The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike has had a profound impact on film and television production, and big guns are dropping like dominoes. Marvel Studios, as reported by Deadline, has now suspended the production of their upcoming film Lightningwho will begin principal photography in three weeks time at Trilith Studios in Atlanta.
The move to delay production of the feature comes after Marvel’s decision to halt pre-production SwordThat Mahersala Ali a film about Daywalker, which will be shot at the same time as Lightning next month. The studio was also forced to suspend work on the TV series Magical Manbecause of the stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The studio intends to resume production on all projects after the strike reaches a satisfactory conclusion.
There’s a certain irony in Disney, Marvel’s parent company, being hit so hard by the writers’ strike. Last week, the company made headlines for the wrong reasons by excluding a number of films and series from its streaming platform, Disney+, in a move seen as a cost-cutter—but perhaps more accurately, a way to stop paying writers the remainder. and producers on the project. Step to suspend Lightning And Magical Man comes after Marvel’s decision to start filming Dead pool threequel, which is arguably one of the franchise’s most ad-lib heavy titles.
Why Do Writers Attack?
The Writers Guild of America is arguing the case that their members don’t see a fair share of residual payments, due to the rise of streaming platforms. If TV shows are broadcast on regular and streaming television, the latter is paid a much smaller amount. For streamers, writers are paid a flat fee regardless of success, but broadcast television uses a “reward-for-success” model. In layman’s terms, that means if a show becomes a hit, the writers can earn more from the residue.
This is why, for example, anyone associated with Friends, the network TV behemoth in the 1990s and 2000s, continues to generate a sizable amount even today, due to syndication as well as the sale of streaming rights. The WGA is also campaigning for higher salaries and regulations on the use of artificial intelligence in scriptwriting, asking the Film and Television Producers Alliance for guarantees that it will not be “used as source material,” thereby removing the need for a living, breathing writing staff.
Read more about WGA Strike, and what it means for you as a viewer.