'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' is the latest TV series to move forward with production amid the ongoing writers' strike.
However, the production will happen without the showrunners on set.
According to Variety, the series has 19 days of filming remaining but per Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike rules, Payne, McKay and any other writer-producers are barred from participating in any writing-based duties during production while the strike continues -- including making creative decisions on set.
The show's non-writing executive producers (like Lindsey Weber), directors (Charlotte Brandstrom, Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper) and crew are overseeing production on the U.K.-based shoot.
If the report is to be believed, there have been multiple units filming on "Rings of Power," including night shoots, for much of the duration of the season given its feature-film level scope. Payne and McKay also planned in advance with the production team for a possible writers' strike to make their absence from the show as seamless as possible.
The pressure on all current film and TV productions during the writers' strike is compounded by the looming June 30 contract deadline for SAG-AFTRA and the DGA. If those guilds and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers fail to reach a new contract agreement by that date, actors and directors could join the writers' strike, leading to an even more drastic industry-wide shutdown.
More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began the strike on Tuesday, claiming they aren't paid fairly in the streaming era.
"Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal ... the studios' responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing," said a statement from the union leadership.
"They have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership."
The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is negotiating on behalf of studio management, responded by saying it was willing to improve on its offer but was not willing to meet some of the union's demands."The primary sticking points are 'mandatory staffing,' and 'duration of employment' -- Guild proposals that would require a company to staff a show with a certain number of writers for a specified period of time, whether needed or not," said the statement from management's negotiating committee.
"Member companies remain united in their desire to reach a deal that is mutually beneficial to writers and the health and longevity of the industry, and to avoid hardship to the thousands of employees who depend upon the industry for their livelihoods."
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