"Our job is to enable and empower them to do their best work"- Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav breaks silence on SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike

After months of the WGA strike and weeks of the SAG-AFTRA protest, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav has broken his silence on the situation, saying he believes the protest could come to an end by early September.

Moreover, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels revealed a piece of news that has received quite a significant backlash. According to Wiedenfels, the studio saved over $100 million due to the strikes in Q2, something that is being severely criticized by fans across the world. However, these claims seem to suggest that the company wants to open the negotiations as soon as possible.

Zaslav said:

"We’re in the business of storytelling. Our goal is to tell great stories. And we cannot do any of that without the entirety of the creative community."

He added:

"The great creative community with the writers, directors, editors, producers, actors and the whole below the line crew, our job is to enable and empower them to do their best work. We’re hopeful that all sides will get back to the negotiating table so that the strikes get resolved in a way that the writers and actors feel they are fairly compensated and their efforts and contributions are fully valued."

This comes weeks after studios like Netflix and Disney allegedly started preparing counteractive measures to the strike, like cutting off writers and hiring a stronger AI department, which remains one of the primary concerns of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

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"If the strike continues, there may be more demand... We’re always looking to maximize"- CEO Zaslav explores opportunity in the strikes

The joint strike by WGA and SAG-AFTRA is one of the biggest to ever occur in Hollywood. However, after giving an encouraging message about resolving the crisis, Zaslav expanded on how it can also be profitable. He said:

"The content licensing we have, we have one of the one of the best TV and motion picture libraries in the world... If you look at the overall economics, I think we’re actually below the last couple of years, in terms of what we’re selling. If the strike continues, there may be more demand. We’re always looking to maximize."

Zaslav further commented on how the resolution of the strikes may be useful to both parties, as they may be able to capitalize on the present flaws of the system amid increased demands and greater production and eventually compensate writers and actors fairly.

He concluded, saying:

"We’re hoping the strike gets settled as soon as possible. It’s important. It’s important that we get going and that we get back to work doing what we love. And we’re hoping that both of these strikes get resolved soon. That’s our focus."

Despite the positive words from Zaslav, the strike remains unresolved, with negotiations currently on hold. It would likely be a long time before a concrete resolution is reached.