Hollywood Writers Slam The Disney and Fox Merger and Explain How It "Makes Matters Even Worse"

While a lot of people, especially Marvel fans are excited about the deal between Disney and Fox, there are some people out there who aren't too happy about it. Some of those people are the writers who are working in Hollywood. 

The Writers Guild of America recently issued a statement slamming the deal because they see it as a further consolidation of power which will make it even harder for the creative talent to get fair wages. You can read the statement below:

“In the relentless drive to eliminate competition, big business has an insatiable appetite for consolidation. Disney and Fox have spent decades profiting from the oligopolistic control that the six major media conglomerates have exercised over the entertainment industry, often at the expense of the creators who power their television and film operations. Now, this proposed merger of direct competitors will make matters even worse by substantially increasing the market power of a combined Disney-Fox corporation. The antitrust concerns raised by this deal are obvious and significant. The Writers Guild of America West strongly opposes this merger and will work to ensure our nation’s antitrust laws are enforced.”

Screenwriters have had a long and complicated history with the film and TV studios to ensure that they are paid fair wages. It seems every few years there are battles between the union and the studios. More recently, these issues have revolved around digital distribution.

Anyway, I can definitely see where the writers are coming from and I can see the downside of the deal for them. I hope that things won't end up being as bad as they think it will be. Whatever happens, we'll still have a lot of great movies to look forward to seeing!