[ 160,000 actors, members of SAG-AFTRA, are shutting down all
industry filming and voice-over production at midnight tonight. They
are joining the 11,000 writers, members of the Writers Guild, who have
been on strike since May 2.]
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ACTORS STRIKE IS ON, THROWING HOLLYWOOD INTO TURMOIL  
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Natalie Jarvey and Joy Press
July 13, 2023
Vanity Fair
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_ 160,000 actors, members of SAG-AFTRA, are shutting down all
industry filming and voice-over production at midnight tonight. They
are joining the 11,000 writers, members of the Writers Guild, who have
been on strike since May 2. _

Union rally held in Los Angeles recently as part of the Writers’
strike, Source: Jim Ruymen / UPI / Shutterstock // ScreenDaily

 

Hollywood’s actors and writers are now both on strike, a DEFCON 1
development and the first of its kind in more than 60 years. Despite
the eleventh hour intervention of a federal mediator, SAG-AFTRA, the
guild that represents about 160,000 performers, could not come to an
agreement with AMPTP, which represents the major studios, networks,
and streamers. The WGA, which reps writers, has been on strike since
May 2
[[link removed]].

The combined strikes will paralyze the TV and movie industries, shut
down the few remaining scripted productions, and likely mean that
movie release dates, as well as the Emmy broadcast (originally set for
September 18), will be postponed.

SAG-AFTRA’s contract expired on Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. PT, at which
time its negotiating committee voted unanimously to recommend a
strike. FRAN DRESCHER, the guild’s president, said in a statement,
“SAG-AFTRA negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach a deal
that sufficiently addressed performer needs, but the AMPTP’s
responses to the union’s most important proposals have been
insulting and disrespectful of our massive contributions to this
industry.”

The AMPTP issued a competing statement declaring, “This is the
Union’s choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of
historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on
pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened
series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects
actors’ digital likenesses, and more.”
 

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Watch here [[link removed]]

A SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical/Streaming Strike has been ordered effective
July 14, at 12:01 a.m. Additional details are forthcoming. The Strike
Order can be found here [[link removed]]

Hollywood has been in the middle of an unprecedented show of force as
workers across the industry grow frustrated by the changes wrought by
streaming.
[[link removed]] Like
their writing peers, actors are fighting for overall raises and
increases in streaming residual payments, as well as protection
against the rise of AI.

None of this was undertaken lightly, of course. “I just want
everybody to understand that this isn’t about making more millions
of dollars,” SHERYL LEE RALPH, a member of the SAG-AFTRA
negotiating committee, told _Vanity Fair_ yesterday after her Emmy
nomination for _Abbott Elementary_ was announced. “Quiet as it’s
kept, at least 80% of our union are plain, old, ordinary, hardworking
people who haven’t gotten a cost of living raise in 40 years, who
are depending upon the kindness of big corporations. You need people
who can crunch numbers, but when it starts to crunch people, that’s
not good.”

DANIEL RADCLIFFE, speaking before the strike about his Emmy
nomination for _Weird: The Al Yankovic
Story,_ told _VF:_ “Nobody wants these [strikes] to happen but I
think they’re incredibly necessary for the way the industry is
going. Technology has changed so much about the industry in the last
10 years—it feels like there will need to be a recalibration in
order for everybody to work,” he said of discussions around the use
of AI in film and television.

Disney CEO BOB IGER commented on the actors and writers strikes
during an appearance on CNBC’s _Squawk Box_ Thursday
morning. Speaking
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the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, he said, “It’s very disturbing
to me.” Pointing to the deal AMPTP made with the directors last
month, he called the expectations of actors and writers “not
realistic” and accused them of “adding to the set of the
challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite
frankly, very disruptive…. It’s a shame, it is really a shame.”

Although Emmy nominations were announced on Wednesday
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campaigning will be virtually nonexistent if the actors’ strike
extends past the end of July. Even before a SAG-AFTRA strike seemed
likely, there was talk
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Emmys organizers were considering pushing the event as late as
January, due to the ongoing writers strike. (The Television Academy
has not yet addressed whether the broadcast might move.)

All of this could give the AMPTP incentive to sit back down at the
negotiating table with the actors—and eventually the writers—to
hammer out new deals. Or it could be a long, hot summer for the
studios and the picketers alike. Either way, insiders are freely
flinging blame, much of it directed at studio heads. The
Ankler’s RICHARD RUSHFIELD may have captured the mood best with
the lede of his Thursday newsletter: “Well, geniuses, you’ve done
it again. If the goal here is to set some kind of leadership record
for the most trainwrecks, meltdowns and catastrophes on one
generation’s watch, then we’re on a good track.”

When the guild began negotiating new theatrical and television
contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers
at the beginning of June, president Fran Drescher and chief
negotiator DUNCAN CRABTREE-IRELAND told members that they had “the
intention of securing a strong deal for our members.” In a video
update sent just days before SAG’s contract was set to expire on
June 30, they boasted that they were having “extremely productive
negotiations.” Many SAG-AFTRA members interpreted the message as a
sign that their guild was preparing to take a deal, and an impressive
cohort of prominent actors signed a letter urging the leadership
to remain tough
[[link removed]].

The clearest sign yet that SAG-AFTRA was preparing for a strike came
last Thursday, when the guild emailed members asking “if and how
you’d like to volunteer” during a possible work stoppage. The
guild followed up the email with Instagram photos of members preparing
picket signs. On Monday
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it assembled Hollywood publicists and talent agents to explain what
their clients would and would not be allowed to do if there was a
strike. (Okay: Receiving a lifetime achievement award. Not okay:
Attending a premiere, sitting for an interview, or otherwise promoting
an upcoming project.)

Hollywood has already been at a nearly complete standstill since
writers went on strike, but an actors strike will force all
productions to immediately halt. Premieres will be canceled and the
stars of upcoming summer blockbusters will be pulled off the press
circuit. Studios will not have actors to promote upcoming movies and
TV shows at Comic-Con, which is set to begin July 20 in San Diego.

Entertainment labor lawyer JONATHAN HANDEL predicts that a double
strike will prolong the impasses for both scribes and stars.
“There’s no way you can get two strikes settled by the end of
July,” he says, suggesting awards strategists better start planning
for a delayed Emmys.

Whenever talks resume, the AMPTP will have to contend with separate
but equally contentious negotiations. That makes it all the more
likely that the broadcast networks will enter the fall TV season with
lineups full of reruns and reality shows. As far as movies are
concerned, this year’s films could conceivably be moved later
because the stars won’t be available for promotions, and even next
summer and fall’s tentpole films could be delayed because of
production delays.

The role artificial intelligence may play in the industry has become
a contentious issue
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shocking speed. “AI is a gift and a threat,” Ralph said before the
strike. “If anybody thinks that AI is a better performer than a
human being and that everybody’s body should just be captured so you
can bring it back whenever, I’m like, ‘No, no.’” The Oscar and
Emmy nominee actor AUNJANUE ELLIS also weighed in with _VF_ before
the strike: “If you’re gonna replace the writers, you’re gonna
replace the actors—let’s replace some directors. Let’s replace
some producers. You know what I mean? If we have no value other than
our image—who ultimately needs to be replaced?”

Ellis added that, for the guilds, Hollywood’s lopsided power
structure is a big part of what has made this moment necessary.
“It’s utterly frustrating. It really is the haves versus the
have-nots,” she said. “There’s a lot of inequality that has to
be addressed, and I just feel that there is just a lack of respect.
There’s a lack of respect for writers. There’s a lack of respect
for actors.”

_With additional reporting by Rebecca Ford, David Canfield, and Katey
Rich_

_[NATALIE JARVEY is a Hollywood correspondent at Vanity Fair, writing
about the business of entertainment. She previously worked at Insider
and The Hollywood Reporter, where she covered digital media and
streaming entertainment. Natalie lives in Los Angeles with her husband
and son. You can follow her on Twitter [[link removed]].
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_JOY PRESS is the television correspondent at Vanity Fair. A former
editor and writer for the Los Angeles Times and The Village Voice, she
is the author of the book Stealing the Show: How Women Are
Revolutionizing Television. She lives in Los Angeles. Follow her on
Twitter [[link removed]].]_
 

* actors
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* Screen Actors guild
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* Screen Actors Guild/AFTRA
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* SAG-AFTRA
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* Writers
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* WGA
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* WGA Writers Strike
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* Hollywood
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* Hollywood studios
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* Films
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* movies
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* television
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* streaming
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* residuals
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* AI
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* artificial intelligence
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* Cable
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* royalties
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* extras
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* Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers
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* AMPTP
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