Hollywood trembles at the threat of a second strike that will paralyze entertainment

hollywood is plunged into uncertainty in the face of the threat of a strike by the actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA) and the extension of the scriptwriters’ stoppage: while the latter remain firm, the interpreters tighten the rope with the search for an agreement with the studios to Create a new collective agreement.

“We want SAG to get the best possible deal. Our strike is helping them put pressure on them and our members are strong and see clearly the issues we have to keep fighting for.” Michele Mulroney, vice president of the West Side Writers Union (WGA), told EFE.

The 68 days that the writers have spent on strike have managed to paralyze most television productions and delay some film projects. Series of the size of “Stranger Things”, “Cobra Kai” or “Abbott Elementary” have already been affected.

Now Hollywood trembles at the possible threat of a strike from SAG-AFTRA, which would end up completely “closing” the activity of the audiovisual industry, immediately affecting long-awaited films such as “Gladiator 2” and “Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part Two.”

Before the Actors Guild began negotiations with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (PTAMP), 98% of its members approved joining the strike in case their demands were not met.

Among his requests is an increase in base remuneration, reduced by inflation and the “streaming”, the regulation of image rights with respect to the artificial intelligence or coverage of the cost of self-recorded auditions.

On June 27, members of the union sent an internal letter to union leaders asking them not to settle for anything other than “a transformative agreement”, thus raising the chances of a strike that would begin on July 13.

Without actors, the productions that have been able to stay afloat despite the scriptwriters’ strike would stop their activities and the films and series pending release would lack the presence of their protagonists for their promotion, which is looming a wave of cancellations of production wheels. press, red carpets or activities with fans.

In addition, if the writers continue their strike and the actors start a new one, there is the possibility that award ceremonies such as the Emmys, which recognize the best of American television and whose date is set for September 18, will be cancelled. .

“With actors you can’t cheat, without them everything will end. Our impact on the industry is more noticeable after the fact. We can stop writing, but the studios have reservations and although they shouldn’t shoot, they do.”the screenwriter and one of the captains of the WGA strike Haley Harris mentioned to EFE.

Harris feels that the AMPTP will not respond to the demands of the interpreters fairly, but believes that a fair agreement for the interpreters would also benefit the writers.

“Many of our demands coincide. If the SAG reaches an agreement on those points, we would have advanced more than halfway by the time we return to the negotiating table.”he expressed.

THE GAME OF THE CHICKEN

The end of the negotiations between the AMPTP and the representatives of SAG-AFTRA is scheduled for July 12. Even as a major entertainment crisis looms, the writers don’t expect that after that day the studios will immediately want to resume contract talks.

For Harris, this is because the alliance’s strategy is based on “the chicken game” that is, in a dispute to see who can resist the financial blow the most.

“While the strike has cost these companies a significant amount of money, they are obviously willing to stay the course and wait for the writers to start feeling the financial pain before they do.” adds to EFE Peter White, television editor of the specialized medium Deadline.

But the industry, according to those affected themselves, has “trained” creatives to stay without work for long periods of time, so they could still spend months enduring the economic damage that a strike generates in their pockets.

“I know that we will not stop for money issues”, says Harris, confident that the WGA’s Entertainment Community Fund and Strike Fund, charged with supporting writers in need with interest-free loans, are in good shape and growing.

The only time the actors’ union and the writers’ union went on strike simultaneously was in 1960 and from that fight they obtained health insurance and a pension. Now, among the requests in which both unions agree, together with the general improvement of working conditions, is the fair payment of residual rights by platforms of “streaming”.

Source: EFE