A picketer outside Sunset Bronson Studios on May 2.
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
With Emmy season in full swing, with studios, networks and streamers hosting For Your Consideration events that include panels and Q&As, many are wondering how the writers’ strike will impact the ability scribes to participate in campaign activities.
Until Tuesday afternoon, a vacuum had been created by the lack of detailed advice from the Writers Guild of America on this issue. Before the strike, a rewards strategist said The Hollywood Reporter“The advice the WGA sent out did not specifically call for promoting existing series through marketing and public relations, but said they discouraged doing anything to support the studios they were against. So I think some writers are going to be die-hard supporters of unions, and others are going to want to promote their shows.
However, the WGA has updated its FAQ page to include a paragraph on whether writers can promote a project at a film festival or at an FYC event. “No, you must inform the company that you are prohibited from making these promotional appearances on your work until the strike is over.”
Some strike rules are quite simple: a member, or his representative working on that member’s behalf, is not allowed to meet or negotiate with a stricken business, and the member is not allowed to perform labor services. writing or selling or optional literary material to such a business.
There are also picket line rules, which prohibit members from entering the premises of a stricken business as well as participating remotely in writing or telecom rooms like Zoom meetings with those businesses.
Some companies, including Netflix, Amazon and Apple, have their own theaters and event spaces in which they hold FYC events, so campaigning on one of these sites is also considered “entering the premises of a stricken company”. under strike rules, even without the updated rule.
People who work solely as television writers are often not included in Emmy campaign events during the pre-nomination phase of the season. But many writers who serve double or triple duty by also serving as showrunner, producer, or director are invited to participate in panels and other activations. It’s unclear if the guild will give them special dispensation to do so.
A spokesperson for the WGA did not respond to multiple requests for comment on these issues. Several sources tell THR that the studios are moving forward with FYC events, even if the writers won’t be participating.
Boots Riley, who has been busy promoting his new Prime Video show i am a virgin, tweeted over the weekend that he would halt all promotion as soon as a WGA strike was called. “I still hope people see the show, but I won’t be working during the strike…to be clear, pretty much all showrunners do, not just me.”
Kelvin Yu, the showrunner of chinese born americansaid THR in mid-April that “if we strike, we’re trying to shut down the industry to flex our muscles, but I don’t think we’re trying to shoot our own shows in the foot.” Especially since the shows being promoted for this Emmy campaign were written and shot long before negotiations began.
Some companies have indicated THR that they plan to carry out campaign events with or without the participation of writers. Says an awards strategist: “You cut your nose to upset your face. You are not hurting us. You are hurting yourself. The person added, “For future award work, sure, but for past work? Who does it hurt? It’s self-defeating and a disservice to your creative partners.
There is no exact precedent for the current strike, given that the 2007-2008 writers’ strike fell during the fall and winter months, well outside the Emmy campaign window. Writers last voted for strike authorization in 2017, in a tough round of negotiations where the crucial issue on the table was, again, pay. That year, 96.3% of voting members supported the strike, but the guild and studios eventually reached a last-minute deal that averted the shutdown. Ten years prior, however, the writers went on strike for 100 days after 90% of eligible members backed strike authorization.
This week, after months of negotiations, the WGA announced its first strike in 15 years to secure better pay, a minimum size of television editorial staff and a minimum number of weeks of employment, among other demands, for their writers. , in the age of streaming.
The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had been negotiating since March 20 a three-year contract covering about 11,500 film and television writers at the latter’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks. In early April, the WGA alleged that “studios must respond to the crisis writers are facing” in negotiations, while in a recent statement, the AMPTP suggested the union had not fully committed to reaching to an agreement before his strike authorization vote.
The TV Academy released a statement for THR Tuesday to account for changes in events amid the strike. The TV Academy will offer its partners three options to manage their already scheduled FYC events: (1) proceed with a scheduled FYC event as scheduled and contracted; (2) proceed with an event with a board fitted or without a board; (3) cancel the event without penalty charges.
Tyler Coates contributed to this report.