(LOS ANGELES) Union leaders of striking Hollywood screenwriters said Tuesday night they plan to meet with studio officials to discuss resuming negotiations.
The parties communicated for the first time since the start of the strike three months ago. The screenwriters’ guild sent an email to members to announce that the organization representing the biggest studios (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers-AMPTP) had requested a meeting on Friday to discuss the resumption of contract negotiations.
The guild said it would update its members on the developments after the encounter. She warned them to be cautious of rumours, stating that all important news would be communicated to them by the guild directly.
It was not immediately known whether such a proposal had been made to the union leaders of Hollywood actors, who have been on strike since July 14.
Asked about the prospect of talks with either guild, an AMPTP spokesperson said in an email that it remained “committed to finding a path to mutually beneficial agreements with both unions.” .
The Associated Press was unable to reach a representative for the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which represents striking film and television actors.
Talks between the writers and their employers broke down on May 1, and the first of two strikes that halted production in Hollywood began a day later. Among the issues driving the strike are pay rates in the face of inflation, the use of smaller editorial staffs for shorter seasons of TV shows, and control of the intelligence in the screenwriting process.
