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Directors Guild reaches tentative deal with Hollywood studios

By Nithya Bose in US Business & Employment News, posted June 5, 2023

Hollywood studios and streamers have reached a tentative labor deal with the Directors Guild of America, which is set to end the ongoing strikes.

The three-year agreement, subject to approval, includes pay hikes, higher streaming royalties, and a recognition artificial intelligence cannot replace union members.

While talks with striking writers have stalled, the directors' provisional resolution may pressure the writers to resume negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The Writers Guild of America has similar demands, such as improved streaming residuals, higher wages, and increased job security.

The studios employed divide-and-conquer tactics during the 2008 writers' strike, but the WGA notes that the current situation is differen.

Changes in production methods and cost-cutting efforts by studios, driven by slowing streaming subscription growth, have added complexity to the negotiations.

The tentative pact with studios and streamers would mean wage and benefit gains for the Directors Guild's 19,000 members.

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It includes a five percent increase in the first year, four percent in the second, and 3.5 percent in the third.

Additionally, foreign residuals for major streaming platforms will rise by 76 percent.

The director’s guild said the deal includes a “groundbreaking agreement confirming that AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members.”

As the writers' strike continues, talks between the studios, streamers, and Hollywood actors are set to begin, as the actors' contract expires at the end of June, with strike authorization being considered.

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