Tony Gilroy Takes New York Picket Line by Storm With Fiery Speech Remarking the Importance of Victory for Writers

We're nearly four months into the current writers' strike, and the standoff between the guild and the AMPTP, which represents the major Hollywood studios, has no obvious end in sight. Thankfully, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and AMPTP have been negotiating and exchanging offers over the last couple of weeks, but as of now, there's no way to know how or when the strike will conclude. Plus, there's the also-ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike to consider as well. If there was any hope by the studios of the WGA getting tired and slowing down their efforts to march through the streets of Los Angeles and New York City, Tony Gilroy just proved them wrong.



Very few Hollywood productions have been able to continue unaffected by the strikes, and the present slate of Star Wars shows on Disney Plus is no exception. Last month, we heard that Andor had to end filming on its second and final season a bit sooner than expected because of the SAG-AFTRA strike that had just begun. Now, showrunner Tony Gilroy, who has been a steadfast supporter of the WGA strike since the beginning, has once again made his stance regarding the importance of the ongoing labor action clear. Better yet, he did it with a speech that would've made Maarva Andor proud.







Tony Gilroy was at the WGA/SAG-AFTRA picket line in New York City yesterday (hat tip to TheWrap and Deadline), along with Andor writer Beau Willimon (you may know him for writing the prison arc in season 1), where he spoke to a group of his fellow demonstrators. The showrunner began his speech by recounting his experiences during the WGA strikes of 1960 and 1988:

Gilroy continued by recapping the 2007-2008 WGA strike, which unfortunately fell short of the writers' goals at the time:

Thankfully, the veteran writer/director's speech wasn't all doom and gloom. Tony Gilroy emphasized that, as he sees it, the WGA is far more likely to succeed in its current action against the AMPTP than in previous strikes from decades past. He didn't pull any punches when describing the AMPTP's approach to the strike either:

(L-R): Kino Loy (Andy Serkis) and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in Lucasfilm's ANDOR, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



The Andor showrunner also underlined the importance of writers in the filmmaking process and reiterated that without their creativity, neither entertainment media nor its many tie-in products would exist.

Tony Gilroy then ended his speech in the most fitting way possible, shouting 'One way out!' before walking away. It's undeniable that the outcome of the simultaneous WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes will determine the long-term health not only of the writing and acting professions but of the film and television industry as a whole. As Gilroy states here, strikes and unions have helped workers make essential gains in terms of pay and benefits in the past, and writers, like all laborers, are entitled to fair compensation and job security for their work, as well as pension plans and health care coverage.



Deadline reported on Thursday that the latest WGA proposal to the studios would cost the AMPTP an average of 0.18% of their annual revenue. And unlike what the studios probably thought when the strike was called, the writers are stronger every day, with picket-line photos all over social media and an overall demonization of the greedy companies that they likely did not anticipate. Writers and actors have also forced the studios' hand to paralyze the entire industry and delay some of their upcoming movies, and considering further action on their 2024 schedules. For now, Star Wars is continuing business as usual for the most part, except for The Mandalorian season 4 likely not being able to start shooting before the end of the year as they had hoped.



We here at Star Wars News Net wish Tony Gilroy and his fellow participants in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes the best of luck in achieving their goals, and for the studios to come to their senses in the current and future negotiations.



You can see Gilroy's full speech here:



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