The major studios in Hollywood pump out around 400-900 movies every year. Due to theatrical releases and streaming platforms, these studios earn a fortune from a film. Earlier box-office flops would be a blowback to the production companies, but with multiple streaming options, the movies would at least recover a substantial amount.
That was the worst-case scenario; now imagine the pile of money if the movie/TV series becomes a bit. Studios are racking up insurmountable cash flow with international releases, with box-office collections above $100 million.
But a piece of cinema is not valued with money but is worth of relentless efforts of the creative team, including writers, editors, directors, designers, and more. Every element is just as important, and to undervalue an aspect is rejecting the institution of filmmaking.
Writing is the foundation of a movie/TV series or any storytelling. When this creative division was underpaid for its contribution, the union raised its voice against Hollywood’s hierarchy. Unlike the corporate world, creative labor should also be valued in equity.
Writers’ strike last May marked their autonomy to demand their rights. Read here for a complete account of the ongoing strike.
And at the stroke of midnight, actors declared their rebellion against Hollywood for undermining their negotiations. Now, Hollywood is challenged with the dual strike after 63 years, shutting down production for several projects in the pipeline. The ramifications of two significant creative subjects will be way more intense than Hollywood has ever experienced.
Are Actors on Strike 2023?
There are two major components in the initial discussion–
- Studio representatives– Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)
- US Actors’ Union– Sag-Aftra (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists).
Even after a month of tense negotiations, the two representative sides remained at loggerheads. These “talks” were already extended 12 days after the previous contract expired on June 30.
But the actors’ association had issued an open letter on June 28, co-signed by more than 1000 SAG members to the Union’s leadership. Prominent actors like Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, and more are affiliated with the active negotiations, demanding proper consideration, or else it will lead to a strike.
The boards were unable to reach the common grounds, and thus, the actors’ union announced during the Thursday press conference that they were going on strike starting at midnight.
The president of SAG-AFTRA, Fran Drescher (best known for the hit TV show “The Nanny”), has expressed her grievances over studios’ response to the demands of the new contract as “insulting and disrespectful.”
She said during the press conference–
“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 far apart we are on so many things, how they plead poverty that they’re losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions to their CEOs. It is disgusting.”
Why Are Actors Going To Strike?
SAG-AFTRA is Hollywood’s largest union representing over 160000 film and TV actors.
The first demand from this association is an increase in base pay and residuals from the streaming revenue.
And with the rise of AI technology to recreate actors’ personas and use deep-fake has raised valid concerns for the actors. Their next significant demand is an assurance that their work will not be affected/replaced by AI. Here are the bullet points of this demand.
1) Protection of Personal Brand from AI: actor’s voice and face cannot be used to promote a product without consent.
2) Federal Protection of Voice and Likeness against AI: federal laws to be imposed on an agency was found to exploit an actor’s likeness without permission and generate remuneration.
3) Stronger Copyright Protections for Humans against AI: stringent federal copyright protection if someone uses copyrighted works to train generative AI is infringement (input), and AI-created work outputted cannot be copyrighted.
4) Union Bargaining for AI Training Rights: acquiring rights to train an AI system with a performer’s voice and likeness, or using an AI system to create new performances using a performer’s voice and likeness, must be bargained with the union. A company cannot obtain these rights from individual performers.
The actors’ union declared an official strike when studios were inconsiderate towards these demands. The SAG believes that using AI is a direct breach of creativity and hard work by individuals. Hence, they are taking this drastic measure to get their voices heard.
What Does the Actor Strike Mean? What Happens If Actors Go On Strike?
The Actors’ strike has significant implications for the industry–
The first is– whom will you watch on the screen?
The film productions will come to an immediate halt after the announcement.
The secondary result would be that even film promotions, actors appearing at events, awards shows, reality TV, voice actors for animated movies, and more such factors will be affected by the actors’ strike.
Amidst the SAG and WAG strike, some indie/freelance content creators are facing challenges regarding how to sell their work/services. Here is a great advice for them–
What are your thoughts on the strike? Do you think studios should be more transparent in their contract and total revenue of the project?
Will AI really threaten actors’ jobs? Let us know in the comments section below.
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