July 15th 2023.
Thousands of Hollywood stars are standing in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America, who have been on strike since April. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, — representing more than 160,000 Hollywood performers — voted Thursday to strike after failed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. To show their support, SAG-AFTRA members began their strike at midnight Friday, July 14, and took to the picket lines.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for the union, confirmed the strike and said, “The strike will begin at midnight tonight, and all of us — union members, leadership and staff — will be out on the picket lines tomorrow morning.” SAG-AFTRA members have similar concerns as the Writers Guild, such as how profits are split amid the current streaming era and the rise of unregulated digital technologies. Actors are seeking higher base pay and protective policies around the use of artificial intelligence, among other demands.
Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA president and actress best known for her role in the 90s sitcom “The Nanny,” spoke out against the response from studio heads during the negotiations process. She said, “I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right, when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them.”
In response to the strike, actors in the upcoming “Oppenheimer” film walked out of the UK premiere, as reported by The Independent. Productions for highly-anticipated films like “Deadpool 3,” “Mission Impossible 8,” and “Venom 3” also came to a complete stop, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This is the first time Hollywood actors are joining screenwriters in an industry-wide strike in over 60 years. The strike is expected to last for months and cause huge losses for the film and television industry.
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