How the Hollywood writers' strike is impacting Canadian creatives
Anthony Q. Farrell and Joan Chell explain how much the industry has changed here since the WGA strike began
The Writers Guild of America's strike is in its third week — and it's not just productions south of the border that are being affected.
Many of the TV shows and films we see on screen today are shot in Canada. With the strike making it harder for productions to proceed, cast, crew and creatives across Canada are also feeling the crunch of work drying up heading into summer, typically the industry's busiest season.
But, there is hope. Toronto-based screenwriter Anthony Q. Farrell and makeup artist Joan Chell explain why some Canadians feel their U.S. counterparts are fighting the fight on their behalf.
We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast, on your favourite podcast player.
Elamin: Anthony, let me just start with you. What is the most immediate impact of the strike for you and your work in this country?
Anthony: Well, for me, it just means that there are a few different shows that I've been developing that I have to wait on. We can't talk until the strike is over. As a writer, a lot of the time, the show that you're working on just means you have to be developing three or four more shows so that when that one's done, you have to be ready to go.
Elamin: On to the next one.
Anthony: So now it's kind of a situation where … we don't know what's going to be next, because a lot of conversations just kind of got deaded right away.
Elamin: And it's not a matter of, "We can have a smaller conversation about this." It's like, "We literally can't talk about this until the strike is over."
Anthony: Literally can't talk about it. Here's the thing: I'm in a very weird, unique position where I'm a member of the Writers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of Canada. I can continue to work on Canadian productions, and Canadian productions that are in co-productions with American studios — but I can't pitch them. And also, this is only because I live in Canada. If I lived in America, the WGC and WGA would be telling you, "All right, you live in America, you stay there. You're part of the WGA strike. Don't come back to Canada to try and find work."
Elamin: Wow. I need, like, a flowchart to follow the ways that you can do this work, but not this work, right?
Anthony: There have been a lot of conversations with my reps and myself just talking things through, because there are shows that I'm developing that the producers are taking to American broadcasters, but I can't go to those meetings. If the show gets sold and I have to make it, I can make it on their WGC contract. So I can make the show, but I can't come and pitch it to you. Like I said, I'm in a weird situation.
Elamin: That's a really unique position. Joan, normally you'd be super busy, but not this year. What's happened to your work lately?
Joan: Well, it just kind of stopped. I was lucky enough to do a Canadian sitcom for about six weeks, and finished about two weeks ago. But there's nothing on the horizon. We've never been off during the summer.
Elamin: This is the busiest season for you?
Joan: Yeah, but now it's like, gee, maybe I can go and take a vacation somewhere?
Elamin: But you've been doing this for a long time. Have you ever seen anything like this?
Joan: Yes, I've seen it in the '80s. And I remember a lot of people lost homes. It went on for a long time. I remember that was an eye-opener for me.
Elamin: Yeah, that it could be that kind of consequence. Anthony, how tough is it right now to make a living wage as a screenwriter here in this country?
Anthony: It's extremely difficult.… Writers rooms have fewer people in them than they did in the past. This is not just happening in Canada; it's also happening in the States. So, you have fewer people who can get jobs. And then when you do get a job, there are fewer weeks allotted to actually write the shows that you have to make. So it just creates a squeeze on the people who are trying to write shows. Then you throw in the fact that a lot of these writers live in Toronto, live in Vancouver, Montreal. These are difficult places to find reasonable rates for housing. It's a really tough time.
Elamin: Could I get a sense from you of maybe this time last year, what would have your process been like in terms of preparing for the summer? Would you have had a bunch of jobs lined up?
Joan: Oh, there would be one job right after the other one; one would finish, and another one started within a week. Or sometimes it overlaps a bit. But for the last four years, it's gone a little crazy. And I was lucky enough to work for the last five shows with Anthony.
Elamin: So it's even gotten busier in the last few years. All right, Anthony, let's talk a little bit about what's on the line here in Canada with what's happening in Hollywood. What do you think is on the line?
Anthony: It's the future of this business … of whether or not writing stays an actual job. I mean, you think about the things like AI coming into the picture now — could that destroy our industry? Could that destroy our union? … Think about your favourite show. Someone writes that. So, we're just trying to protect these people so that you can get more favourite shows coming down the line.
WATCH | How Canadian production is already off script from Hollywood writers' strike:
In Canada, I'll say, it's already tenuous. The thing about the WGA strike is, a lot of the stuff that they're angry about is stuff that is commonplace here in Canada — small rooms, shorter weeks, development rooms. These are things that popped up in America over the last few years. And I'm kind of going, "Y'all are mad because America is becoming Canada." So hopefully if they make some gains down south, we'll be able to use those gains to push for some of the things that we need up here as well.
Elamin: I've got to say, when you ask somebody what are the stakes of what's happening with a story, I don't always expect the answer that the job remains a job.… Something that's really striking in terms of how the Writers Guild has conducted itself, is that it seems to draw lines in the sand long before the issue becomes a major issue. AI is a good example of this — one of the key sticking points of the strike is, "We don't want AI involved in any writing." AI is nowhere near close to that, but the union is trying to say, "We don't even want that to become a question mark." Do you get the sense that the union does the same kind of work here in Canada?
Anthony: I think we try to do the same thing in Canada. I think there are fewer of us. We don't have the same kind of funding for the Writers Guild of Canada, so it's a little bit harder to get the same kind of backup. But I know the work that they're doing, especially with things like Bill C-11. Our Independent Production Agreement contract is up at the end of this year, so we're already starting to have some of these conversations and we're really looking to see what's happening down south to kind of figure out how we're going to handle our negotiations coming up at the end of the year.
You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.
Panel produced by Jess Low.
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