I started taking portraits on the picket lines of the Hollywood writers strike during its first week in May 2023. Since then I have continued periodically at a variety of the major studios and streaming companies around Los Angeles. Two things inspired the project: for one, this does not happen very often. The last writers strike in Hollywood was 15 years ago. Secondly, I figured, it’s not too often you get so many screenwriters (who normally work behind the scenes) in one place. And so, a project was born.

Since then, the strike has become even more unique. Actors were called to strike action on 14th July 2023, swelling the ranks of the writers who, by then, had already been on the picket lines for more than two months. The last time both writers and actors took strike action together was 1960, well before even an old git like me was born. This is a once in a lifetime occurrence.

I’ve now taken over 100 portraits, some OK, some bad, some out of focus! I’ll continue until the two sides reach resolution so will be adding a few images to this gallery as time goes on.

Everything here is shot on medium format film (Ilford Delta 100). As these portraits are taken on the pavement on active picket lines beside very busy roads, framing options are rather limiting. In addition, these are usually shot around midday during my lunch break meaning the sun is in about the worst position you could hope for. Despite the limitations, I still feel its a worthwhile project.

Background to the strikes

The Writers’ Guild of America strike began on 2 May 2023 after the WGA failed to agree new contract terms with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), an industry body that represents the major studios.

On the 13^th July, actors’ union the Screen Actors Guild & American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) officially called their members to join the writers on strike. Their own negotiations with the AMPTP had also failed, despite an extension period to the discussions. Actors joined the picket lines on the 14^th July. Like the writers, actors are also concerned about residuals and AI.

The last time both writers and actors took industrial action together was 1960. This is a once in a generation occurrence!

The current action has been brought on by drastic changes to the entertainment industry driven by the emergence of global streaming platforms and their impact on the way rights deals are negotiated. Central to the dispute is pay based on a number of industry-specific compensation practices which give writers, actors (and other creatives) a share of income from the films and TV shows they create. Also in dispute is the future use of Artificial Intelligence in the creative process as well as the size of writers’ rooms.

Industry lingo

WGA: The Writers Guild of America is the union representing screenwriters and is responsible for negotiating contract terms with producers of film and TV. WGAW refers to Writers Guild West (representing Hollywood writers). There is also a WGAE (East) representing the industry centered on NEw York.

SAG-AFTRA: (@sagaftra) refers to the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. This is the main Hollywood Union representing actors and screen talent.

AMPTP: The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The industry body representing, and negotiating contract terms, for the major studios and streaming companies.

DGA: Directors Guild of America. The union representing movie and TV directors. Like the actors and writers, the DGA was also recently in new contract negotiations with the AMPTP. They were successful in agreeing a new three-year contract on 6 June 2023.

Residuals: are a form of back-end compensation based on the sale of rights to use films and TV shows on television, DVD and streaming. Residuals are a standard way of rewarding creative talent in the film and TV business, being partly performance related (in that a hit show will generate more money from rights sales). One of the issues in the current dispute is the share of residuals that writers are awarded and the allocation of value for international rights sales.

Step Deals: are contractual terms that refer to the number of re-writes a writer is granted. Many screenplays are re-written by writers other than the original author (often many times). The number of ‘steps’ refers to the number of rewrites a writer is guaranteed in their contract. Two or Three Step deals have increasingly been replaced with One Step deals where the writer is not guaranteed a chance to redraft a screen play, reducing the length of their engagement and hence the amount of up-front compensation.

Writers Rooms: Collaborative workspaces where teams of writers work through plot points and scripts of TV series. Smaller writers rooms have become the norm, reducing employment opportunities and the opportunities younger writers have to learn on the job from their peers.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): The use of #AI in the creative process is one of the key sticking points in negotiations between the writers, actors and the AMPTP. Concerns go beyond the simple fact that AI could potentially reduce the need for writers but also focus on ownership of original works. Ownership of works created by AI lie with the user of the AI tool, but AI makes use of existing content created originally by a human and thus draws on writers original copyrighted material. Actors are concerned that their likeness can be scanned in a single day and then an AI generated version of themselves used to act in the actual TV shows and movies they would normally create.

IATSE: refers to The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. In the USA the word theatrical refers to the movie and cinema business rather than live theatre as it is more commonly used in Europe. Many workers from associated areas of the industry, although not officially on strike, are supporting the writers in their industrial action and you will see logos such as this on t-shirts and signs on the picket line.