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80 Percent of WGA Writers Have Fired Their Agents, Far Exceeding Expectations

I think there was a thread about the dispute, but I couldn't find it.

This is huge. I'm stunned that the writers showed so much solidarity. Either that or they hate talent agencies.

[quote]Approximately 8,800 WGA members last week had agents. Today the guild handed out over 7000 termination letters.

[quote]What’s likely more frightening to WME, UTA, ICM, and CAA, is how many of the over 800 prominent writers, who three weeks ago signed the letter of support for the implementation of a new Code of Conduct, had also fired their agent.

[quote]“99 percent of the members who signed the Statement of Support have fulfilled their pledge by terminating their non-franchised agencies,” wrote the WGA today announcing the termination notifications. “These are astounding, powerful numbers.”

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by Anonymousreply 10April 29, 2019 5:23 AM

[quote]The WGA and the Association of Talent Agents saw talks crater on April 12 over efforts to revamp the 43-year-old rules governing how agents represent WGA members. The guild has imposed a “code of conduct” after talks collapsed with the requirements that agents cannot represent WGA members unless the agents agree to bans on collecting packaging fees on and owning stakes in production companies.

I'm not in entertainment and had to read what the situation was about. This seems shady af.

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by Anonymousreply 1April 29, 2019 4:15 AM

The whole entertainment industry seems so weird to me. You have to be a member of a union, but then you also have to have an agent, then have managers, and lawyers as well. To me it just seems like there is a entire industry of people that have evolved to leech off of the talented. I can't understand why the Union can't just handle representing individual members of their union as part of their union dues.

by Anonymousreply 2April 29, 2019 4:24 AM

Did Mrs. Shondra fire hers?

by Anonymousreply 3April 29, 2019 4:57 AM

[quote]To me it just seems like there is a entire industry of people that have evolved to leech off of the talented.

Yes. And all these middlemen are so strongly entrenched in the system, they are the system. This is why what the WGA did is huge.

by Anonymousreply 4April 29, 2019 5:01 AM

It is in the article, R3.

by Anonymousreply 5April 29, 2019 5:01 AM

OP, how do you think this is going to play out? Didn't the networks just ramp up the number of reality shows they produced in one of the last strikes?

by Anonymousreply 6April 29, 2019 5:09 AM

How will this affect entertainment lawyers? (My high school bully/enemy is a top entertainment lawyer.)

I always enjoy hearing about bad things that could affect him since I'm evil.

by Anonymousreply 7April 29, 2019 5:13 AM

r6 you'll reach market saturation since the writers--excuse me, the "producers" who work on them are bottom of the barrel. They won't find a way to push the genre forward & then they'll be stuck.

by Anonymousreply 8April 29, 2019 5:16 AM

The WGA has all the leverage. Hollywood will always need writers; agents are much more expendable. If the lawsuit the WGA has waged against the agencies progresses, it will show beyond a doubt that agencies have a clear conflict of interest and force them to abandon their practices. The agencies are sweating right now; they haven't even come up with a formal response to the lawsuit. And writers are helping each other get jobs through the WGA's website and on Twitter.

I love it when workers band together to force greedy corporate leeches to heel.

by Anonymousreply 9April 29, 2019 5:21 AM

R9, that sounds encouraging. I'm happy to hear that.

by Anonymousreply 10April 29, 2019 5:23 AM
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