Not long after the Writers Guild of America’s strike started in May, Eugene Ramos began trying to walk the picket lines at least twice a week every week. On such occasions, he dons his sunglasses and baseball cap—equipment for “war,” he calls it—to combat the Los Angeles sunshine, heads to a studio’s entrance, and scribbles his name on a sign-in sheet before joining the rally.
But Ramos isn’t a member of the WGA or SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), the unions that are attempting to negotiate new contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents major studios’ positions regarding issues such as staff size, streaming residual payments, and artificial intelligence. He’s a writer, yes, but in animation. Most animated projects don’t count toward WGA membership—in part because of a long-standing industry impression that writing for animated projects takes less effort than writing for live action, a misconception that has historically …
Recent Comments