Drew Carey Ends Free Meals for Writers With Strike Set to Stop

Since the start of the writers’ strike earlier this year, Drew Carey has covered meals for out-of-work writers at two iconic Hollywood restaurants. Now that the strike is nearing its end, Carey informed his followers they only have a few hours cash in on a free meal. Tuesday, Carey congratulated the Writers Guild of America for reaching a new agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. He then said writers have through the end of the strike to get a meal at Bob’s Big Boy and Swingers.

“If the strike is officially over tomorrow you’ll have til midnight to have one last meal at Bob’s Big Boy or Swingers!GO CELEBRATE!Love you all,” Carey tweeted. Though it’s unclear just how much of a tab Carey has covered between the two restaurants, insiders at Deadline suggest tabs could cost Carey upwards of $600,000 between the two institutions.

While the WGA has yet to ratify its deal, a new rule implemented by leadership will allow writers to go back to work as members cast their votes on the deal. According to a statement released Tuesday, the strike will officially end Wednesday, September 27th, at 12:01 a.m. Pacific.

“Today, your Negotiating Committee, the WGAW Board and WGAE Council all voted unanimously to recommend the agreement,” the guild said in a statement to its members. “It will now go to both Guilds’ memberships for a ratification vote. Eligible voters will receive ballot and materials for the vote which will take place from October 2nd to October 9th.” 

The WGA also added that the move “allows writers to return to work during the ratification process, but does not affect the membership’s right to make a final determination on contract approval.”

What does the new WGA deal include?

As has been the case since the earliest days of negotiation, the new WGA deal includes major new protections against small writers’ rooms and the use of artificial intelligence. Per the WGA, the new AI protections include:

• AI can’t write or rewrite literary material, and AI-generated material will not be considered source material under the MBA, meaning that AI-generated material can’t be used to undermine a writer’s credit or separated rights.
• A writer can choose to use AI when performing writing services, if the company consents and provided that the writer follows applicable company policies, but the company can’t require the writer to use AI software (e.g., ChatGPT) when performing writing services.
• The Company must disclose to the writer if any materials given to the writer have been generated by AI or incorporate AI-generated material.
• The WGA reserves the right to assert that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law.

The complete agreement can be read in its entirety here.