The WGA wants Hollywood's top studios and producers to regulate the use of AI on their creative projects - specifically demanding that AI cannot write or rewrite literary material, be used as a source material or use the WGA's Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) covered material to train AI.
However, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) moved swiftly to reject that proposal, offering only annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology instead.
The trade association represents more than 350 American television and film production companies in collective bargaining negotiations with entertainment industry trade unions including the WGA.
Creative AI programs like ChatGPT can now use massive data analysis and machine-learning to simulate human-like literary works and visual arts. That has raised questions about whether media corporations will scale back on humans to use AI to write everything from advertising copy to TV shows to blockbuster movies.
In decades past, he explained, scriptwriters could earn a healthy living in TV working on series that aired 13 to 22 episodes per season. But, with the advent of streamers, orders have dropped to only 8 episodes per season, yet their writers might be "held" off the market by the series producers for as long as six months with no work and no pay.
Most also contended that rather than provide everyone with an equal share of the bountiful revenues the streamers are generating off subscriptions, streamers seem to be leaning into big ticket "eye candy" to enable them to compete with feature films, such as spectacular locations, off-the-chart production values, and of course big name A-List Hollywood talent.
"All that brings in very high revenues for the streamers and an appreciably enhanced viewing experience for television consumers than ever before - but none of that has been reflected in what the writers earn,"
"Now that the strike has been called, industry insiders are scrambling to shut down shows - late-night comedy programs, including 'Saturday Night Live,' and daytime talk shows are the first to feel the hit," reported Variety, a top Hollywood trade publication, adding that studios are initiating contingency plans to keep film production rolling on projects with completed scripts.
The Los Angeles Times pointed out that a long strike could have a ripple effect on not only film and television production, but also the Southern California economy.
"The impact is also likely to be felt in Georgia, New York, New Mexico and other production hubs nationwide. Without writers, scripted television shows will struggle to continue filming and live late-night shows will stop immediately," the biggest newspaper on U.S. West Coast noted.
According to the WGA and other industry experts, the entertainment industry is currently undergoing a major transformation with the rise of streaming services and massive change in consumer viewing habits, which is adversely affecting writers and their livelihood.
The labor union, which represents creators who write scripted series, features, news programs and other content, pointed out that despite massive revenues for streamers worldwide, writers are not receiving their fair share of profits from the booming streaming industry and they want to see writers' wages, residuals and health care increased accordingly.
However, some studios and producers are hesitant to give in to the WGA's demands, citing the financial implications of increasing their pay and benefits as just too costly.
The wide gulf between the two sides could lead to a prolonged standoff between writers and industry executives with the potential for creating long-term damage to the entertainment industry as series and projects go dark.
But what exactly are the driving factors behind this adoption of Asian culture and talent, and why did the “trend” catch on so firmly in the United States? The next few sections will seek to address these questions.
Driving Factors Behind the Rise of Asian Culture in Hollywood
The Hollywood Diversity Report 2023, conducted with the help of the University of California Los Angles College of Social Sciences, found in theatrical films that Asians make up 2.3% of lead actors, 6.5% of overall acting roles, 5.6% of directors and 4.5% of writers in 2022.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders make up 6.2% of the U.S. population.