The writers’ strike in the United States has had a major impact on the audiovisual industry in Quebec. Two shootings have already been canceled and several are expected to be postponed or even canceled.
Posted at 1:43 am. Updated at 9:00 a.m.
“The impact is tremendous,” says Andrew Lapierre, vice president and co-founder of Grandé Studios, which hosts numerous overseas shoots in Montreal each year. And everyone knows her [la grève] can take quite a long time. »
The strike by members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union of American screenwriters, which started earlier this month, has paralyzed the audiovisual industry. The negotiations fail over salaries and license fees for the exploitation of works on Netflix, Disney + and all viewing platforms on the Internet.
In Quebec, the strike has halted filming of a new Starz Network series, The Venery of Samantha Bird, with two episodes (of eight) remaining to be shot. This drama starring Katherine Langford (“13 Reasons Why,” “Knives Out”) tells the story of a young woman who begins what seems like a perfect relationship with the sweetheart of her childhood.
Filming on Ghost, which was set to begin in June, has been pushed back to September. The hit CBS comedy is set to return for a third season next fall.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY CBS
A scene from the series Ghost
“We’re stuck,” says Aren Prupas, president and CEO of Muse Entertainment, a Montreal box responsible for providing professional services, including setting up the production crew, for several foreign productions filmed on Quebec soil.
We are talking about a complete halt to two major American series. Technicians pay off. What is happening is no fun for the Montreal industry.
Andrew Lapierre of Grande Studios
The writers’ strike also disrupted filming of an Amazon series called The Sticky, produced by actress Jamie Lee Curtis and inspired by the historic 2012 Quebec maple syrup theft. Because the script was finished when the labor dispute broke out, the cameras were never rolling, but since questions and adjustments related to the lyrics were a daily occurrence during filming, the team would have carried out the work under “difficult conditions” given the absence of the writers.
Regarding Studios Mels, we are told that we see no “no impact” after the first two weeks of the strike. But with most American productions landing in Montreal in the summer, the rhetoric could soon change.
According to AQTIS 514 IATSE, the union of Quebec technicians, “at least” 800 of them are affected by the strike.
In addition, there could be more labor disputes in the United States, further crippling the audiovisual sector. The directors’ (Directors Guild of America) and actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA) contracts expire on June 30th.
“There is a risk that something is brewing in Quebec.”
The local market could take another hard hit next fall when the AQTIS 514 IATSE and the Union des artistes (UDA) will start negotiations with the Association québécoise des Productions Mediases (AQPM) to renew their own agreements. These negotiations should cover several issues that are currently the focus of discussions in the United States.
We hear we’ll see something similar in Quebec. It might brew.
Andrew Lapierre of Grande Studios
The UDA declined to comment on the matter. For its part, the AQTIS 514 IATSE confirms that it intends to discuss working conditions and wages, two issues that also emerge from the talks in the United States.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY AQTIS 514 IATSE
Christian Lemay, President of AQTIS 514 IATSE
“The situation has worsened due to underfunding,” said the group’s president, Christian Lemay. The pace of filming in Quebec is too fast. The industry really needs to come together, sit down and think. The government must intervene. If not, how do we keep the workforce? The labor market is extremely competitive. People have many options. »
NBC renews transplant
For the moment, the Hollywood screenwriters’ strike may have made Quebec somewhat happy: more than a year after the presentation of its second season, the American broadcaster NBC recently announced that it had ordered the third and fourth seasons of the Canadian series Transplant in English in Montreal and produced by Sphère Média, a Quebec company.
Internet magazine Deadline took the opportunity to underscore the context in which the antenna had made this acquisition: “After a two-week strike that could paralyze production of American fiction until a deal is signed.” In the medical drama that Noovo broadcast in French in Quebec, Laurence Leboeuf stars.
PHOTO YAN TURCOTTE SUPPLIED BY BELL MEDIA
Laurence Leboeuf in Transplantation
“This strike may give Canadians a chance to pitch projects to channels that are lacking in content,” notes Muse Entertainment’s Aren Prupas. This could be an opportunity to show our talent. »
a postman
The strike is not the only cause of the slowdown in Quebec’s foreign filming in 2023, reports Christine Maestracci, president and general manager of the Quebec Cinema and Television Bureau (BCTQ).
“The situation is worrying, Judge Ms. Maestracci. Her condition has not improved since last year. Quebec’s ecosystem means we have everything we need to be a major player, plus more [endroits] moved, such as Alberta, Northern Ontario, Atlanta, New York and London. They have increased their funding to attract foreign filmmakers and boost their industry, for example by offering tax incentives. Others gave direct financial incentives to the productions. Others have chosen to invest in infrastructure. »
Ditto for Grandé Studios’ Andrew Lapierre: The conflict is far from the only reason Montreal is losing so much filming in the US.
“Even without the strike, Montreal would have suffered from a lack of competitiveness this year. It’s hard to sell Montreal, especially when you look at Toronto and Vancouver. British Columbia and Ontario offer better tax credits. Fighting against this is difficult in the current situation. »
The story so far
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike May 2 as its agreement with the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance (AMPTP), which covers major studios (Disney, Sony, Paramount, Universal) and video-on- Demand services (Netflix, Apple TV+, Prime Video) and all general interest channels (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) in the United States.
The main demand of the screenwriters concerns the royalties for the exploitation of the series and films broadcast in streaming. The residual rights of the authors are far too low given the rise of online advertising platforms, says the WGA, which wants its share of the pie.
Since the beginning of the conflict, nightly talk shows (Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) as well as Saturday Night Live have ceased airing due to a lack of writers. Production of several fiction series (Stranger Things, Grey’s Anatomy) was also discontinued.
The last writers’ strike in Hollywood was in 2007-2008. It had lasted 101 days.