'Planet of the Apes' writer upbeat amid WGA strike news

As a Hollywood script writer, Mark Bomback is accustomed to waiting for words to come. He waits for words to come to him when he's writing, waits for words to come into final form, waits for words to be spoken by actors such as Bruce Willis in "Live Free or Die Hard" and Hugh Jackman in "The Wolverine" and by countless apes in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and "War for the Planet of the Apes."

Waiting for words comes with the territory.

But the words the Mount Kisco writer and New Rochelle native has longed to hear for nearly 5 months arrived on Sunday, on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. That's when word came that the Writers Guild of America had reached a tentative contract deal with the movie studios and streaming services on a three-year deal that is expected to deal with some thorny issues.

When he spoke on Monday, having just returned from synagogue to mark the holy day, Bomback hadn't heard the details of the plan that had been ironed out, given the holiday — the announcement will likely come on Tuesday, he said — but he had every reason to feel optimistic.

"The tenor of the the email communications was extremely upbeat and felt like a victory," he said. "I'm sure there were concessions made because, of course, that's the nature of negotiation and you have to compromise. But it sounded, from their emails, that all the big issues were tackled and that there wasn't anything that was wholesale just given away, as far as I understand it."

One of the main sticking points was an issue that Bomback, a father of four, has seen first hand in his Mount Kisco home.

"I was most interested in finding a way to have residuals tied more closely to performance when it comes to streaming," Bomback said. "And it sounds again like they made some strides there."

"This isn't a new take, but I look at the show 'Suits,' which I don't personally even watch, but every one of my family seems to have seen all the episodes now. It is sort of amazing that there wasn't a system in place to reward the writers and the actors on that show for the massive success that it has been on Netflix."

Residual payments — for shows that are re-run — weren't factored into past collective bargaining agreements between the studios and the writers. Bomback is confident this new deal will address that.

The strike's success for writers came after 146 days of picketing. Bomback walked the picket line in New York and said it was easier than the 2007-08 strike, which came during wintry weather.

"I think people tended to try to make the most of that time out there (on the picket line)," Bomback said. "There was certainly a sense of at least optimism that the work going into doing this picketing was ultimately going to be worth it."

And they had company.

Over the past five months, writers were joined on picket lines by another union striking Hollywood: members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The actors remain on strike, seeking similar concessions over the use of artificial intelligence and a share in revenue from streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon.

Tentative agreement

The Writers Guild of America issued a statement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood studios and streaming services. The three-year contract agreement now goes to the WGA board and its rank-and-file.

“WGA has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP,” the guild said in an email to members. “This was made possible by the enduring solidarity of WGA members and extraordinary support of our union siblings who joined us on the picket lines for over 146 days.”

The WGA strike is not officially over until the contract is ratified, but Hollywood writers have been told to put down their picket signs after Sunday's news came. Details of the agreement were not made public, but one of the thorniest issues — for both writers and actors — has been the sharing of streaming revenue and the use of artificial intelligence to generate scripts and performances.

There has been no word on how the tentative contract deals with AI, but the WGA’s negotiating committee, in an email to members, said: “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”

Until the vote is ratified, the strike is not over and writers should not return to work, the union said.

The actors continue to strike

Whether writers will join the Screen Actors Guild picket lines remains to be seen. Talks have not resumed between the studios and streaming services and the actors.

If the writers' contract is approved and writers return to work, the first shows back would likely be late-night network fixtures that don’t have actors, including NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” They could return to the air within days.

The actors union was happy for its fellow union member, but steadfast in its resolve.

“SAG-AFTRA congratulates the WGA on reaching a tentative agreement with the AMPTP after 146 days of incredible strength, resiliency and solidarity on the picket lines,” the actors union said in a statement. “While we look forward to reviewing the WGA and AMPTP’s tentative agreement, we remain committed to achieving the necessary terms for our members.”

Bomback said he hopes the good news he waited for could be a sign of things to come for the actors.

"I'm guardedly optimistic that the actors will get a deal within the next couple of weeks, as well," he said. "I'm assuming a lot of groundwork was laid by this negotiation that can be applied to their negotiation."

'Its own unique stress'

Bomback said the strike brought "its own unique stress" for writers, including a group of young writers he mentors.

"I can tell you firsthand, there's just a lot of anxiety, especially for people whose careers were just getting underway," he said. "A pause for five months is very stress inducing. But I have to say it's industry wide. I think there are people who have gotten their foot in the door as cinematographers or as grips or as set decorators who all had to press pause in their careers for us. So it's certainly a very stressful time in the industry. I think everybody's very, very relieved that we're looking at the end of it now."

The "end of it," if it is coupled with an end to the actors' strike, could open the floodgates for new projects, like planes circling LaGuardia waiting to land.

Bomback has a few projects that are ready to end their holding pattern, including "White Bird," based on the graphic novel by R.J. Palacio ("Wonder").

Directed by Marc Forster ("World War Z," "Finding Neverland"), it was supposed to come out this fall, but the strike — which didn't permit actors to promote films — put a hold on it.

"I'm very, very excited about that film. It's set in France during World War II," Bomback said. "It's a great story."

As for the release date?

Bomback is waiting for that word to come.

Reach Peter D. Kramer at pkramer@gannett.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Writer of 'Planet of the Apes' sequels upbeat amid WGA strike news