Add “Station 19” star Danielle Savre to the list of on-air talent supporting Hollywood scribes during the Writers Guild of America strike.
The actress, who will mark her TV directorial debut with Thursday’s new episode of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off series “Station 19,” told TheWrap she’ll be among the members of SAG-AFTRA joining the picket lines that began Tuesday.
“I support the WGA and everything that they’re fighting for. [‘Station 19’] wouldn’t be possible without the scripts that we receive,” Savre said. “I think there’s a lot of confusion, from my perspective, as to why a strike had to happen to begin with, because it seems like what they were asking for and [are continuing] to ask for is reasonable. And things need to change.”
The guild is seeking to improve compensation for TV shows and films, particularly for streaming projects. But it also strives to stop the abuse of what’s known in the industry as “mini-rooms,” a recent practice where writers who pitch a new TV series are required to actually assemble a writers room — with the members paid at scale with usually less writers than a normal writers’ room — and write a full season of scripts before the show will be considered for greenlight.
Talks between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have been going on for months. In April, members voted by a 97% margin to authorize a strike should they not reach an agreement before the end of their previous contract on Tuesday.
“Streaming changed the world and the contracts don’t represent that,” Savre said. “I plan on going to the picket lines and representing [SAG-AFTRA] who supports WGA in this fight, and I hope it doesn’t last too long.”
“I think everyone’s a little scared that what happened in 2007-2008 is going to happen again. And of course that’s scary, But sometimes it’s scary to fight for what’s right,” she added.
