Who Won the Strikes? Who Lost? A Merciless Assessment – The Hollywood Reporter

As the town flocked to picket lines during a historic 148-day writers strike and 118-day actors strike, moguls took a hit (looking at you, Bob Iger), stars made blunders (why, Drew Barrymore?) and others saw their stock rise (Lindsay Dougherty holds court next with the studios) … Winners Fran Drescher & Duncan Crabtree-IrelandTo be sure, SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating team faced its challenges in 2023, from growing impatience in the industry over the length of its bargaining process to celebrity resistance to the union’s restrictive Halloween strike rules. Ultimately, though, Drescher in particular ably combated some of the criticism (openly discussing the heart-shaped plushie she brought to negotiations) and the union won a wide-reaching contract.  Ellen StutzmanThe WGA West assistant executive director was thrust into the spotlight in February when the union’s usual chief negotiator, David Young, stepped out on medical leave. Stutzman was named to take his place in negotiations, and it’s hard to imagine a more grueling introduction to the job than presiding over the second-longest strike in the union’s history. But Stutzman came out on top when the tentative deal she helped to broker was ratified. In November, she was named executive director. Chris KeyserThe co-chair of the WGA’s negotiating
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