Sun, Jul 16, 2023 page12

• Hollywood actors join writeArs’ strike: Why, and what happens next?

  Actors and screenwriters joined forces on the picket lines on Friday seeking a new deal with studios and streaming services

  • By Andrew Dalton / AP, LOS ANGELES
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  Hollywood actors are joining screenwriters in the first dual strike from the two unions in more than six decades, with huge consequences for the film and television industry. Here is a look at how it has played out, why it is happening and what could come next.

  WHAT LED TO THE ACTORS’ STRIKE?

  

  Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists walk a picket line with screenwriters outside Paramount Studios on the first day of the actors’ strike in Los Angeles on Friday.

  Photo: AFP

  More than a month of talks on a new three-year contract between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the studios, streaming services and production companies that employ them led to little progress, and the tone became openly hostile in the days before union leaders voted to begin a strike on Friday. A last-minute intervention from a federal mediator did not bridge the gap.

  Union leaders say the streaming model that has taken over the industry in recent years has cheated actors of their share of income and funneled money to executives, and proposals of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios, streamers and production companies in negotiations, did not even begin to meet their needs.

  A 12-day extension of the contract and the talks shortly before an initial deadline late last month brought some hope a deal would be reached, but the hostility only grew. The Nanny star Fran Drescher, who heads the union, said it made them “feel like we’d been duped, like maybe it was just to let studios promote their summer movies for another 12 days.”

  

  Actresses Michelle Hurd, left, and Bo Derek, second left, walk a picket line alongside members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild outside Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Friday.

  Photo: AFP

  Before the talks began, the 65,000 actors who cast ballots voted overwhelmingly for union leaders to send them into a strike, as the Writers Guild of America did when their deal expired more than two months ago.

  WHAT DO THE ACTORS WANT?

  For decades, an actor who appeared on a popular TV show like Seinfeld or The Office even once could count on getting royalty checks when the show appeared in reruns, bringing pay even at times they were unable to find work.

  The streaming model has largely dried up that income, with residual payments untethered from a show or movie’s popularity. Actors want a long-term share of that revenue.

  The issue is one of many the actors have in common with writers. For both scribes and performers, the move to streaming and its ripple effects have also meant shorter seasons of shows with longer gaps between them, and therefore less work. They say inflation is outpacing the scheduled pay bumps in their contracts.

  Writers and actors also fear the threat of unregulated use of artificial intelligence. The actors say studios want to be able to use their likenesses without having to hire them or pay them.

  Actors also say they are contending with the new and increasing burden of self-taped auditions — the cost of which used to be the responsibility of casting and productions.

  The AMPTP said it presented actors a generous deal that included the biggest bump in minimum pay in 35 years and “a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses.” They say the union has “regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.”

  WHAT WILL STRIKING MEAN FOR ACTORS?

  Union rules say actors are not to do any part of their jobs, which go far beyond actually shooting films and TV shows.

  They are not allowed to make personal appearances or promote their work on podcasts or at premieres. They are barred from doing any production work including auditions, readings, rehearsals, voiceovers or wardrobe fittings.

  Newly minted Emmy nominees cannot publicly make their case for votes, nor appear at the ceremony, which is planned for September, but is likely to be seriously scaled back or delayed.

  They are instead expected to spend their days on picket lines, outside the corporate headquarters and production hubs of studios.

  While big names including Matt Damon, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jessica Chastain have spoken out in favor of the strike and are likely to be the face of the picketing, SAG also includes tens of thousands of actors who struggle to find work and maintain income. More serious financial hardship likely lies ahead for them.

  WHAT EFFECT WILL THE COMBINED STRIKES HAVE FOR VIEWERS?

  Actors joining writers on strike will force nearly every US-based show or film that has not already been shut down into hiatus. Forthcoming seasons of television shows are likely to be delayed indefinitely, and some movie releases will pushed back.

  The writers’ strike had an almost instant effect on late-night network talk shows, including NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and CBS’ The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which all went on hiatus immediately. Saturday Night Live axed its last three episodes of the season.

  In the two months since, many scripted television series have also shut down, including Netflix’s Stranger Things, Max’s Hacks, Showtime’s Yellow Jackets, and Apple TV+’s Severance.

  It might take longer to notice the actors’ strike on the streaming menus on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, though lovers of those outlets’ original series will eventually have to wait longer than usual for their favorites to return.

  Shoots outside the US, where different unions and contracts operate, can continue, as the British-based House of the Dragon will for HBO, though the strike is likely to have a secondary drag on those, too.

  Reality shows, game shows, most daytime talk shows and soap operas — which have a different contract — will likely be unaffected.

  WILL THE BIG STARS STRIKE?

  Among SAG-AFTRA’s 160,000-strong ranks are many of the world’s biggest stars. Hollywood’s A-list, from Tom Cruise to Angelina Jolie to Johnny Depp, are card-carrying union members.

  Celebrities including Meryl Streep, Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell have come out publicly in favor of a strike, but will we see them on the picket lines?

  “There will be visibility from the big stars,” said entertainment industry lawyer Jonathan Handel. “But this strike is not about bringing more money to people who already have millions.”

  Top stars do not stand to gain financially from the strike, because their agents negotiate individual contracts with studios that far exceed the union minimums being fought over.

  WILL OVERSEAS PRODUCTIONS BE AFFECTED?

  SAG-AFTRA is a US labor union, headquartered in Los Angeles, but that does not mean the impact of the strike will be confined to US borders.

  “When SAG-AFTRA actors are working on the movie being shot in Europe, or Australia, or Asia, or wherever, they will have to stop work,” Handel said.

  The strike also prevents members from promoting TV and motion pictures, meaning that premieres and important fall film festivals such as Venice and Toronto will be affected unless the strike ends.

  As things stand, “at the Venice Film Festival, if a picture was shot with SAG-AFTRA actors, the actors can’t promote it,” Handel said.

  WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT?

  From accounting to catering to transport, countless businesses are tied to the entertainment industry. That makes the financial impact of a Hollywood strike hard to calculate, but incontrovertibly enormous.

  “Fifteen years ago, when the writers were on strike — it was a 100-day strike — and the estimate was a little over US$2 billion. So that translates to US$20 million a day,” Handel said.

  Adjusted for inflation, that is close to US$30 million a day lost in California alone, he said.

  HOW LONG MIGHT ALL THIS GO ON?

  It is anyone’s guess. After two months, there are no talks planned or imminent for the Writers Guild.

  The longest previous writers’ strike, in 1988, lasted five months. The most recent one, in 2007 and 2008, went on for about three months, as did the most recent actors’ strike in 1980.

  With both sides on strike together for the first time since 1960, and both facing so many of the same issues, they might find themselves jointly out of work for a long time.
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