Two days after the writers unions released their pattern of demands for upcoming negotiations with the major studios, WGA East President Tom Fontana weighed in on the state of things during a brief conversation with Deadline at the 78th annual Writers Guild Awards on Sunday.
“Obviously, healthcare is really important,” Fontana said, reiterating that rejuvenating the unions’ health plan fund will be among the top priorities this bargaining cycle, while also acknowledging that the writers union has “questions about residuals” that they’ll also want to address.
“We need to look at our all of our members in film and television and streaming from the showrunners like me all the way to the people who are just starting out,” he said.
The latest round of negotiations between the above-the-line unions comes not only on the heels of a very contentious bargaining cycle that led to dual writers and actors strikes but also amid another turbulent time in the entertainment industry as Paramount Skydance moves toward acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery.
It should come as no surprise, given the frank statements released by the WGA East and West throughout the WGA acquisition saga, that Fontana is not a fan of any sale of the legacy studio — but especially not to Paramount.
“I’m no businessman. All I can tell you is jobs are at stake. Democracy is at stake. A couple of little things like that,” he sarcastically noted, adding: “I would have preferred somebody else. Actually, in an ideal world, I would prefer Warner to stay Warner. But yeah, I think the mergers overall are toxic for the industry.”
Attendees at Sunday night’s ceremony shouldn’t expect Fontana’s remarks to get very political, though. He told Deadline ahead of the show that he planned to touch on the overall state of the industry “just a little,” so that guests and nominees can focus on the celebration at hand. “It’s a party,” he said.
Another topic that leadership is hoping to avoid? The WGA West’s staff strike, which continues this weekend even as the show goes on in NYC. Last week, the west coast ceremony was canceled after the two parties could not reach a deal. The Writers Guild Staff Union has framed the move to cancel the ceremony as a bully tactic, but in a previous statement, the guild said that it would not ask its own members to cross another union’s picket line — since the staff very likely would have a presence to protest the event if still on strike.
Of course, that’s not Fontana’s responsibility to solve, given that the WGA East’s staff has been organized with United Steelworkers for many years and is not on strike. The east coast ceremony did try to accommodate any nominees who planned to attend in L.A. and wanted to make the last-minute trek to the in-person ceremony at the Edison Ballroom.
While they’d typically be staffing the L.A. event, the WGA West staff is now hosting a benefit comedy show Sunday night with proceeds going to their strike fund. Headlining the show is would-be WGA West Coast ceremony host Atsuko Okatsuka.