How the U.S. writers' strike is impacting Canada
CTV
While the writers' strike is causing massive production delays in the U.S., it's also having a direct impact on Hollywood North.
The U.S writers' strike began more than a month ago—a fight for better pay, protection from AI and job security—as streaming services dramatically change the industry.
"The ability of screen writers to make a living is being threatened," Alex Levine, president of the Writers Guild of Canada told CTV National News. A lot of the series they are producing have smaller orders, six or eight episodes, and that has allowed them to really grind down on writers and get more work out of fewer writers.”
His group, along with production crews and actors, are standing in solidarity this week, holding protests of their own. While the strike is causing massive production delays in the U.S., it's also having a direct impact on Hollywood North.
"They hire our crews, they use our locations, and that work is stopping," says Levine.
Unions estimate tens of thousands of people are off set and sitting on the sidelines. That includes everyone from actors and producers to makeup artists and craft services. People who work on shows like "The Handmaid's Tale," "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" and the Netflix series "The Craving."
While the strike started in May, many started to feel the pinch long before.
"The slowdown started a lot earlier, productions weren't willing to commit to production during a period of uncertainty, and without the ability to do rewrite and changes," Matt Williams, a key grip who works out of Vancouver, said. Williams worked his last full-time gig in March and says some others have been out of work since January.
