President Joe Biden Calls for Fair Deal for Hollywood's Striking Writers
Key Highlights :
President Joe Biden called for a “fair deal” for Hollywood’s striking writers on Monday, as he hosted a White House screening of the upcoming streaming series “American Born Chinese” to mark Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In remarks ahead of the pilot’s screening, Biden made his first public comments on the strike, which hits the one-week mark Tuesday.
He was joined by an overflow crowd of hundreds of community leaders, elected officials and cast members and producers from the show in the East Room and the State Dining Room. “Nights like these are a reminder of stories and the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect, and the value they deserve,” Biden said. “I sincerely hope the writers strike in Hollywood gets resolved and the writers are given a fair deal they deserve as soon as possible.”
“American Born Chinese” is an adaptation of a graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, and stars Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. It will premiere on Disney+ May 24. Biden used his brief remarks onstage to outline his administration’s efforts to highlight the accomplishments of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities and to speak out against prejudice and violence targeting them.
“Hate can have no safe harbor in America,” Biden said. “Silence is complicity and we will not remain silent.” Quan, who introduced Biden, reflected on his journey from arriving in the U.S. as an eight-year-old refugee from Vietnam to making his first visit to the White House months after winning an Oscar. “I do not take this moment lightly, because I know this building is a monument to a country that opened its arms to me,” he said.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike since April 5, with members seeking increased compensation for streaming services and other changes to their contracts. The strike has caused the production of several television shows to be paused or delayed, including “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have been in negotiations since February, with the WGA making several proposals for increased compensation for streaming services, including a 2% increase in residuals for streaming services and a 0.5% increase in the minimum residual rate for streaming services. The AMPTP has yet to make a counter-offer.
The WGA’s proposals also include increased wages for writers, increased health and pension benefits, and an increase in the number of episodes required for a show to qualify for residuals. The AMPTP has argued that these proposals are too costly and have offered to increase the minimum residual rate for streaming services by 0.2%.
The WGA and the AMPTP have yet to reach an agreement, and the strike is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. As negotiations continue, President Joe Biden’s call for a “fair deal” for Hollywood’s striking writers serves as a reminder of the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect, and value they deserve.
