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According to a recent report from Deadline about the ongoing writers and actors strikes in Hollywood, the “thin-skinned” duo of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Disney CEO Bob Iger are reportedly “stunned” by the extent to which studio execs have been vilified and blamed for the strikes.
As a result of their ongoing humiliation in the court of public opinion, the AMPTP — the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — has hired a new crisis PR firm to cope with the blowback.
In particular, “thin-skinned” Iger and Zaslav are “stunned,” according to one insider, that they have been so vilified by the guild and its members over the past several months. “Almost everyone is looking for someone to blame,” another insider says of the backbiting among the core CEOs.
“They’re paralyzed, even as the clock is ticking, and it’s Ted’s fault, Iger’s fault, even Tony Vinciquerra’s fault, depending on who you ask,” the source added, name-checking the Netflix co-CEO, the Disney CEO, and the Sony Pictures chair and CEO. [via Deadline]
Making matters worse, reports from earlier this month indicated that Iger — who makes more than $25 million per year — was “personally offended” the WGA didn’t agree to AMPTP’s latest offer, which failed to meet the 0.18% average of a studio’s annual revenue that the writers are asking for.
The writers’ strike has been ongoing for over three months now, while the actors’ strike is nearing the 50-day mark (at the time of this writing).
Both have had tangible effects on the entertainment industry, as projects such as Krave the Hunter and the Zendaya-starring, Luca Guadagnino-directed film Challengers were delayed a full year, while the highly anticipated sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune was bumped from November to March.
According to the latest reports, the AMTPT is nowhere close to reaching an agreement with either the writers’ union or the actors’ union.