Writers Guild goes on strike, threatening Georgia’s film, TV industry

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Television and movie writers declared late Monday that they will launch a strike for the first time in 15 years.

The Writers Guild of America said that its 11,500 unionized screenwriters will head to the picket lines Tuesday. Negotiations between studios and the writers, which began in March, failed to reach a new contract before the writers’ current deal expired just after midnight Tuesday. All script writing is to immediately cease, the guild informed its .

This could have a massive ripple effect, depending on how long the strike persists. Writers are the ones behind what we watch, from stage plays to films and television, which is what’s being affected. Immediately, we are going to see late-night shows halted and reruns airing because those require writers to work up until the last minute.

Writers are reacting on social media. One tweet said, “Proud and grateful member of the writers guild. It is long past time writers were paid properly by the streamers.”

Pay has been a hot topic in negotiations. At issue is how writers are compensated in an industry where streaming has changed the rules of Hollywood economics. Writers say they aren’t being paid enough and how residuals are paid out needs to be redrawn.

This has a trickle-down effect, with studios and rental equipment businesses already feeling the effects.

“What’s frustrating is we just came off a great rebound from COVID year and momentum was moving forward, and something out of our control like this happens,” said Shawn Simon with EVS Rentals.

The governor’s office says Georgia’s film industry brought in $4.4 billion last year. This strike could affect that revenue if a deal isn’t reached soon.