While the Writer’s Guild of America Strike has shined a light on the working conditions of television and film writers nationwide, questions have now been raised about how Georgia’s film and television industry will brace itself for the ripple effects of the walkout, which is expected affect over 20,000 crew members.
Rapid changes within the entertainment industry, particularly with the rise of streaming services and A.I. usage, have led to increased conversations on the payment of writers, who claim that they cannot sustain a livable way of life with the wages offered by studios.
After weeks of negotiations, The Writers Guild of America officially launched a strike on Tuesday, May 2.
Although most of the writing for Georgia-filmed television and film projects is done in places like New York and LA, most production crew members who work on set are state residents.
And without new scripts, production in Atlanta will eventually grind to a halt.
“As the whole business is being reassessed, having a strike is essential, the Writers Guild has to strike because they have to protect writers to be able to make a living and to share in the profits,” said Neil Landau, Executive Director of the University of Georgia Master of Fine Arts in Film, Television and Digital Media and a member of the Writers Guild of America since 1987.
Television writers typically get paid when a show they have worked on is put on cable television or sold into syndication. But streaming services have changed that.
Prior to the strike, producers in Georgia were already taking their foot off the pedal, slowly placing a hold on people who work on hair and makeup, costume designers and people who build sets.
These crew members, known as below-the-line workers, are paid hourly, with no residuals received for their work, compared to above-the-line workers, such as writers and directors, who are often transplanted from Los Angeles and have designated salaries that pay them a set amount for a film or television project, on top of potential residuals for their work.
“The 25,000 or so just crew members who live in town are very nervous,” said Linda Burns, the Creative Conference Director for the Atlanta Film Society.
“I think Georgia has already suffered from a slowdown in the work … it’s a little bit of starving the below-the-line crew so that the below-the-line people start to put pressure on the above-the-line people.”
She noted that during The Atlanta Film Festival, which wrapped its lineup of films last Sunday, as members of Georgia’s entertainment industry showcased their work, an elephant was in the room – the looming strike.
“You’re not just putting out of work, the cast and crew that live in Georgia… it’s less hotel rooms; it’s less rental cars; it’s less actors and crew coming here with their families.”
According to the state Department of Economic Development, Film & TV Productions bring in billions of dollars of revenue.
Kate Fortmueller, Assistant Professor of Entertainment & Media Studies at the University of Georgia, says that she is unsure how long this strike could last.
“I think everyone knows that the writer’s last strike was 100 days. I think everyone knows that… they’re a pretty strong union in terms of Hollywood. So they’ve shown that they can ride it out for a while.”
This strike could potentially be the first in a series that will reshape the film and television industry, as the producers and actors unions are in negotiation right now.
While future strikes will continue to have affect on Georgia’s industry, Burns believes that they are essential in providing fair wages.
“I’m a producer, I don’t want to stop working. I don’t want my husband to stop working, but these are things that need to happen.”
