Toronto's film and TV industry seeing impact of Hollywood writers' strike, official says

A strike by Hollywood screenwriters has already shut down one "substantial" series that was being shot in Toronto, and the dispute will have an effect on the larger film and television industry here if it drags on, a city official says.

Marguerite Pigott, film commissioner and director of entertainment industries for the city of Toronto, declined on Wednesday to name the production shut down. But she said if the strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) continues for an extended period of time, the city expects there will be less U.S. production of films and television series shot in Toronto in the summer and fall.

"We absolutely are anticipating that there's going to be impact on the industry in Toronto resulting from the writers' strike in Hollywood," Pigott said.

Pigott said the strike is having a "cooling impact" on production plans by studios and streaming companies because it is creating uncertainty. She said the city is already seeing less scouting for locations, which tends to happen three or four months before production.

The strike by about 11,500 film and television writers represented by the guild began on Tuesday, after their contract expired on May 1. The union had failed to reach a new contract with the trade association that represents Hollywood studios and production companies. 

The union is calling for higher minimum pay, more writers per show, less exclusivity on single projects, better residuals, and assurance that production companies will agree to safeguards around the usage of artificial intelligence.

Pigott did say Toronto's film and television production industry is "a little bit more" insulated from the strike than other jurisdictions because of domestic production. Several Canadian films and television series are shooting in Toronto currently, she said. 

"We've got those to continue to support and employ our very talented industry. But there's no question that a substantial part of our business is work from the U.S. and the strike will impact progressively more the longer it goes on."

Alex Levine, president of the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) and a screenwriter, said the guild has asked its members who work in the U.S. to refrain from pitching ideas or working for U.S. production companies or broadcasters under the jurisdiction of the WGA during the strike. The WGA is a sister guild, he said.

'It's going to be painful,' writer says

Levine said the strike could last for some time because the streaming companies may have shot a number of programs already in anticipation of a strike.

"It's going to be painful. This is going to be a really hard thing for the writers to do, but we have to hold strong and be tough and make sure that the streamers know we mean business, otherwise we won't have an industry left to fight for, from the writer's perspective," he said.

Levine said there has been a huge technological shift in the industry, with audiences watching television shows on streaming networks as opposed to on cable. There is now a proliferation of choice in terms of programming. Even though there are more television series being produced, the majority have fewer episodes than they did in previous years and that means shorter orders, he said. 

Streaming companies are contracting with writers in a different way as a result, he said. That means shorter contracts, less pay, more work in development and less work in production and post production, he said.

"At the end of the day, writers are getting squeezed financially," Levine said.

Levine said Canadian screenwriters have similar concerns to their American counterparts and the guild is scheduled to negotiate with the Canadian Media Producers Association in the fall.

"We are dealing with a lot of the same issues: shorter contracts, lower wages, more development work, less work in production," he said.

'There is nothing being written,' actor says

Cynthia Zhou, a B.C.-based actor who is shooting an indie short horror film in Toronto funded by the Canada Arts Council, said the strike has left her without acting work.

"It is very, very rough for both me and a lot of my film crew friends who are basically unemployed now because there is nothing being written," she said.

Zhou said despite the impact, she is standing in solidarity with the writers and believes the contract they negotiate will set a precedent for others in the industry.

"Really, at the end of the day, it's about all the workers at the bottom fighting against exploitation from the big streamer companies," she said.