Hollywood Writers Go on Strike Over Low Pay, AI Use

Hollywood writers wanted to limit the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in writing scripts for movies and TV shows.

According to Reuters, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) said Hollywood studios have rejected the idea of using AI in creating film and TV scripts but would be open to discussing new technologies yearly as they struggle to make streaming services profitable amid falling ad revenues.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is negotiating the contract on behalf of the studios. Several factors, including a disagreement over AI, prompted Hollywood screenwriters to strike on Monday, the first temporary stoppage of work in 15 years.

The issue over AI is just one of the last items cited in a WGA summary of negotiating points. Other matters focused on increasing compensation in the streaming era.

"We don't want our material feeding them, and we also don't want to be fixing their sloppy first drafts," screenwriter and WGA negotiator John August said about AI.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is used in the entertainment industry to do everything from smoothing out an actor's wrinkles to removing the actor's f-bombs from the dialogue.

OpenAI's Dall-E, capable of creating realistic images, is also being used to assist in making animated short films. Some writers are reportedly experimenting with writing scripts.

Actors Join Hollywood Writers on Strike

Star of "Parks and Recreation" Rob Lowe and "Russian Dolls" creator Natasha Lyonne were spotted together outside the Paramount offices in Los Angeles, according to Independent.

Several cast members from the "Community," including Gillian Jacobs, Ike Barinholtz, and Frances Fisher, also came out to show their support, and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" Rachel Bloom also posted photos from the rally.

In New York, Aidy Bryant from "Saturday Night Live" and Sara Ramirez of "And Just Like That..." were pictured at a picket line, waving t-shirts and placards.

Many late-night shows have already announced they will take a break due to the strike, which is expected to involve more than 11,500 writers across film, TV, and other entertainment forms represented by the union.

Almost 25% of primetime scripted programming was canceled during the last writers' strike, which lasted 100 days between 2007 and 2008. Royalties from DVD sales were an important topic of discussion throughout the strike.

"Breaking Bad," "Ugly Betty," "30 Rock," "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "Family Guy," "Friday Night Lights," "Heroes," and "The Simpsons" were all among the shows that had their seasons cut short because of the Hollywood writers' strike.

Late-Night Shows Go Dark Following Hollywood Writers' Strike

After a vote, writers on late-night talk shows like "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" will go black starting Tuesday.

Weekly TV shows such as "Saturday Night Live, "Real Time with Bill Maher" and "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" will also be impacted. Host Kimmel and Colbert, who previously hosted "The Colbert Report," faced similar challenges in 2007 and 2008.

Showrunners for late-night programs told Deadline that they would communicate with one another as the strike develops, something that did not occur during the last writers' strike.

"We've got to support the writers - our writers are amazing. That said, the rest of the staff is amazing, and I don't want to see anybody lose their jobs or lose a paycheck," a showrunner noted.

An SNL also told the outlet: "We have to think about our crew too. I support the writers and want them to get what they deserve and need, but I don't want our crew to be out of work. We can't make this art without each other."

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Hollywood Screenwriters Go on Strike - From MSNBC