Writers Guild Awards to Celebrate Honorees As New Contract Heralds Industry Changes

variety.com:

Brent Simon For the roughly 12,000 scribes the Writers Guild of America represents, the last year has been an emotional roller coaster: The guild engaged in a labor stoppage for over four and a half months in 2023 that, alongside a partially overlapping SAG-AFTRA strike, ground production to a halt.

But with a new contract now in hand, the upcoming Writers Guild Awards afford union members the chance for a collective exhalation.

On April 14, Emmy-winning actress and producer Niecy Nash-Betts will host the event in L.A., part of conjoined and concurrent ceremonies in Hollywood and New York City, which will give writers the opportunity to both celebrate some of the best recent work of their own and simultaneously look toward the future. “We made a lot of gains,” says Meredith Stiehm, “Cold Case” creator and WGA West president since 2021, noting what she called “a collage of victories” in their negotiated settlement, ranging from AI safeguards to writers room guarantees. “I think a big challenge now is making sure they’re enforced and we’re protecting [members],” she says, adding that the organization is closely monitoring the current negotiations between IATSE, Teamsters and the Hollywood Basic Crafts coalition with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The awards show itself, meanwhile, is in an unusual position. WGA winners in 26 categories spanning film, television, news media and radio/audio will be awarded more than one month after the Academy Awards, instead of before, as is traditional. “Air,” “Barbie,” “The Holdovers,” “May December” and “Past Lives” are vying for the original screenplay WGA trophy, while “American Fiction,” “Are You There God?