Strike of the US Actors Union, an earthquake that is already wreaking havoc in Hollywood

Pickets, rescheduled series and movies and even Hollywood stars abandoning premieres: the Screen Actors Guild of America strike (SAG-AFTRA) is already wreaking havoc on an industry that could see losses in the billions of dollars.

The distance between the collective of interpreters and the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP) due to the signing of a new collective agreement that binds them for the next three years has turned into a entrenched conflict of interest whose resolution is unknown to the experts in the entertainment sector.

The initial day of this strike, the first to be carried out simultaneously with the Writers Union (WGA) in 63 years, took place this Friday in front of the offices of large Disney conglomerates or streaming giants such as Netflix or HBO.

“Los Angeles is a city of unions. We are workers united and we will fight together and in solidarity with our WGA colleagues”, the president of SAG-AFTRA and star of the extinct series “The Nanny”, Fran Drescher, repeatedly expressed before approximately a thousand protesters.

After four weeks of negotiations including a further extension, SAG-AFTRA was unable to agree to a new contract that would satisfy their demands to pursue a regulated model for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Hollywood, significantly increase their residual rights. and increase their general minimum wage by 11%.

However, AMPTP went public on Thursday that it had offered an “innovative proposal” to curb AI, that they presented a “historic” rise in residual royalties and that they proposed that the minimum remuneration for leading actors be increased by 58%.

A contrast of versions that reflects the crossroads in which an American audiovisual sector finds itself that already has the first titles of series and films rescheduled or on hold.

The second parts of “Gladiator” and “Mission: Impossible”, among those affected

More than twenty series and films have announced in the last hours that they are interrupting their production phase and that their filming, in the best of cases, must be adapted to the circumstances.

Formats as acclaimed by viewers as “Stranger Things”, “Abbott Elementary” (“Colegio Abbott”, in Spanish) or “Severance” have already been paralyzed. Some projects even before leaving, such as “Special Ops: Lioness”, the intrigue series starring Nicole Kidman, Zoe Saldaña and Morgan Freeman.

A context that also extends to the realm of the big screen, in which long-awaited films such as “Gladiator 2″ had to stop their production; the sequel to “Beetlejuice”, directed by Jenna Ortega and Michael Keaton, put its filming on hold; and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 2” will not be able to resume production momentarily.

Now, all eyes are on “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, two of the great heavyweights of the season, which should be released next Friday and whose promotional events could be affected.

The Actors Union itself detailed this Thursday that its members were prohibited from being part of promotional tours, giving interviews, participating in conventions (such as Comic-Con 2023), exhibitions or festivals, and even lavishing themselves on formats such as podcasts.

However, the chief negotiator and president of the national executive of SAG-AFTRA, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, assured in statements to EFE that the intention of the institution is that “all the productions that have already finished can finish their promotional work.”

The uncertain panorama that exists at the moment has caused figures such as Matt Damon or Emily Blunt to abandon the presentation to the media of “Oppenheimer” in London on Thursday.

Awards season could also be in jeopardy

The next film awards season, which until now was expected to be very attractive with the returns of Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson or Christopher Nolan, could be in jeopardy if the strike is prolonged.

The deadline for those titles that wish to attend the 96th edition of the Oscars ends in November and that is the time horizon that filmmakers are currently looking askance at.

In the television section, everything seems to indicate that the 75th edition of the Emmys, still scheduled for September 18, will have to be postponed until at least November, according to experts.

Entrepreneurs and professionals from the audiovisual sector in the United States, academics and the specialized press are now trying to speculate on how long this simultaneous strike by actors and screenwriters, which lasted for three months 63 years ago, will cover.

Source: EFE