Why are Hollywood actors and writers on strike?

Thursday (13 July) marked a historic shutdown for Hollywood as actors guild members joined writers striking for a fairer deal. SAG-AFTRA (The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) announced that its strike comprising 150,000 television and movie actors would begin at midnight on Friday. Meanwhile, WGA (Writers Guild of America) members have been on strike since May. This is the first time since 1960 that both actors and writers have picketed film and television production companies. ‘It’s disgusting, shame on them,’ SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said of the offer they rejected from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The writer’s strike had already kneecapped the entertainment industry, taking late night talk shows off air and making awards shows virtual or unscripted. With the added weight of tens of thousands of actors, Hollywood is effectively in limbo until an agreement with production companies can be reached. ‘The studios literally don’t care about us or treat us like human beings,’ Zack Arnold, the co-editor of Netflix’s Cobra Kai told The Independent. ‘The way of life as a creative, as a storyteller, as a filmmaker is on the line.’ Oppenheimer actors walk out of UK premiere as Hollywood stars join writer strike Arnold says the strike was caused by a ‘perfect storm’ of streaming dominance, which has led to the erosion of residual pay, and the advent of AI in the industry. ‘Both of them are such paradigm shifts in how business is done. I think that there’s no way to really resolve both of them amicably without a real change in the way the business is done,’ he says. New subscribers only. £6.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free New subscribers only. £6.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Joe Plummer, the president of Wavelength (a New York-based indie studio behind Sundance players like Where’s My Roy Cohn ? and Farwell Amor ), agrees: ‘There’s so much disruption that has happened over the past 10 years that, eventually, it was going to have to come to this point where we get down to the real nuts and bolts of how the industry operates.’ Immediately before the strike was announced, the cast of Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster, Oppenheimer , left the film’s London premiere prematurely to ‘go and write their picket signs’. This sets the tone for other forthcoming releases, the casts of which will receive scorn from their colleagues if they participate in any publicity obligations. The timing is not ideal – two of the biggest films of the year are scheduled for release next week: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Oppenheimer. Publicity for the two pictures was reaching a fever pitch thanks to marketing campaigns, talent interviews and red carpet premieres around the globe. As SAG-AFTRA grounds to a halt, so too will the publicity trains. Following the announcement, SAG sent a memo to all of its members explaining the boundaries of what they were and were not allowed to do (via Variety ) under the terms of the strike . Except as set forth in the Notice to Members Regarding Non-Struck Work, all covered services and performing work under the TV/ theatrical contracts must be withheld, including but not limited to: Principal on-camera work, such as: Acting Singing Dancing Performing stunts Piloting on-camera aircraft Puppeteering○ Performance capture or motion capture work; Principal off-camera work, such as: ADR/Looping TV Trailers (promos) and Theatrical Trailers Voice Acting Singing Narration, including audio descriptive services except as the services may be covered by another collective bargaining agreement referred in the Notice to Members Regarding Non-Struck Work Stunt coordinating and related services Background work Stand-in work Photo and/or body doubles Fittings, wardrobe tests, and makeup tests Rehearsals and camera tests Scanning Interviews and auditions (including via self-tape) Promotion of/publicity services for work under the TV/Theatrical Contracts, such as: Tours Personal appearances Interviews Conventions Fan expos Festivals For your consideration events Panels○ Premieres/screenings Award shows Junkets Podcast appearances Social media Studio showcases Negotiating and/or entering into and/or consenting to: An agreement to perform covered services in the future Any new agreement related to merchandising connected to a covered project The creation and use of digital replicas, including through the reuse of prior work Performing on a trailer for a struck production or other ancillary content connected to a struck production SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher Meanwhile, TV networks are expected to pivot to reality series and game shows, which are unscripted and do not require actors. Late night shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live! have been dark since May as they rely heavily on scripted monologues and comedic segments. Recurring dramas like ABC’s Abbott Elementary and Grey’s Anatomy will be replaced in the September schedule by game shows like Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and Dancing With the Stars , according to The New York Times . Due to the lengthy scale of TV production times, the full effects of the strikes are unlikely to be felt for months or even years. Casey Bloys, the chairman of HBO, told Variety on Wednesday that ‘at least through the end of 2023, we’re OK. And then into 2024, it starts to get dicier’. Arnold warned The Independent that due to the scale of SAG-AFRA’s demands, he believes that the actors’ strike could continue all the way into winter: ‘This is going to be a game of chicken – who is willing to swerve first?’ The issue, he points out, is that writers and actors are not key workers like doctors or nurses, so there won’t be public demand for the studios to cave to their demands. Streaming companies like Netflix have billions of dollars and an enormous backlog of content, which they can afford to sit back on while low-paid creatives struggle. The union also said that the strike means any Emmy campaigning by actors will immediately end. As such, we may see a delay to the 2023 Emmys ceremony, which is currently scheduled for 18 September. The nominations for this year’s awards were announced on Wednesday (12 July) with Television Academy chair Frank Scherma expressing his wishes for the ongoing guild negotiations to ‘come to an equitable and swift end’.