Hollywood screenwriters enter second month of strike with no deal in sight

First modification: 06/01/2023 – 19:29

The financial consequences of the Hollywood writers’ strike extend beyond the studios.

Shon LeBlanc felt the financial pinch of the Covid-19 pandemic when it forced a halt in business in March 2020. The Valentino’s Costume Group co-owner recalled having to cut the size of his 1,000-square-foot store in half .

However, the growth of his clothing business in recent months led him to take a leap of optimism: he moved into a 20,000-square-foot store last January and joined the Costume Designers Guild, allowing him to extend its theater and schools business to more film and television productions.

His expansion project was quickly tempered when he became aware of the strike by the writers’ union, the Writers Guild of America, beginning May 2. “The minute the shutdown happened, I started to panic,” LeBlanc told the Associated Press.

Valentino’s Costume Group’s ability to pay rent on the North Hollywood building depended on the additional revenue it expected to receive from new film and television businesses. “We are definitely feeling the pinch financially,” he said.

A union on strike with effects throughout the industry

LeBlanc’s is one of the many stories that account for the financial repercussions caused by the writers’ strike, who say they are witnessing how demand for their services has decreased in the midst of the streaming boom.

“One day of production on a movie set, for example, generates hundreds of thousands of dollars for the local economy,” explained Elaine Low, who writes for The Ankler, an entertainment business newsletter. “Set builders, craft services, hair and makeup. There are a whole variety of professions that are affected by the strike,” she added.

The last Hollywood strike, by the same union in 2007 and 2008, took three months to resolve and is estimated to have cost at least $2.1 billion in lost production.

Despite the financial burden, the players in the behind-the-scenes industry are mostly supportive of the writers. “They’re not asking for anything they shouldn’t have,” LeBlanc said, putting himself in their shoes.

Screenwriters are not alone in this battle. The SAG-AFTRA actors union will begin labor talks with Hollywood studios on June 7, with artificial intelligence as the main backdrop: they seek guarantees that this emerging technology will not be used to produce scripts.

With AP and Reuters