Over 160,000 performers in Los Angeles halt film and TV productions as they join screenwriters in the industry’s largest shutdown in 60 years.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) demands fair profit sharing and improved working conditions from streaming platforms.
They also seek protection against the use of digital replicas, ensuring actors are not replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).
During the strike, actors cannot participate in films or promote completed projects. At the premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, stars like Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt left in support of the strike. Nolan expressed solidarity, stating that the actors were “off to write their picket signs.”
Actors, including Bob Odenkirk, Cynthia Nixon, and Jamie Lee Curtis, voiced their support on Instagram. Picketing will commence at Netflix’s California headquarters before targeting Paramount, Warner Bros, and Disney.
The major studios have proposed safeguards for actors’ digital likeness, requiring their consent for the use of digital replicas or alterations. However, the offer was rejected by the SAG, considering it unacceptable.
The strike’s impact affects ongoing film productions and limits the availability of actors for reshoots and other essential tasks. TV shows in production will also face significant disruption, although some arrangements may be made to allow limited work to continue.
Promotional events featuring top Hollywood stars, such as the Emmys and Comic-Con, might be rescheduled or scaled back due to the strike.
The AMPTP said the strike was “certainly not the outcome we hoped for as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life”.
“The union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry,” its statement added.
The union leading the strike is officially recognized as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
One of the key demands from the streaming services is an increase in both the base pay and residuals for actors. Residuals refer to the payments actors receive from reruns or repeated showings of the films and programs in which they have appeared.
The strike encompasses tens of thousands of actors who are seeking fairer compensation for minor roles, as they currently receive significantly lower pay compared to their A-list counterparts.
“In the old model, they get residuals based on success,” Kim Masters, the editor-in-chief of the Hollywood Reporter, told the BBC. “In the new model, they don’t get to find out what’s going on behind the scenes, because the streamers don’t share.”
Fran Drescher, SAG’s president, said the strike came at a “very seminal moment” for actors in the industry.
“What’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labour,” she said, “when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority, and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run.”
Since May 2nd, a separate strike led by the Writers Guild of America, consisting of approximately 11,500 members, has been ongoing.
The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May
The writers are demanding improved pay and working conditions. As a result of the strike, some writers have pursued non-contract projects that fall outside the agreement between the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.