Hollywood actors have joined writers in a strike that will bring countless TV and movie productions to a grinding halt. Actors will start appearing on picket lines Friday morning.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Screen Actors Guild president Fran Drescher explained that a strike was the inevitable result of actors feeling “disrespected” by studios.
“At some point, you have to say, no, we’re not going to take this any more,” she said. “There was nothing there, it was insulting.”
So what does that mean for your favorite films, TV series, awards shows and any other events that involve actors? Get ready to tee up your favorite reruns for the coming days, weeks and possibly months as all parties seek a resolution.
Here’s what we know so far:
Actors strike live updates:SAG-AFTRA will picket, prompting historic Hollywood shutdown
Are writers still on strike in Hollywood?
Actors have agreed to strike about 10 weeks after members of the Writers Guild of America walked out in an effort to secure higher wages and specific terms related to AI-powered writing tools such as ChatGPT. Their fear is such technology could be called in to supplement or substitute for human writers.
Hollywood actors who are members of the Screen Actors Guild have gone on strike seeking better compensation at a time when incomes are threatened by everything from streaming service deals to nascent artificial intelligence.
How will the Screen Actors Guild strike affect my favorite shows and movies?
The ongoing Writers Guild strike has meant that many TV shows and movies have had to cancel production, although some production continued without writers on set. But an actors’ strike means very little can continue. Animation (minus voice actors), reality TV and some projects shooting outside the U.S. with actors who aren’t in SAG will be able to carry on.
TV series will be forced into an indefinite hiatus, and movies will immediately go dark.
Plan on seeing a lot of reruns on TV. But movie theaters, already facing an uphill climb after the combination of a pandemic and a shift to at-home viewing, are looking at another big financial challenge come this holiday season when already-shot movies have already come out.
A movie fan’s guide to the strike:Wait, will ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ come out?
What else will be shut down by the actors’ strike?
Love your red carpet awards shows with all that celebrity glitz and glamour? Kiss that goodbye.
Strike rules forbid actors from promoting their projects, a constraint writers have faced since May. That means no premieres, no talk show appearances and no glossy magazine cover stories that aren’t already banked. (USA TODAY’s interviews with actors for upcoming movies such as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were conducted before the strike began.)
The strike will also depress the fun at fan favorite events such as San Diego Comic-Con, usually chock-full of popular actors, writers and directors pitching their movies and TV shows to thousands of coplaying admirers.
The Emmy Awards, planned for Sept. 18 on Fox, would likely be delayed until both strikes are resolved. If the strikes drag on into 2024 (unlikely but possible), other major awards shows like the Oscars would be put on hold.
What do actors want?
While we’re all familiar with the mega-millions pay days for A-list stars such as Tom Cruise, most actors do not make that kind of money. SAG members say they are striking for an increased base compensation, regulated use of artificial intelligence, better benefit plans and money for self-taped auditions – the cost of which used to be the responsibility of casting and production.
Actors also want to be compensated for streaming TV shows and movies based on the performance of those titles. The problem there is that streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Max do not share metrics with the public, or even the creators of their films and TV shows. SAG is pushing for analytics from a third party to help determine payment.
What do studios want?
Studio executives maintain that spending on new content to meet consumer demand has hurt profits and resulted in losses that have required the layoffs of thousands of employees.
A recent Deadline report cites unnamed sources who say the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are in no rush to negotiate with writers and are hoping a prolonged paycheck drought will eventually bring them back to the bargaining table.
AMPTP denied the notion of a so-called “October surprise,” a reference to producers being willing to wait until Halloween before negotiating with strikers. “These anonymous people are not speaking on behalf of the AMPTP or member companies, who are committed to reaching a deal and getting our industry back to work,” a spokesperson for the organization said.
How long will the Hollywood strike last?
That always is an unknown. There have been strikes throughout Hollywood’s century-long history. The most recent was the writer’s strike of 2007, which lasted 14 weeks. In 1988, the WGA struck for 22 weeks, the longest action in its history.
Past actors’ guild strikes included a six-week walkout in 1960, which was led by its then-president, and future U.S. president, Ronald Reagan. A 1980 strike lasted three months, while a 1986 strike, the most recent until now, lasted 14 hours.
There was one directors’ guild strike in 1987, and it lasted just three hours. In early June, the Directors Guild of America reached an agreement with studios for new film and TV contracts, avoiding the prospect of an unprecedented three-guild strike.
