawley and Other Showrunners appeared first on TheWrap.