Warner Bros. took advantage of the strike to cancel the contract of JJ Abrams

But also Chuck Lorre (Big Bang Theory) or Mindy Kalling (The Sex Lives of College Girls).

Recently, George RR Martin, the author of Game Of Thrones hired to produce content for HBO derived from his literary works, revealed that his contract was on stand-by following the writers’ strike – which began in May and expanded this summer with the reinforcement of the main Hollywood actors’ union . The Hollywood Reporter now reveals that other producers are in the same situation as him, the Warner Bros. Having decided to break several ongoing deals with producers. Even those who have overseen film or TV hits for the studio.

Actors’ strike: Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul demonstrate side by side

The American site cites the example of JJ Abrams, the director of the reboot of star trek for Paramount, as well as Star Wars 7 and 9 for Disney, who was to oversee new comic book adaptations at Warner, but whose contract was cancelled. Associated for several years with this firm, he developed several projects there: a new version of Constantinethe story of an African-American Superman, the adaptation of Demimonde…Several were announced, then abandoned, but a handful of concepts supported by Abrams came to fruition, like Westworldbroadcast on HBO since 2016 or Lovecraft Countrya series launched in 2020.

Chuck Lorre, behind Big Bang Theoryone of CBS’s most popular shows, was supposed to imagine new sitcom concepts for the company, but “he saw his deal discreetly canceled at the start of the strike last May”writing THR.

Ditto for Mindy Kaling, who supervised The Sex Lives of College GirlsGreg Belanti (Superman and Lois), Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Ted Lasso) and John Wells (EMERGENCIES). The source specifies that their contracts have been suspended for the duration of the strike – which is likely to last until 2024 – then that the producers will be able to renegotiate new ones with the studio. The end of their current deal therefore does not mean that they will no longer collaborate together.

What does the writers’ strike in Hollywood mean for your series?

The strikers are mainly demanding fairer remuneration, but also greater control of artificial intelligence, because software is gradually replacing authors and actors for certain tasks, making them more precarious. Because if stars receive millions of dollars per film or for a series, most of the actors are far from being rich, accumulating small contracts for extras or supporting roles. As for the authors, truly at the base of the creation of films and series, they are mostly poorly paid for their work. Using concrete examples, they have been campaigning for months for better recognition from big Hollywood studios and streaming services. But for the moment, discussions with the unions have not been successful.

During the entire period of negotiations, screenwriters can no longer submit new stories and actors are prohibited from promotion, without exception. This necessarily impacts the work of executive producers, hired to develop new projects. If they are not officially on strike – unless they have several hats, being both producer and screenwriter, for example – they are not able to work properly without their teams of authors.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep and George Clooney also support the actors’ strike