Actors from Hollywood have chosen to strike, joining the writers who are already on strike, halting the production of innumerable films and television programs.
At a press conference in Los Angeles to announce the strike, Screen Actors Guild the president Fran Drescher said, “I went in in honest, imagining we might prevent the strike, so the enormity of this decision is not lost on me.” The strike officially starts at the crack of dawn local time on Thursday and will see participants on the picket lines by Friday morning.
“We were powerless. We are being exploited by a very corrupt entity in this situation, she claimed. They represent the incorrect side of history. We have never been more united. You can’t keep being disregarded and excluded forever; the game must end. Streaming and AI have altered the economic model. We are all in danger if we don’t stand tall right now. You eventually have to say, “No, we’re not going to put up with this any longer.”
Since May 2, Hollywood writers have been refusing to work in exchange for better pay contracts as the looming prospect of artificial intelligence replacing authors’ professions collides with less-than-profitable streaming partnerships.
The walkout puts an end to contentious talks within SAG-AFTRA and the big studios that lasted a month. Over 1,000 SAG members emailed the union’s leadership an open letter on June 28. Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, and other prominent actors signed a letter expressing the membership’s earnest preparedness to go on strike if their demands for a new contract were not met in full.
After the first contract expired on June 30, both parties had already extended negotiations by a further 12 days. Any TV show or movie already in production must stop immediately due to the SAG and WGA strikes, which also affect promotional appearances like red carpet walks and media junkets.While the strike’s length is undetermined, some rumors indicate that studios may be prepared to stay out until the fall in exchange for concessions.
According to Aymar Jean Christian, an associate professor of communication research and head of the Media and Data Equity Lab at Northwestern University, “the studios are consolidating in an effort to contend with Netflix, the sole company who seems ready for Hollywood’s fully digital era.”
The studios are becoming more powerful and budget-conscious as a result of the streaming strategy, he claims. “It’s going to be a grind. This could be the longest production halt in history except the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) swiftly caves, which doesn’t seem probable.
Studios, for their part, blamed performers for abandoning negotiations and said they had promised “historic” salary rises and other incentives. The AMPTP stated in a statement that “This is the Union’s choice, not ours. SAG-AFTRA has led us down a path that would worsen the financial difficulties for thousands of people whose lives depend on the business, rather than letting it negotiate.