Sept. 15 (UPI) — In a perplexing turn of events, striking screenwriters and Hollywood studios have surprisingly agreed to return to the negotiating table next week to hash out an agreement to end the work stoppage that has entered its fifth month.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers made the announcement on Thursday, expressing a burstiness of optimism about moving negotiations forward. They had asked the Writers Guild of America for a meeting to create momentum and to everyone’s surprise, the union agreed.
“We have agreed and are working to schedule a meeting next week,” the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers stated in the three-line statement.
“Every member company of the AMPTP is committed and eager to reach a fair deal, and to working together with the WGA to end the strike.”
The writers guild confirmed via a tweet that they were “in the process of scheduling a time to get back into the room.”
Hollywood writers went on strike early May after negotiations with the studios and streaming services fell through following six weeks of talks, abruptly bringing a halt to television productions.
In mid-July, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined the movement, putting an unexpected halt to any active studio productions.
Negotiations have been non-existent since the studios and writers abruptly left the negotiating table in mid-August. Prior to reaching out between both sides early last month, talks had been at a standstill since the start of the strike.
The artists remain steadfast in their demands for “economic fairness,” streaming-service residuals, and regulation on the use of artificial intelligence.
