NEW YORK
\nNegotiations aimed at settling the four-and-a-half-month-old strike by screenwriters against Hollywood studios resumed Wednesday and will continue Thursday, the two sides said in a rare joint statement that itself could be a sign of progress.
\nWednesday evening\u2019s one-line statement from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said simply, \u201cThe WGA and AMPTP met for bargaining today and will meet again tomorrow.\u201d
\n\u201cIf they\u2019re putting out a joint statement, I\u2019m taking that as a positive sign,\u201d a studio source told The Hollywood Reporter. \u201cGiven what\u2019s transpired, this feels different from before.\u201d
\nThe walkout has stopped production of movies and television shows.
\nIssues dividing the two sides include pay, the size of writing staffs and the use of artificial intelligence for scripts.
\nActors represented by SAG-AFTRA started their own strike in July over separate issues but no new negotiations are known to be on tap in that walkout.
\nIt\u2019s the first time in 63 years that Hollywood has been hit with two such strikes at the same time.
\nCNBC, citing people close to the writers talks in Sherman Oaks, Calif., said an agreement is near and the parties hope to reach an agreement Thursday.
\nBut, the CNBC sources cautioned, the strike could last through the end of the year if a deal isn\u2019t agreed on.
\nA picketer in Los Angeles told Media Los Angeles Wednesday, \u201cIt\u2019s still it\u2019s still tough sledding. And I wouldn\u2019t … be expecting … champagne corks or anything tomorrow or Friday, necessarily.\u201d
\nNumerous outlets reported that Wednesday\u2019s session included Disney CEO Bob Iger, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Comcast\u2019s NBCUniversal Studio Group Chairman Donna Langley and Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav. All four are expected to attend Thursday\u2019s talks. Variety described their attendance as \u201ca break from previous sessions.\u201d
\nNews service source said people in the room Wednesday called the session \u201cencouraging.\u201d
\nParamount Pictures, one of the studios involved in the negotiations, and CBS News are both part of Paramount Global. Also, some CBS News staff are SAG-AFTRA or Writers Guild members, but their contracts are not affected by the strikes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK Negotiations aimed at settling the four-and-a-half-month-old strike by screenwriters against Hollywood studios resumed Wednesday and will continue Thursday, the two sides said in a rare joint statement that itself could be a sign of progress. Wednesday evening\u2019s one-line statement from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-357421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n