Major Industry Players React to Hollywood Strike
By Movieguide® Contributor
The Hollywood strike is ongoing and causing major chaos for many with costly film delays, pay conflicts and more.
Variety reported a source who said, “There was just this sadness. We were completely out of the politics and just invested in the work. Now, a lot of people are going to lose their livelihoods, won’t be able to keep up home payments, school payments.”
On the set of GLADIATOR 2 actors such as Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal began to book flights back home. They left behind a high-budgeted film and a 400 employed crew for the film.
Michael Greene, who is a member of SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee said, “It comes down to commerce versus art. What’s happening right now is the commerce doesn’t really understand how the artist thinks. They think they can do this without the artist, or they can do it with AI. They’re thinking in numbers. Commerce wants to win out for their bottom line, and they’ll never fully win without the artist. It’s David versus Goliath.”
Brent Lang of Variety reported, Disney CEO Bob Iger countered with his own let-them-eat-cake sound bite, telling CNBC’s David Faber a few hours earlier that when it came to negotiating with striking writers and actors, “there’s a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic.”
Matthew Harrigan, an analyst with Benchmark stated, “I’m in the pessimist camp. I think this will be at least several months. Both sides seem dug in. It all comes down to who has the financial wherewithal to hold out the longest.”
Irina Ivanova of CBS News reported the reason behind the strike, “Some 65,000 Hollywood actors have taken up picket signs as of last week, bringing productions to a halt as they fight for higher pay amid inflation and a rapidly evolving entertainment industry.”
She continued, “Performers say the annual pay they’ve come to rely on, which is based on residuals from movie and television appearances, has plummeted in the age of streaming, making it impossible for the vast majority of actors to earn a living. According to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the studios — a group that includes Apple; Amazon; Netflix; NBCUniversal; Sony and Paramount, the parent company of CBS News — have refused to negotiate pay raises for performers and the sharing of streaming revenue.”
Movieguide® previously reported:
While the contract was set to expire on June 30th, the SAG-AFTRA agreed to extend the deadline to July 12 so those involved in negotiations wouldn’t have to forgo Fourth of July celebrations. The extension, however, should not be seen as the SAG-AFTRA folding to pressure, nor does it guarantee that a deal will be made.
“No one should mistake this extension for weakness,” SAG-AFTRA president, Fran Drescher said in an email to union members. “We see you. We hear you. We are you.”
Last week, SAG-AFTRA members made it known how serious they were about going on strike. A letter signed by over 1,000 actors became public last week telling SAG-AFTRA leadership that they are “ready to strike” if the guild doesn’t get “all the way there” during negotiations with the studios.
The letter was endorsed by stars such as Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Ben Stiller, Joaquin Phoenix, Aubrey Plaza, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Pedro Pascal.
The actors guild going on strike would hit Hollywood with a double whammy, as the writers guild continues into week nine of their own strike.
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