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Currently pursuing a film career with a passion for film journalism, storytelling of any kind has allowed me to let my imagination run wild in ways even I couldn’t predict. Expect me to write about film, TV, and the entertainment industry.
HBO’s House of the Dragon and Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will keep filming amid the Writers Guild of America strike.
It has been a week since this Monday since the Writers Guild failed to make a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). As a result, the ongoing strike is fighting for writers to receive better compensation, working standards, and regulations against AI.
The WGA strike won’t only affect projects in development, but movies and television shows that were going into production. Just this week Abbott Elementary writer Brittani Nichols told Democracy Now! that the series’ third season is on hold. Late-night shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live and Late Night will be airing reruns while they go on hiatus.
Whether by sheer confidence or desperation, fantasy prequels House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power will proceed with filming.
Rings With No Powerful Showrunners
Variety reports that The Rings of Power has around 19 days left of principal photography before wrapping. The issue is that the second season of the series will have to resume without its showrunners or writer-producers. Executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay won’t partake in the final days of production. This is due to Writers Guild rules sparing members from writing-based work during a strike.
According to Variety’s source, both Payne and McKay had planned for this exact scenario in advance. To avoid potential issues amid the strike, executive producer Lindsey Weber, alongside the season’s lineup of directors, will be overseeing the massive U.K. production.
Dragons Without On-Set Writers
The Rings of Power isn’t the only epic fantasy series that is gambling in resuming production. House of the Dragon is preparing to begin principal photography for its second season as well, as stated by Variety. HBO claims scripts for the prequel based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood were complete prior to the strike. This is what showrunner Ryan Condal had to say:
“House of the Dragon has returned. We are thrilled to be shooting again with members of our original family as well as new talents on both sides of the camera. All your favorite characters will soon be conspiring at the council tables, marching with their armies, and riding their dragons into battle. We can’t wait to share what we have in store.”
‘House of the Dragon’ showrunner Ryan Condal via Variety
Ryan Condal will remain attached to the second season of House of the Dragon, though he will do so in a non-writing role. A source told Variety that he will not be able to rewrite scripts on set, edit, or give notes of any sort.
Uncertain Future
Although Condal, Payne and McKay seem confident in moving forward, this could end up being a double-edged sword for both shows. The WGA strike in 2007 resulted in the state of California taking an economic hit of approximately $2 billion dollars.
The strike led to multiple studios rushing projects into filming, creating convoluted movies and TV shows. Daniel Craig’s second Bond film Quantum of Solace, Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are a few examples of this where the final product suffered as a direct result of the situation in Hollywood at the time.
To make matters worse, almost every major studio is already looking into investing in AI-generated scripts. Above the Line discloses AI will potentially be used to start development on projects. Once the WGA and the AMPTP come to an agreement on a new contract, studios hope to hire screenwriters to rework the AI scripts. This is precisely what the WGA is pushing back on.
The Writers Guild of Great Britain ordered its members to cease work on U.S. productions, learned Variety. After submitting their work for projects in America prior to May 1st, U.K. writers have joined the strike in solidarity with their colleges.
To say writers are vital during the production and post-production process would be undermining their role. Rewrites happen all the time. From the conception of the story, plot, and characters to the technical aspect of filmmaking like sound mixing. A line of dialogue may not work deep into post-production. So, a writer might have to come in and do small adjustments to a screenplay. Reshoots are often the best solution. ADR (automated dialogue replacement) is another good option.
House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power can be affected by the WGA strike, even if the scripts are complete. How much impact could it have? We can’t really say until we learn more, or until both series air their second seasons. But if they encounter scripting problems, then they might suffer from screenwriters not being present on set. This will keep happening if studios continue to ignore the demands of their employees.
The Rings of Power is developed by John D. Payne and Patrick McKay. It stars Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud), Ismael Cruz Cordova (The Mandalorian), Benjamin Walker (Jessica Jones), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (The People We Hate at the Wedding), Charlie Vickers (Palm Beach), Robert Aramayo (Game of Thrones), Owain Arthur (The One and Only Ivan), Sophia Nomvete (Wednesday).
House of the Dragon is developed by Ryan Condal and George R.R. Martin. It stars Emma D’Arcy (Truth Seekers), Matt Smith (Last Night in Soho), Paddy Considine (Wolf), Olivia Cooke (Little Fish), Steve Toussaint (Rain Dogs), Eve Best (The King’s Speech), Rhys Ifans (The King’s Man), Milly Alcock (Upright), Emily Carey (Wonder Woman), Fabien Frankel (Venice at Dawn), Sonoya Mizuno (Crazy Rich Asians), Tom Glynn-Carney (Dunkirk).
Currently pursuing a film career with a passion for film journalism, storytelling of any kind has allowed me to let my imagination run wild in ways even I couldn’t predict. Expect me to write about film, TV, and the entertainment industry.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.