The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are still in full effect, and are not expected to end anytime soon due to the AMPTP's (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) refusal to budge and agree to pay writers and actors what they consider to be a fair wage.
One of the major issues for striking writers is getting paid on time, and The Wrap is reporting that the AMPTP rejected a proposal to honor what seems like a perfectly reasonable request outright.
Why would the trade association have a problem with paying writers in a timely manner? According to Secret Invasion writer/producer Cat Vasko, they believe it would lead to a dip in performance levels.
“Their explanation was, then we wouldn’t be incentivized to work as hard. It’s insulting to hear with the amount of work that we already do for free."
“The feature system has been kind of broken for a while," she continued. "One of our feature writing proposals was just pay us on a weekly basis, the exact same amount of money, but paid to us weekly, so that when we reached the end of our term, we’ve been paid. And they said, ‘No.’ It’s not even a difference in the amount of money. That’s completely irrational.
It’s very frustrating. If you were in any other field it would be unacceptable, but because it’s a creative field, there’s always this sense that, if you’re not willing to put up with these conditions, [plenty of other people will be]. I think we’re now seeing that’s been pushed to the limit.”
If the AMPTP is refusing to pay writers on time, it's hard to imagine they'd be willing to come to the table and even consider forking out more money.
The strikes have already led to significant delays, with Sony Pictures the first, but almost certainly not the last, major studio to push several of its upcoming projects back.