Actors in the Unites States, who are part of the trade union SAG-AFTRA, have gone on strike, alongside the writers. This is the first time in 60 years that both sides will be on the picketing line, since 1960 and picketing will begin on July 14, 2023.
In May 2023, the Writer’s Guild of America commenced strike action against studios in the AMPTP (Alliance of the Motion Picture Television Producers); for not reaching an appropriate deal, and the strike still continues.
Now, the AMPTP have also failed to reach the demands of actors in SAG-AFTRA, as the use of Artificial Intelligence causes the same concerns for both writers and actors.
As well as residual pay on streaming, improvements for health and pensions and a clamp down on studios taking projects randomly off from streaming services never to be seen again for tax write-offs.
AMPTP issued this statement about the strike.
“We are deeply disappointed that SAG-AFTRA has decided to walk away from negotiations. This is the Union’s choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more. Rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods.”
How will the actors strike impact movies and TV?
There are currently 160, 000 performers in this trade union and it means that anyone in SAG-AFTRA, will not be taking part in any filming on projects. They will also not be able to take part in press events, movie premieres, interviews that involve promoting any of their work in movies/tv etc.
It’s expected there will also be delays in both movie and television projects, depending on how long this strike will last. Some strikes have lasted month, weeks and others just 14 hours. With the writers also on strike, there’s still no new content being written.
