For the first time since 1980, Hollywood actors are on strike, joining screenwriters. The two trades are demanding an increase in their remuneration, at half mast in the era of streaming. This Friday, some actors joined the pickets in front of the studios.
Fran Drescher, Josh Gad, Susan Sarandon, Jason Sudeikis… Many American actors and actresses came to protest this Friday in front of the major Hollywood studios, on the first day of their historic strike.
The actors have joined the screenwriters’ strike, for a double social movement which is causing the worst paralysis of the sector for more than 60 years. Hundreds of strikers with placards marched in front of the Netflix building on the famous Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Similar scenes unfolded all over the city in front of other studios and streaming services like HBO, Amazon or Paramount. But also in New York, in front of the headquarters of NBC Universal.
Salary increase
The two trades are demanding an increase in their remuneration, at half mast in the era of streaming. They also want to obtain guarantees regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI), to prevent the latter from generating scripts or cloning their voice and image.
Despite a ten-day extension and last-minute government mediation, negotiations between the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA and employers failed.
“This is a critical moment,” actor Kenneth Branagh acknowledged at the London premiere of “Oppenheimer” on Thursday, before the entire cast of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster walked off the red carpet in a show of solidarity. , just before the announcement of the strike. “Everyone is trying to get a fair deal, that’s what is needed, and we will support that.”
Prohibition to turn
The guidelines of SAG-AFTRA, which represents 160,000 actors, stunt performers, dancers and other professionals on the small and big screen, prohibit all members from filming, but also from promoting their productions, in person or on social networks.
No one knows how long this strike will last, but if it drags on, it has the potential to delay many blockbusters currently in production like the sequel to Gladiator, Deadpool 3 Or Ghostbusters 4.
The production of films and series had already been idling since the beginning of May because of the movement of screenwriters, but with the walkout of actors the American industry finds itself on its knees: apart from a few “soap operas” and reality TV shows , filming is simply no longer possible.