No Film School laid out the issues as talks began, with 97 percent of members backing the union’s demands
What the Writers Guild Wanted in 2026: AI Limits, Residuals and Fewer Free Rewrites
No Film School laid out the issues as talks began, with 97 percent of members backing the union’s demands
The Setting
As contract talks began in early 2026, No Film School set out what was at stake. The Writers Guild covers movie and television writers, and its contract was due to expire on May 1. The 2023 strikes were two years behind it, and contracts run three years. The union’s chief negotiator, Ellen Stutzman, faced AMPTP president Gregory Hessinger. The WGA reported 97 percent union support for its demands, and the article said the mood in town did not suggest another strike was likely.
SAG-AFTRA, representing about 160,000 members, had been negotiating since February 9 and had agreed to a seven-day extension. The Directors Guild was also due to negotiate that year.
The AI Demands
Under the existing WGA contract, AI is not considered a writer, and its output is not literary material. The union wanted stronger protections against what it called the use and abuse of AI, and it was concerned about AI deals involving characters its members created. It also wanted more transparency from studios.
SAG-AFTRA’s proposal went further in one direction: a so-called Tilly Tax would require studios to pay the union when they use an AI actor instead of a human performer. It responded to Tilly Norwood, described as the industry’s first AI actor, who had not booked any roles. SAG-AFTRA also opposed digital twins.
The eventual agreement is covered in the NPR report on the tentative deal, which says new AI rules were expected but that specifics were unconfirmed.
Money Issues
The WGA pushed for higher streaming residuals, which were a primary sticking point in the last strike. It also sought higher financial minimums, including raised minimums for page one rewrites, and larger contributions to benefit plans.
Page one rewrites matter to working screenwriters because a studio can ask for a complete redraft of a script at a low fee, and the writer’s time is consumed. Raising the minimum for such work makes it more expensive for studios to treat rewrites as routine.
Health Plan
The article treats the benefit-plan contribution increase as a financial demand. SAG-AFTRA, for its part, planned to improve its own healthcare fund. For both unions, the sustainability of health coverage was a central issue after the shocks of 2023.
The tentative deal reported in April said the WGA’s health plan was protected and placed on a sustainable path, with higher company contributions and caps. The reports do not give the contribution percentages.
The Role of Residuals
Residuals are payments made to writers when their work is reused, such as when a film is shown on television or a series is streamed. In the pre-streaming era they were a significant part of a writer’s income. The shift to streaming reduced them in many cases, because platforms did not report viewing in the same way, and the question of how to pay writers for success on a streaming service was central to the last strike.
The WGA’s push for higher streaming residuals in 2026 continues that argument. The No Film School article does not give the amounts requested, so the scale of the demand cannot be judged from it.
Page One Rewrites
A page one rewrite is a complete new draft of a script, as opposed to revisions of an existing draft. Writers have long argued that the fee for such work should reflect the labor involved. Raising minimums for page one rewrites addresses a concern that studios treat large amounts of work as small revisions.
The article lists the demand without detail, so readers should consult the final agreement for the actual figures.
Reading the Article
No Film School is a trade-education site, and the article is a preview written before the outcome was known. It contains no direct quotes from Stutzman or Hessinger. The 97 percent support figure is the union’s own, and the claim that a strike was unlikely is the writer’s judgement of the mood in town.
A reader who wants the outcome should read the April 2026 coverage and the final contract summary. A reader who wants to understand the demands should treat this article as an accurate statement of what the union said it wanted at the start.
Why It Matters Beyond Hollywood
The WGA’s AI language has been watched by other industries, because it was among the first contracts to address generative tools in creative work. Whatever the final wording, the principle that AI output is not literary material is now part of the baseline.
For aspiring screenwriters, the talks are a reminder that the economics of the craft are set partly by collective bargaining. Minimums, residuals and credit rules determine what a sale is worth.
Humour as a Mirror
Markets that worry are easy to laugh at, and the Cebu condominium story has drawn plenty of that: empty showrooms in Manila News, paperwork for British pensioners in the London Prat (at https://prat.uk/cebu-estate-agents-demand-character-references/) and long showings in Bohiney. See also prat.uk and bohiney.com.
For the lighter side of the news, there is always The Daily Squib.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/cebu-realtor-cant-sell-beachfront-listings/