Christopher Nolan told the press on Thursday evening that actors associated with his production walked out of the ceremonial premiere of one of the most anticipated films of the year to write slogans on banners. “I have to appreciate the work of our amazing cast led by Cillian Murphy,” said the director from the stage. – The list is huge: Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek and many more. You’ve seen them here on the red carpet before. Unfortunately, they went out to prepare banners for the upcoming SAG strike, joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in fighting for fair wages for their union members.”
The actors of “Oppenheimer” joined the strike. The last time this happened was in the 60s.
Several hours earlier, there was information that this could be the end of the premiere of “Oppenheimer”. For this reason, the organizers even accelerated the start of the premiere by an hour, so that you could at least see the actors on the red carpet. The film will hit Polish cinemas on July 17.
Contract negotiations between the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP broke down on Wednesday, and the guild’s national board met on Thursday to formally approve the start of the strike. From Friday morning, representatives of two large trade unions will officially protest, among others against how producers reward them for their work on films that go to streaming platforms such as Netflix, HBO MAX, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+.
This is the first actors’ strike against the film and television industry since 1980, and the first time actors and writers have gone on strike at the same time since Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1960.
What does the actors’ strike mean?
The actors’ strike means not only refraining from working on the set, but also m. stop promoting already finished films (including appearing on the red carpet or giving interviews). Of course, gestures such as that of the cast of “Oppenheimer” are of great importance in raising awareness of the situation, but it must be remembered that the union of actors and screenwriters is not only stars earning millions of dollars for the project, but thousands of people who get much less money for their work. SAG-AFTRA brings together 160,000 people. Since the strong entry of streaming platforms into the market, their income has not improved at all, and increasing inequalities are visible. In addition, there is more and more talk about replacing screenwriters or actors with artificial intelligence, which raises the concerns of creators.
Among the demands are those to increase the minimum rate, which has not been indexed for a long time; an increase in royalties for productions shown on streaming platforms; defining the rules for the use of AI, especially as regards the rights to the actors’ image and to financial compensation when their work is used in the process of learning artificial intelligence.
The scriptwriters’ strike threatened to create fewer scripts, which would translate into a smaller number of films or a smaller number of series episodes in the near future (a similar situation took place in 2008, when the scriptwriters abstained from work for almost three months). Now 11 thousand. members of this guild, protesting, has already influenced, for example, the suspension of work on such titles as “Stranger things” or “Blade”. The addition of actors means the suspension of work on the sets in the case of already finished scripts. We will probably have to wait longer for “Gladiator 2” by Ridley Scott or “Deadpool 3” with Ryan Reynolds.
No one wants to give up yet
Disney studio head Bob Iger said on Wednesday that actors have expectations that are unrealistic and are disruptively adding to the challenges the industry is already facing. In turn, during the failed negotiations of the actors’ union with AMPTP, which brings together the largest Hollywood studios and streaming platforms, SAG-AFTRA representative Duncan Crabtree-Ireland stated:
Studios and streaming platforms have made a significant revolution in the film industry in recent years. At the same time, they are of the opinion that the terms of the collective contract should remain unchanged, as if immersed in amber.
Screenwriters have been on strike since the first days of May. However, there is no denying that Hollywood stars can have more clout. The last actors’ strike in 1986 ended after 14 hours.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
