Writers strike in Hollywood | Filming torpedoed in Quebec

The screenwriters’ strike in the United States greatly affects the Quebec audiovisual industry. Two shoots have already been stopped and several will probably be postponed or even canceled.

“The impact is major,” says Andrew Lapierre, vice-president and co-founder of Grandé Studios, which hosts a large number of foreign shoots in Montreal each year. And everyone knows she [la grève] can last quite a long time. »

Triggered at the beginning of the month, the walkout by members of the union of American screenwriters, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), is paralyzing the audiovisual industry. Negotiations stumble over salaries, as well as royalties for the exploitation of works on Netflix, Disney + and all viewing platforms on the internet.

In Quebec, the strike interrupted the filming of a new Starz network series, The Venery of Samantha Bird, with two episodes (out of eight) still to be filmed. Starring Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why, Knives Out), this drama tells the story of a young woman who begins a seemingly perfect relationship with her childhood sweetheart.

As for the filming of Ghost, which was due to start in June, its kick-off has been postponed to September. The hit CBS comedy is set to return for a third season next fall.

“We are stuck,” says Aren Prupas, president and CEO of Muse Entertainment, a Montreal box responsible for providing professional services, including setting up the production team, for several foreign productions shot on Quebec soil.

The writers’ strike also disrupted the filming of an Amazon series titled The Sticky, produced by actress Jamie Lee Curtis and inspired by the historic 2012 maple syrup theft in Quebec. Since the script was finalized when the labor dispute broke out, the cameras never stopped rolling, but since during filming, questions and adjustments related to the texts are commonplace, the team would have carried out the work in ” difficult conditions”, given the absence of the authors.

As for Studios Mels, we are not seeing “no impact” after the first two weeks of the strike, we are told. But since most American productions land in Montreal in the summer, the rhetoric could soon change.

According to AQTIS 514 IATSE, the union of Quebec technicians, the strike affects “at least” 800 of them.

In addition, other labor disputes could arise in the United States and further cripple the audiovisual sector. The directors’ union (Directors Guild of America) and the actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA) both have contracts that expire on June 30.

“It risks brewing” in Quebec

The local market could suffer another hard blow next fall, when the AQTIS 514 IATSE and the Union des artistes (UDA) will enter into negotiations with the Association québécoise des productions mediases (AQPM) to renew their own agreements. These negotiations should cover several points currently at the heart of discussions in the United States.

The UDA declined to comment on the matter. For its part, the AQTIS 514 IATSE confirms that it intends to discuss working conditions and wages, two issues that also emerge from the talks in the United States.

“The situation has deteriorated due to underfunding,” said the group’s president, Christian Lemay. The pace of filming in Quebec is too high. The industry really needs to come together, sit down and think. The government must get involved. If not, how do we retain the workforce? The job market is extremely competitive. People have many options. »

NBC renewed Transplant

For the moment, the strike of Hollywood screenwriters could have smiled on Quebec in a way: more than a year after presenting its second season, the American network NBC recently announced that it had ordered the third and fourth seasons of Transplanta Canadian series shot in English in Montreal, and produced by Sphère Média, a Quebec company.

The Internet magazine Deadline took the opportunity to underline the context in which the antenna had made this acquisition: “After two weeks of a strike which could paralyze the production of American fiction until an agreement is signed . The medical drama, which Noovo broadcasts in French in Quebec, stars Laurence Leboeuf.

“This strike can give Canadians a chance to present projects to broadcasters who lack content,” observes Aren Prupas of Muse Entertainment. This may be an opportunity to show our talent. »

a postman

The strike is not the only cause of the slowdown in foreign filming in Quebec in 2023, reports Christine Maestracci, president and director general of the Office of cinema and television of Quebec (BCTQ).

“The situation is worrying, judge M^me Maestracci. She hasn’t improved since last year. The ecosystem in Quebec means that we have everything we need to be a major player, but other [endroits] moved, such as Alberta, northern Ontario, Atlanta, New York and London. They have increased their means to attract foreign filming and stimulate their industry, by granting tax incentives, for example. Others gave financial incentives directly to productions. Others have chosen to invest in infrastructure. »

Same story with Andrew Lapierre of Grandé Studios: the conflict is far from the only reason why Montreal is losing so many American shoots.

“Even without the strike, Montreal would have suffered this year due to a lack of competitiveness. It’s hard to sell Montreal, especially when you look at Toronto and Vancouver. British Columbia and Ontario offer better tax credits. Fighting against that is difficult in the current state of things. »