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After negotiations on compensation were unsuccessful between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), approximately 160,000 people The strike started at midnight on July 13.
Recently, the premiere of Oppenheimer in London has been set to be an hour earlier than the old schedule for actors to walk on the red carpet. But when the movie began to screen, actors such as Killian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Florence Pugh all walked out of the premiere to show their positions and help encourage this protest to get more attention.
For decades, every time a popular series has been rerun, actors still earn money even when there are no jobs. Nowadays, streaming platform creators often pay once, and the consequences cause each series season to be shorter, but each series season’s screening period is longer. As a result, actors and writers have fewer jobs. In addition, the impact of inflation has overtaken the wages specified in employment contracts.
In addition, the threat posed by artificial intelligence (AI) is that creators want to use actors’ appearances as much as they can but pay only once or studios often use AI to write the first draft, and then writers have to revise it.
The cast also had to bear the cost of audition recording themselves, which used to be the responsibility of the casting department and film companies.
After the contract was unsuccessful, the SAG-AFTRA countered that the new contract is generous because the minimum wage has been paid is the largest amount of money in 35 years and together with an AI protection offer to actors that have never had before.
The leader of SAG-AFTRA said that in the form of streaming that has dominated the entertainment industry over the past few years, money from streaming channels flowed back to those studio executives instead of dividing it into writers and actors.
The requirement is that the production department and giant streaming platforms agree to a fair share of profits, including compensation for re-released works, and want better working conditions. As well as to ensure that AI technology, including computer voice and facial recognition technologies, will not be used instead of actors.
Previously, the screenwriters’ strike had a serious impact on film and television production and related activities such as shows at awards ceremonies and public events but the actor’s strike will have a bigger impact. Any movie or show in the world with Hollywood actors may have to be stopped or postponed.
The writer’s protest has put a stop to writing most TV dramas in the United States. Series such as Stranger Things Season 5, The Last of Us Season 2, Blade Runner 2099, and The Mandalorian must be postponed to broadcast. Future projects such as the sequel of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Disney’s remake Blade cannot continue because the script is not finished. While the films Thunderbolts and Captain America: Brave New World which are in production must be postponed as well.
The actor’s strike, according to SAG-AFTRA rules, which is like a labor union of an actor group, states that no actors work beyond filming or filming TV programs, which is the real work of actors.
The rules also prohibit actors from appearing or participating in the promotion of their performances on podcasts or in the premiere, including any work related to production, including auditioning (casting), reading script, rehearsals, voice-over rehearsals, or fitting.
If the protests hadn’t ended, international awards ceremonies and film festivals would not have seen actors show up and walk on red carpets as before.
