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Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Hollywood studios continued into Friday night, as questions spread throughout the city as to whether an agreement had been reached or whether talks had broken down again.
There’s no word yet on a potential deal, but those familiar with the goings-on in the room say there’s momentum on both sides to find a solution that ends the 144-day writers’ strike. Friday’s talks are said to have begun around 11 a.m. PT.
Multiple sources confirmed to diverse As of press time, members of the negotiating committee of the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) were still holding talks at the table in Sherman Oaks, along with four top entertainment executives who have now spent three days in the room: Disney’s Bob Iger, and David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley, and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos.
The four CEOs in the room are understood to have held a phone call with some of their counterparts at other companies at some point on Friday.
The WGA has been on strike since May 2. The actors union SAG-AFTRA joined the Writers Guild on the picket lines on July 14 after being unable to reach a new contract with the studios.
Key points that have prevented the WGA and AMPTP from signing an updated deal include disagreements over generative AI in the creative process, mini-writers’ rooms, and streaming leftovers.
The WGA and AMPTP resumed negotiations on September 20 for the first time in nearly a month. On Thursday evening, multiple sources said some last-minute issues arose regarding what the studio team saw as new points that the WGA had put on the table. The talks continued until approximately 7:30 pm, and are scheduled to resume on Friday morning.
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