Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
WGA members return their signs at the end of the first day of their strike in front of Paramount Studios in Hollywood on May 2, 2023.
CNN
—
Striking writers and Hollywood studios are in the “final stages” of negotiations and hope to reach a deal by the end of the week to end the historic strike that has paralyzed the entertainment industry, two people familiar with the matter told CNN.
The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers held talks for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday.
The big four studio bosses — Warner Bros. Discovery chairman David Zaslau, Disney chairman Bob Iger, Netflix co-chairman Ted Sarandos and NBC Universal studio chief Donna Langley — were not a single person in the Sherman Oaks room Saturday afternoon. It implies that almost all major problems have been solved. The person insisted that, while not directly in the room, studio heads were fully involved in the process.
Spokesmen for AMPTP and the WGA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The WGA went on strike as the strike reached its 145th day on Saturday, less than two weeks after the longest strike in the union’s history, which lasted 154 days in 1988. Several productions were discontinued before SAG-AFTRA joined. WGA strike July 14.
Negotiations between the two sides have seen clashes over wages, worker protections and artificial intelligence.
Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.