Hollywood’s biggest stars have joined film and television writers on the picket line after the actors’ union and studios failed to agree on updated contract terms after weeks of negotiations.
Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which represents 160,000 actors, on Thursday voted to strike after talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down.
It is the first time in more than 60 years that both actors and writers have gone on strike concurrently, bringing to an immediate halt the American film and television industry.
The SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America (WGA) were seeking similar outcomes in their respective negotiations, including improved profit sharing with streamers and guarantees workers will not be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).
In a statement, the AMPTP, which includes traditional film and television companies such as Universal and Disney and streaming services such as Amazon, Apple, and Netflix, said: "The union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger criticized the timing of the strike, telling the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho just hours before the union formally approved the strike action that actors were “adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.”
He added that the expectations of the writers and actors were “just not realistic.”
Drescher decries AI takeover
At a press conference, SAG-AFTRA president and former star of The Nanny Fran Drescher slammed the studios’ failure to avoid a strike.
She said it was “disgusting” for claiming “they’re losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs.”
The actress added that actors were being “marginalized, disrespected and dishonored” as streaming and AI has rapidly changed the industry.
“What happens here is important because what’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labor, when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run,” she said.
Other A-listers expressed their support for the strike action, with actor George Clooney saying it was “an inflection point in our industry.”
“Actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living,” he said in a statement. “For our industry to survive that has to change. For actors, that journey starts now.”
In addition to halting film and television production, upcoming promotional events such as red-carpet premieres, award shows, and conventions will be affected by the dual strikes.
Stars of the highly anticipated Christopher Nolan film Oppenheimer left the premiere in London early on Thursday in solidarity with their fellow actors.
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