Hollywood headlines were swirling around Writer’s strike It takes place between the Writers Guild of America, which represents film and television writers, and the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance, which represents various networks and streaming services, including Amazon’s Prime Video and Warner Bros’ HBO. like Picket lines halted production And raising awareness of the demands that the WGA has placed ahead of AMPTP, some notable presentations are moving forward with texts They have – but without the writers they hired.
diverse I mentioned that HBO Max’s Dragon house will Continue filming In the UK with scripts the production was on hand despite the strike in the US no Good thing. Sure, they all have their scripts, but rewrites happen quickly all the time. Actors improve lives, directors take notes, script supervisors instantly create new context; None of this is done without writing. None of this is done without a book. Since there has been no announcement about the nature of the rewrites in the collection, it is currently unclear how Dragon house You will deal with these issues as they arise.
As it works on Dragon house Ryan CondallSeason 2 showrunner, is currently a member in standing with the WGA. The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain has directed its members in the United Kingdom who are also WGA members to cease all work on projects that fall within the purview of the American Federation. Condall has not made a public statement since the strike began.
Before we go any further, a note about the display. Showrunners are, under WGA and AMPTP rules, technically multi-hyphenated workers. This means that they are writers and producers. This means that they may be able to issue, direct and make decisions, but if they are in solidarity with the WGA, they should no To write, not even for their own show. The last time such a blow happenedMany of the show’s creators refused to work because of their loyalties to the WGA and their solidarity with their writers’ room.
As an example of the case of multiple hyphens for dissenters, Variety reports this Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power It opted to go ahead with its production in the UK, but unlike Dragon house the offer JD Payne and Patrick McKay are not involved in production at this time. This means that rings of power It is proceeding without writers, script editors, or renderers on set. If the lack of writers is a bad thing, the lack of the series’ creative heads seems remote, and much worse for the end result.
So what’s the deal here? HBO and Amazon can certainly continue with their productions as planned, but changing just one word of the script counts as “writing” and falls under union action. This may sound strict – it is – but these WGA rules are in place for this exact example. both of them Dragon house And rings of power It is an expensive and deeply affecting TV series. The aim of the strike is disruption. If banning writing work on a TV series causes that series to suffer, it strengthens the case for the WGA and shows just how important writers are to the TV creation process. Without rewrites, edits, tweaks, changes, or even line adjustments, the likelihood of a cohesive season, let alone a good one, goes down significantly.
You only need to look through Twitter quotes On Variety article about Dragon house going back to the production to see the overwhelmingly negative reaction to it; Many writers chime in to say that final drafts are by no means final, pointing out how changes were made until the last minute for a variety of reasons. As any writer will tell you, the best thing to do after writing something is to rewrite it. Good writing is rewriting. She takes notes and comments and figures out how to put everything in its place stronger, better, and faster.
As important as rewriting and collaboration are in the creative process, it will be interesting to see what news comes out Dragon house And rings of power In the future, and how will be affected next season for each series.
io9 has reached out to Ryan Condal through his support team for comment. Warner Bros./HBO Max has also been asked to comment on behalf of the company Dragon house production. We will update this article if we receive feedback.
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