International Film & TV Unions React To WGA Strike

deadline.com:

International unions representing film and TV writers across the world have begun sharing their responses to Hollywood’s first writers strike in 15 years, as WGA members gear up to hit the picket lines.

Thousands of WGA members are set to walk picket lines across Los Angeles, New York and other major U.S. cities Tuesday afternoon after the WGA announced that it was unable to reach a last-minute deal with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on a new three-year contract to replace the one that expired Monday night.

In a statement to Deadline, Giorgio Glaviano, President of the Writers Guild of Italy, said the union has “followed the negotiations of our American colleagues with great trepidation.” “We express our solidarity with colleagues at the WGA, because their struggles are ours too,” Glaviano said. “All over the world, the figure of the screenwriter is threatened by ever tighter wages and increasingly vexatious working conditions.” RELATED: Deadline’s Full Strike Coverage  Glaviano backed the WGA’s concerns around the use of Artificial Intelligence, writing that the technology risks making the work of writers “more and more a struggle for survival.” During negotiations with AMPTP, the WGA sought regulation around the use of AI on MBA-covered projects.

In response, the studios tabled the introduction of annual meetings “to discuss advancements in technology.” Glaviano ended the letter: “We will support our American colleagues in every way.