Posted in: Movies, streaming, TV | Tagged: amptp, disney, netflix, SAG-AFTRA, universal, warner bros discovery, wga, writers' strike

WGA, AMPTP Meeting Again Friday; Members Urged to Join Picket Lines

The WGA and AMPTP will continue negotiations on Friday, with the union urging members to come out & support the picket lines. Some details...

As was the case on Wednesday, studio CEOs Ted Sarandos (Netflix), Bob Iger (Disney), Donna Langley (Universal), and David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery) joined AMPTP chief Carol Lombardini in a meeting with Ellen Stutzman, David Goodman & Chris Keyser-led WGA Negotiating Committee to hammer out a new deal that would end the now 144-day-old writers' strike. Though a final deal has yet to be reached, sources reported that today's extended negotiating session saw both sides building upon Wednesday's progress by addressing the more contentious issues still in play (like writer room staffing mandates). Now, the WGA Negotiating Committee has notified its membership that the union and AMPTP (along with the four studio CEOs) will be meeting again on Friday: "The WGA and AMPTP met for bargaining today and will meet again tomorrow." But there was more to this message, with the WGA leadership urging "as many of you as possible to come out to the picket lines tomorrow." Here's a look at the message that went out to WGA members this evening:

Dear Members,

The WGA and AMPTP met for bargaining today and will meet again tomorrow.

Your Negotiating Committee appreciates all the messages of solidarity and support we have received the last few days, and ask as many of you as possible to come out to the picket lines tomorrow.

In solidarity,

WGA Negotiating Committee

According to one report from earlier this evening, today's meeting began by addressing CNBC host David Faber's tweet following Wednesday's meeting that pushed the idea that a deal would be coming today (Thursday) – with the ominous addition that if a deal wasn't settled today, the strike "likely continues through year end." Allegedly during the conversation, Iger was accused of pushing the story to Faber (Iger made his infamous "not realistic" remark regarding what writers were looking for during a CNBC sit-down interview) but the Disney CEO denied the accusation. During the meeting, sources reported that individual CEOs and members of the WGA committee would engage in "sidebars" to address specific matters. In addition, California Governor Gavin Newsom checked in with both sides at one point to see how negotiations were progressing.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!