The veteran TV comedy showrunner, writer and producer said: "We're out here to get a fair price" while pickingeting in front of Sony Pictures Studios.

Writers Guild of America's (WGA) Negotiating Committee member, Danielle Sanchez Witzel, speaks out on the Hollywood Strike -- and she says that there is "only one way" to bring it to an end.

TooFabspoke to the veteran TV comedian writer, producer, and showrunner on the picket at Sony Pictures Studios Culver City in Culver city on Friday. Sanchez-Witzel, who was at the negotiating desk with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for six weeks prior to the May strike beginning, gave insight into the negotiations process. She stressed that unions simply want a "fair bargain" and are taken "seriously."

Danielle Sanchez Witzel (@WritersonStrike), a member of the WGA Negotiating Committee, spoke to TooFab while pickingeting outside Sony Pictures Studios about the Hollywood Strike.

"We're out here to get a fair bargain. ... The only way we're going to get back to work is if they... pic.twitter.com/hskAygRler

TooFab (@TooFab), July 22, 2023

She also addressed an anonymous studio executive's now-famous comment, which said Deadlinethat the AMPTP planned to let the strike drag out until the union members "lose their apartments and lose their houses." Sanchez-Witzel said that while she hoped the quote was "false," she still found it "despicable." She also called the idea "terrible" and "despicable."

The WGA member, whose credits include My Name is Earl, Up Hereand the Netflix series Survival of the Thickest, also spoke to TooFab about whether she thinks the strike will result in a stronger push towards independent studios.

Watch the interview with Sanchez-Witzel in the video above.

What Comic-Con Would Look Like Without Stars During Hollywood Strike

What inspired you to strike today? What brought you here?

I am a WGA Member and a member of WGA's Negotiating Committee. We are at the end Week 12 of the WGA. You've probably seen SAG-AFTRA members who have been with us from Day 1 but are now on their own strike. They are here at the end their first week. We're all trying to get a fair contract. That's why everyone is here. You know, our SAG-AFTRA, WGA, and black shirts. We're here to make sure everyone gets a fair deal. We are in many studios around the city, I'm certain you have seen us. It's really that simple. I feel a bit naive to say that all this takes to finish is a fair price in Week 12. We made less than 2% profit from what we did for these companies. It's reasonable to base it on film and TV. I spent six weeks in the AMPTP's negotiating room. The problem is very simple, yet we have to fight.

What's it like to be on a negotiation team, when studio executives say they will wait until writers have been forced out of their homes and are in dire straits before they agree to any demands? What's it like to be the opposite side and try and push back against that?

We're not certain where that message came from. If we were tired, it certainly made us feel less tired. If there is any truth in it, it's not only despicable but also illegal. I would hope that it's not true and that, in the good will that we tried to ensure that this did not happen, we didn't need to close down the town. I would also like to believe that, given the fact that we were trying to make sure that nothing like that happened, we didn't need to do that. I'd love to think the AMPTP and studios and CEOs are taking us seriously.

I was present when we agreed to continue to negotiate during the strike. That would have been May 2. Let's continue meeting. May 3, "Let's continue meeting." It is stated on the AMPTP website that we are not present at the table. I'd rather be at the table than walk around Sony with my friends in a circle, but we're not.

Do think this will create a greater push for independent films, and the public to support independent studios in general?

I don't really know. It's too soon to say. I think from a creative, artistic perspective, as a screenwriter, when we create a film, or a TV show, we are thinking about the story, and the characters, and the distribution is not what inspires an idea. I believe that studios will be affected by companies who are willing to make independent deals with unions. Again, pay us what we all want, which is now the deal that actors and writers are seeking. It's difficult to predict what will happen.

What I do know is that the end of American film and TV production will not be imminent. Whatever platform is used, wherever that may be, all these companies will need us. They can act as if they are or not. But that doesn't stop me from watching the amazing international fare. This is Hollywood, and this is Los Angeles. It's no secret that we are the producers of television and film. This is a big part of America and will not go away. They have to give us an equal deal, regardless of what happens. I believe that we can all benefit from this, even if indie takes off. This is the only way to end this.

The WGA announced publicly on May 1 that the Writers Guild of America West as well as the Writers Guild of America East voted unanimously to strike.

The group noted that it had been in negotiations with Netflix, Amazon and Apple for six weeks, as well as Disney, Discovery-Warner and NBC Universal.

The WGA, in an email to its members per Deadline, said: "Although we negotiated with the intent of making a fair agreement -- and although your strike vote provided us with the leverage to achieve some gains -- studios' response to our proposals has been wholly inadequate, given the existence crisis that writers are currently facing."

We must now use the maximum amount of leverage to obtain a fair contract, by refusing our labor.

The WGA's first stoppage of work since the 2007-08 strike, which lasted for 100 days and was a major impact on the television season that year.

SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA in striking to protest what they claim are unfair wages. Click to see a detailed breakdown of issues, demands, and economics in the SAGAFTRA strike.

The first protest by both unions in 60 years, as SAG and WGA battle against AMPTP.

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Title: WGA Negotiating Committee Member Danielle Sanchez-Witzel On Hollywood Strike: 'We Are Having to Fight' (Exclusive)
Sourced From: www.toofab.com/2023/07/22/wga-negotiating-committee-member-danielle-sanchez-witzel-hollywood-strike-exclusive/
Published Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2023 00:31:23 +0000

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