Following the collective strike movement of American screenwriters that began in early May this year, on July 13, the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) also announced an official strike!
The screenwriters' strike will be much longer than that
The 100-day strike of 2007-2008
According to Deadline, the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance (AMPTP), which represents studios and streaming media, will not renegotiate with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) until this fall.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Film and Television Producers Alliance (AMPTP) is determined to completely break the screenwriters and intends to renegotiate after October, so that all screenwriters will lose their apartments and houses and make them homeless.
This means that the screenwriters' strike movement will last for more than half a year (starting in early May this year), far exceeding the 2007-2008 screenwriters' 100-day strike.
The Screen Actors Guild officially went on strike
Not long ago, the Screen Actors Guild and the United Broadcasters Union (SAG-AFTRA) negotiated with the Film and Television Producers Union (AMPTP) to officially launch an actor strike if an agreement could not be reached on the evening of July 12.
On June 5, members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) voted 98 percent in favor of a strike if a fair contract could not be reached.
On June 29, Hollywood actress Jane Fonda appeared at the Los Angeles headquarters of streaming platform Netflix to give a speech with the screenwriter, supporting the latter's two-month strike.
Fonda's attitude is quite representative of the Hollywood actor community. Hundreds of member actors, including Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Lawrence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Charlize Theron, Meryl Streep, and others, expressed support for the actor's strike if the agreement was not appropriate. Since then, 1,700 members have signed a petition urging SAG-AFTRA leadership to stand firm at the negotiating table.
On July 13, SAG-AFTRA announced that no agreement had been negotiated with AMPPP. Local Thursday morning, SAG-AFTRA's committee formally approved the strike.
It was the first strike by the Screen Actors Guild since 1980 and the first time since 1960 that the Screen Actors Guild went on strike simultaneously with the Screenwriters Guild, when the president of the Screen Actors Guild was Ronald Reagan.
The Writers' Guild (WGA) strike has been going on for more than 70 days. With the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) deciding to launch an immediate strike, that is, scripts and actors filming on behalf of film and television productions cannot be carried out, the New York Times called "Hollywood's first industry-wide shutdown in 63 years."
Demands for negotiation include:
"Late dividends, standardize the use of AI", etc
The 160,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild and the United Broadcasters Union (SAG-AFTRA) include: actors, stuntmen, voice actors, industry journalists, DJs, dancers, singers, etc.
The SAG-AFTRA stipulates that 160,000 members will not participate during the strike:
1. Film and television shooting;
2. Interviews, press conferences, premieres and other publicity and activities;
3. Fan events such as comic conventions;
4. Social media content post updates related to the work.
The demands negotiated between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP include "economic fairness, late dividends, regulating the use of AI, and alleviating the burden of industry-wide self-recording", and the use of AI has become an important topic. However, the demands of the Screen Actors Guild have not been taken seriously by the management. SAG-AFTRA leadership said that "studios refuse to engage meaningfully on certain topics and completely prevaricate us on others."
According to insiders, Hollywood's round of film and TV contract negotiations began on June 7, and the main differences between the two sides include: the Screen Actors Guild demanded a significant increase in the streaming platform's "playback fee (royalties paid when the film and television program is replayed)" and adjusted the payment calculation method to more accurately reflect the success of the show. But producers rejected the union's request, citing the fact that the show's success depends on third-party company statistics and that many streaming platforms have so far failed to turn a profit.
The red carpet for the London premiere of "Oppenheimer"
Start an hour early
"Variety" reported that the red carpet for the London premiere of "Oppenheimer" started an hour earlier, from 17:45 local time on July 13 to 16:45.
Because the filmmakers were worried that the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA), which had failed to reach a new agreement with the Film and Television Production Union (AMPTP), had announced the start of the strike before the end of the filming and interview activities of the main creator after the screening, the film's leading actors left the scene to avoid violating the union rules of the SAG-AFTRA, resulting in Kyrian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh and others unable to attend the publicity, photo shoot, and interview sessions.
"Gladiator 2" "Mortal Kombat 2"
Projects such as "Emily in Paris 4" were affected
The effects of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strike have already begun to be felt.
"Variety" reported that the film "Gladiator 2" directed by Ridley Scott is expected to end filming in Morocco; Meanwhile, the FX "Alien" series produced by Ridley Scott is currently preparing preliminary work in Thailand, but it is also expected to put filming on hold due to the involvement of two members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA).
Filming of Warner's Mortal Kombat 2 in Australia will also cease.
Netflix's "Emily in Paris", which has been hit by the writers' strike and postponed the start of filming from summer to autumn, is expected to postpone filming again.
The actor's strike will spill over
Venice Film Festival, Emmy Awards and other events
The Venice Film Festival has just announced this year's jury lineup.
A person familiar with the matter told THR that the companies that have suffered the strike cannot carry out promotions or launches for subsequent film and television productions, which means that top artists will not be able to appear on the red carpet in Venice or Toronto, nor can they participate in the Emmy Awards "For Your Information" event.
News of the strike prompted the Hollywood publicity marketing team to begin working on contingency plans. Venice and Toronto open on August 30 and September 7 respectively, marking the beginning of the awards season battle for many independent studios and media publishers. Exactly what the impact will be is difficult to determine (the last actor strike dates back to the '80s), but a veteran marketing executive told THR: "I don't think the strike will affect which films won't go to Venice or Toronto." Venice has sent out an invitation, and filmmakers have decided whether to go or not. But if the actors can't go to the festival and do publicity, the event will be very different. ”
The screenwriting strike in May did not affect the Cannes Film Festival, as creators such as Martin Scorsese and Wes Anderson could appear as directors. But actors like Zendaya would be very different if they couldn't attend the international launch of Venice's new film "The Challenger." "If the stars can't come, will the journalists still come to the film festival? If everyone doesn't come, what does that mean for your film's coverage at and before it? Many movies will not get the attention or publicity they want. A PR executive said.
For Venice premieres such as Michael Mann's new film "Ferrari" and Bradley Cooper's new "Master of Music", the absence of Adam Driver and Sheldin Woodley, or Carey Mulligan and Maya Hawke on the red carpet and promotional events, may directly bury their local distribution plans. As a choreographer, Cooper can continue to attend events as a director, but can he ensure that he avoids all acting and play questions during interviews to avoid undermining union demands?
If the Screen Actors Guild and the Film and Television Producers Union fail to reach a new agreement in time, this fall's film festival will become more tedious and quieter.
The Directors Guild of America has
Reached a settlement with the management last month
The Screenwriters Guild of America (WGA), the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the Screen Actors Guild and the United Broadcast Television Artists Union (SAG-AFTRA) are the three major unions in Hollywood.
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) reached a settlement last month with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios and streaming media.
At present, in the whole of Hollywood, only the streaming giant Netflix can guarantee that "cash flow is positive", other studios including Disney are losing money, and Warner Bros. Discovery Group loses billions of dollars a year.
Streaming platforms are now scrambling to reduce costs for more profit, with each re-signing of a contract having a direct impact on writers, producers, actors, and directors.
The massive use and lack of regulation of artificial intelligence will also make screenwriters and actors worry about when they will be replaced by AI.
Disney CEO Bob Iger
Hit back at the Screen Actors Guild and the Screenwriters Guild
Disney CEO Bob Iger hit back at the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild, saying that the demands of these workers are unrealistic and add more trouble and burden to the industry:
"It makes me very uneasy. We've talked about the shocks to the industry and the challenges we're up to, and the post-pandemic recovery is not yet complete. There is no better time to add such a shock to the world. I understand that any labor organization wants to get the most compensation for its members and get a reasonable return for their efforts. As an industry, we can draw up a good agreement with the directors' guild that reflects the director's contribution to this wonderful industry. We want to do the same thing for the writers and the same for the actors. These people have certain expectations, and this expectation is unrealistic. We're adding to the challenges that the industry has to face, and it's honestly a very impactful challenge. ”
Source: The New York Times, Deadline, THR, TNABO, etc
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