The Writers' Strike Begins
WGA prepares for war / Taika Waititi SW film may not be dead yet / Gladiator 2 cast grows
Good morning! This is Samuel Morales with this week’s Hollywood and media news to know on WEDNESDAY May 3, 2023.
The Writers Guild of America is officially on strike! And already this is having an immediate effect on the already dying late-night scene (although last strike this resulted in Conan O’Brien giving us some of his best content. Not counting on Fallon, Kimmel, or Meyers to be as creative as this).
As longtime Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider speculated on the latest episode of his podcast, The Hot Mic, it’s possible the studios actually wanted this strike to happen, as “it would allow them to reset a few different things…and ultimately save money”.
Regardless, let’s hope that the writers are able to negotiate a deal because it’s absolutely pitiful in terms of the minimal residuals they get in this new age of streaming. Here’s some of their demands:
Minimum size of writers’ rooms: For a lot of streaming shows, studios have been cutting down costs by having only one or two writers on hand for script-writing, going against the tradition of large writers’ rooms to formulate ideas and alleviating the burden of one or two writers having to carry an entire show (ex: The Mandalorian having only one or two writers and one staff writer. If the WGA gets its way, a show like this with eight episodes would require seven writers including four writer/producers).
Regulation of AI usage: This one is a no-brainer: the studios are keen to use AIs more often for content production. According to the demands, the WGA stipulates that “AI can’t write or rewrite literary material” and “can’t be used as source material”. All you have to do is watch the latest MCU films to see that this has already been happening…
Establishment of a viewership-based residual: This is the big one, and would be in addition to the existing fixed residual writers receive. Streamers like Netflix keep these exact viewership numbers under lock and key, and it’s rumored their refusal to cooperate with this specific demand especially is what caused this strike to finally happen.
Regardless of what happens, all of this provides a fascinating look inside the inner workings of Hollywood, and the problems creators face in this age in the face of constant change and upheaval. Keep reading every week for more updates.
PLUS: It seems like Taika Waititi’s Star Wars film, which was announced almost exactly three years ago on May 4, 2020 and has been in a state of limbo ever since, may actually be happening? A report from Deadline casually dropped this bombshell at the end of a report on the director potentially directing an adaptation of the book “Klara and the Sun,” stating that Waititi intends to shoot his Star Wars movie next year, despite not even being mentioned on the slate presented by Kathleen Kennedy at Star Wars Celebration a few weeks ago. Perhaps James Mangold liked that certain tweet a bit prematurely…
ALSO: Pedro Pascal joins the increasingly stacked cast in an undisclosed role for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2, along with Connie Nielsen reprising her role as Lucilla from the first film and new addition Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) playing the part of new Emperor Caracalla. Sounds like Ridley is in a competition with Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan to have the best the ensemble casts on the block.
THE RUMOR MILL
While there probably won’t be confirmation on any of this until Comic-Con in July, it looks like Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four movie may have already assembled it’s cast, with rumors of Adam Driver being in negotiations for the role of Reed Richards (sorry, John Krasinski fans). Rumors of Jodie Comer playing Sue Storm have only been strengthened by the fact that she just left Amazon’s Blade Runner series. It also seems like the villain has been teed up with Antonio Banderas potentially playing the role of Galactus: seems like he will be staying in the Disney wheelhouse for a bit after his upcoming appearance in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
According to Esquire, Damon Lindelof’s rejected Star Wars script was going to focus on an 80-something year old Rey training two new Jedi. Glad this isn’t happening…
BOX OFFICE REPORT
Super Mario continues to stomp the competition, becoming the 11th animated movie to cross the $1B worldwide threshold. Mamma mia!
Ari Aster’s Beau is Afraid continues to bomb, although this will probably not have that much effect on A24, which continues to sit on heaps of cash and audience goodwill (for now).
All eyes are on James Gunn this weekend as the release for the highly anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 draws ever closer: reviews have been a little more mixed than expected but it definitely sounds like the most solid MCU film since Endgame (a very low bar to cross).
That’s all for today, see you next week! (And enjoy the Dune: Part Two trailer when it drops today).
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