The actors of hollywood on strike were preparing to join the film and television writers on pickets Friday, the first day of a double work stoppage that has forced US production companies to shut down as workers fight for television-age wages in streaming.
The strike will add to the economic damage caused by the writers’ walkout that began on May 2, dealing another blow to the multibillion-dollar industry, which is fighting changes to its business. Hollywood hasn’t faced two simultaneous strikes since 1960.
Both SAG-AFTRA -the largest union in Hollywood, which represents 160,000 film and television actors- and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) demand increases in base salary and residuals -fees paid for streaming television- , as well as guarantees that their work will not be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).
The actors union said Thursday its board unanimously agreed to strike after failing to reach an agreement with studios, including Walt Disney Co and Netflix Inc. Officials said the actors will join pickets in New York and Los Angeles beginning Friday.
The WGA walkout has spread across California and elsewhere, affecting caterers, prop vendors and others who rely on Hollywood productions for their business. Economic damages are expected to spread after the actors join the pickets.
Fran Drescher, former star of “The Nanny” and president of SAG-AFTRA, said the studio’s responses to the union’s concerns had been “insulting and disrespectful”.
“We are the victims here” Drescher said at a news conference on Thursday. “We are being victims of a very greedy entity.”
The Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group negotiating on behalf of the studios, said it offered union members significant gains, including the largest percentage increase in minimum wage levels in 35 years and protections “pioneers” around the use of actor images by generative AI, the organization said.
“Instead of continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has set us on a course that will deepen financial hardship for thousands of people who depend on the industry for their livelihoods”said the AMPTP.
The strike by some 11,500 writers has sparked endless reruns on late-night TV talk shows, disrupted most of the fall TV season’s production and paralyzed work on big-budget movies.
The actors’ strike will paralyze film and television productions by studios in the United States and hamper many filming abroad.
Source: Reuters
Source: Gestion
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