Hollywood actors join writers in strike
July 13, 2023
Many famous Oscar and Emmy winners will join writers in picketing in New York and Los Angeles on Friday as the major Hollywood labor dispute drags on.
This strike marks one of the most significant labor conflicts in the industry in decades and will result in the shutdown of remaining productions that have continued filming since the screenwriters' work stoppage.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) president, Fran Drescher, and other actors have shown solidarity by joining the writers on picket lines.
With the formal inclusion of the actors' branch, which consists of 65,000 members, both guilds will unite in their concerns over contracts keeping pace with inflation, residual payments in the streaming era, and protecting against the use of artificial intelligence to replicate their work in film and television.
Strike instrument of last resort
The deadline for Hollywood actors to reach a deal with major film and television studios had passed on Thursday.
The union leadership voted for the work stoppage hours after their contract expired and talks broke off with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, executive director of the SAG-AFTRA, called the strike "an instrument of last resort."
He added that they voted unanimously for a strike to begin at midnight Thursday (0700 GMT Friday).
Soon after the strike was announced, picketing screenwriters went on to chant, "Pay your Actors!" outside Netflix's Hollywood offices.
'Expectations not realistic'
The AMPTP, representing major employers like Disney, Netflix, and Amazon, expressed their disappointment over the strike, highlighting the negative impact it will have on the thousands of workers involved in supporting film and television production.
Disney CEO Bob Iger on Thursday told CNBC the actors' and writers' expectations were "not realistic," calling the decision to strike "very disturbing."
Earlier this week, an exclusive report in Deadline.com said that the studios and the AMPTP are anticipating that by October, the majority of writers will face financial difficulties after spending months on picket lines without work, forcing them to accept any terms of the negotiations.
Actors' union joins writers on strike
This is the first industry-wide shutdown in 63 years, with film and television production said to grind to a halt.
In May, more than 11,000 film and television writers went on strike that disrupted production on a slate of big-budget movies.
SAG-AFTRA's walkout leads to a "double strike" not seen in Hollywood since 1960.
SAG-AFTRA members appeared to be taking the strike seriously as stars of the "Oppenheimer" movie left the London premiere on Thursday hours before the union officially called the strike.
What to know about the negotiations
On Wednesday, talks took place with mediators in a last-ditch effort to avoid a second industry strike.
"After more than four weeks of bargaining, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) ... remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on the key issues that are essential to SAG-AFTRA members," the Screen Actors Guild said in a statement.
Meanwhile, AMPTP said it was disappointed by the failure to reach a deal.
"This is the Union's choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors' digital likenesses, and more," the AMPTP said in a statement.
A-list stars, including Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep, have voiced their support for the industrial action.
The strike will mean that stars will not be able to promote new releases or attend industry events such as Comic-Con, which is set to be held next week.
The union represents roughly 160,000 actors and television and radio presenters as well as other media professionals.
What are the actors' demands?
The union was demanding higher compensation from streaming services as well as higher pay to counteract inflation.
In addition to salaries when working, actors earn "residuals" every time a production they star in is aired on a network or cable.
However, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ do not disclose viewing figures and pay actors the same flat rate regardless of viewership.
SAG-AFTRA is also demanding the implementation of safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Actors want assurances that their digital images will not be used without their permission.
rm, kb,sdi/sms (Reuters, AFP)