Fran Drescher tells NPR about the breakthrough moment that ended the Hollywood strikes

Solving the Writers Guild of America’s Scattering Problem with a Streaming Terms and Pay for Their Self-Recorded Auditions

“The studios, the CEOs, they don’t care one way or the other.” If they cared, we would never have gone on strike,” said SAG-AFTRA strike captain Kimberly Westbrook.

Negotiating teams of the Writers Guild of America were so confident they would win approval of the agreement, they gave writers permission to work before approving the contract. Many of them continued to support the actors on the picket lines.

“An unprecedented compensation structure is needed when you introduce a new business model like they did on all of my members with streaming,” Drescher said. “We have cracked the code on something. The streaming model has a flaw with regards to compensation. It may not be easy, but it is an elegant way to solve the problem. We could all return to work as if it were the new normal.

The union had been asking for an 11 percent wage increase, higher residuals tied to the success of streaming shows, better healthcare and retirement benefits. It also wanted an end to the practice of having actors pay for their own self-recorded auditions.

Reportedly, one of the final sticking points was key for performers: protections from the use of artificial intelligence by the studios and streamers; Actors, for instance, want control over their likeness on screen, so they don’t get replicated without their permission or compensation. Background actors have complained of being asked by studios to have their bodies scanned so they can be copied and pasted in big crowd scenes without having to pay them more.

The Writers Guild of America: An Aftermath to the CEOs of AMPTP, Netflix, and the Editors’ Corner

He said during the company’s third quarter earnings call that the company made a last and final offer which met virtually all of the union’s goals and included the highest wage increase in 40 years. We want to see our creative partners rewarded and return to the business of telling great stories, that’s why we’re looking forward to that.

The demands were similar to those made by members of the Writers Guild of America. It took a deal with the studios and streamers nearly five months, but screenwriters claimed victory. Writers will be able to get higher residuals when shows are successful after all the streaming companies agreed to be transparent about how many viewers they have. The AMPTP allowed writers to determine if their writing can be used to train Artificial intelligence, as well as gave them credit for their work in return for not using the technology in the writing process.

Since 1984, I’ve been a working class actress and I’ve made a living doing this. I’m a single mom. I was able to make a living until the last couple of years, when the streamers kind of came into the picture.

We’re the victims here. We are being exploited by a greedy entity. During the press conference announcing the strike, Drescher said that he was shocked by the way people were treating them. Until then, she had been best known for her starring role in the 1990s TV series The Nanny. “I cannot believe it, quite frankly: How far apart we are on so many things. They try to make a point that they’re not making money anymore when they give money to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them.”

Iger later softened his rhetoric, telling investors on an earnings call that “Nothing is more important to this company than its relationships with the creative community. Iger added that it includes actors, writers, directors and producers. “I have deep admiration for the people who are vital to the incredible creativity that drives this company and our industry.” And it is my fervent hope that we quickly find solutions to the issues that have kept us apart these past few months. I am committed to achieving this result.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos also said the studios and streamers wanted to end the strike quickly. He said they went away from negotiations in October due to a proposal that he considered a bridge too far. The union had asked streamers to redistribute the wealth by paying performers 57 cents per subscription every year.

There are now late night and daytime talk shows on air after writers returned to work. There are new scripted TV shows that hope to be produced next season. Once the members of the Screen Actors Guild approve the new contract, production on TV and movies could resume, meaning that everyone will be working again.

One of the strike captains said she’s looking forward to going to work, but she wondered how she would go from so angry at the people to being happy. and we’re best buds now, working together on set.’ We forgive, but you don’t forget.”

Since NPR’s request, studio heads have not responded. In a statement, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers called the tentative agreement “a new paradigm” and said it “looks forward to the industry resuming the work of telling great stories.”

Fran Drescher. Well, we were making strides throughout the time that we were on strike, except, of course, from when the AMPTP decided they were either going to walk out or they themselves were deliberating taking time before they came back with a counterproposal. So, you know, the time was usually productive. Once we got to a place where they understood that we were in a new era and that this is a historic time, then they realized how much we needed to negotiate.

As you say, let me talk about that new dawn. Is the protections in this contract broad enough to keep up with rapidly evolving technology like artificial intelligence? Or do you think, Fran, you’re going to have to renegotiate this AI issue all over again in three years when this contract is up?

Drescher: We would be talking about it because we’re going to have to come together on the same side for federal regulation and also to protect both of us from piracy. So, you know, there is a lot there that we have to really start working together on. The contract protects my members. It may be a different situation with new problems in three years, that needs to be discussed and argued. And I think it’s going to be this way for a very long time. And that’s okay.

Chang: Let’s talk about the streaming participation bonus. I mean, I know that you had to push really hard to get the AMPTP to agree to this bonus, which basically means that actors will now get paid more if a show that’s on a streaming platform is a hit. But there are a lot of shows on streaming platforms that aren’t hits, right? Like, Bloomberg found that fewer than 5% of original programs on Netflix last year would be considered popular enough to result in performance bonuses. So what do you make of that?

Drescher: Well, actually, the mechanism by which we determine the amount of money put into the fund is determined by the shows that receive 20% of the viewers, which is basically a thimble size.