#actors guild strike

[fans4wga]

"The studios thought they could handle a strike. They might end up sparking a revolution"

by Mary McNamara

"If you want to start a revolution, tell your workers you’d rather see them lose their homes than offer them fair wages. Then lecture them about how their “unrealistic” demands are “disruptive” to the industry, not to mention disturbing your revels at Versailles, er, Sun Valley.

Honestly, watching the studios turn one strike into two makes you wonder whether any of their executives have ever seen a movie or watched a television show. Scenes of rich overlords sipping Champagne and acting irritated while the crowd howls for bread rarely end well for the Champagne sippers.

This spring, it sometimes seemed like the Hollywood studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were actively itching for a writers’ strike. Speculations about why, exactly, ran the gamut: Perhaps it would save a little money in the short run and show the Writers Guild of America (perceived as cocky after its recent ability to force agents out of the packaging business) who’s boss.

More obviously, it might secure the least costly compromise on issues like residuals payments and transparency about viewership.

But the 20,000 members of the WGA are not the only people who, having had their lives and livelihoods upended by the streaming model, want fair pay and assurances about the use of artificial intelligence, among other sticking points. The 160,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists share many of the writers’ concerns. And recent unforced errors by studio executives, named and anonymous, have suddenly transformed a fight the studios were spoiling for into a public relations war they cannot win.

Even as SAG-AFTRA representatives were seeing a majority of their demands rejected despite a nearly unanimous strike vote, a Deadline story quoted unnamed executives detailing a strategy to bleed striking writers until they come crawling back.

Days later, when an actors’ strike seemed imminent, Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger took time away from the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho not to offer compromise but to lecture. He told CNBC’s David Faber that the unions’ refusal to help out the studios by taking a lesser deal is “very disturbing to me.”

“There’s a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic,” Iger said. “And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.”

If Iger thought his attempt to exec-splain the situation would make actors think twice about walking out, he was very much mistaken. Instead, he handed SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher the perfect opportunity for the kind of speech usually shouted atop the barricades.

“We are the victims here,” she said Thursday, marking the start of the actors’ strike. “We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly: How far apart we are on so many things. How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right, when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment.”

Cue the cascading strings of “Les Mis,” bolstered by images of the most famous people on the planet walking out in solidarity: the cast of “Oppenheimer” leaving the film’s London premiere; the writers and cast of “The X-Files” reuniting on the picket line.

A few days later, Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group and a former Hollywood studio chief, suggested that studio executives and top-earning actors take a 25% pay cut to bring a quick end to the strikes and help prevent “the collapse of the entire industry.”

When Diller is telling executives to take a pay cut to avoid destroying their industry, it is no longer a strike, or even two strikes. It is a last-ditch attempt to prevent le déluge.

Yes, during the 2007-08 writers’ strike, picketers yelled noncomplimentary things at executives as they entered their respective lots. (“What you earnin’, Chernin?” was popular at Fox, where Peter Chernin was chairman and chief executive.) But that was before social media made everything more immediate, incendiary and personal. (Even if they have never seen a movie or TV show, one would think that people heading up media companies would understand how media actually work.)

Even at the most heated moments of the last writers’ strike, executives like Chernin and Iger were seen as people who could be reasoned with — in part because most of the executives were running studios, not conglomerations, but mostly because the pay gap between executives and workers, in Hollywood and across the country, had not yet widened to the reprehensible chasm it has since.

Now, the massive eight- and nine-figure salaries of studio heads alongside photos of pitiably small residual checks are paraded across legacy and social media like historical illustrations of monarchs growing fat as their people starve. Proof that, no matter how loudly the studios claim otherwise, there is plenty of money to go around.

Topping that list is Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive Davd Zaslav. Having re-named HBO Max just Max and made cuts to the beloved Turner Classic Movies, among other unpopular moves, Zaslav has become a symbol of the cold-hearted, highly compensated executive that the writers and actors are railing against.

The ferocious criticism of individual executives’ salaries has placed Hollywood’s labor conflict at the center of the conversation about growing wealth disparities in the U.S., which stokes, if not causes, much of this country’s political divisions. It also strengthens the solidarity among the WGA and SAG-AFTRA and with other groups, from hotel workers to UPS employees, in the midst of disputes during what’s been called a “hot labor summer.”

Unfortunately, the heightened antagonism between studio executives and union members also appears to leave little room for the kind of one-on-one negotiation that helped end the 2007-08 writers’ strike. Iger’s provocative statement, and the backlash it provoked, would seem to eliminate him as a potential elder statesman who could work with both sides to help broker a deal.

Absent Diller and his “cut your damn salaries” plan, there are few Hollywood figures with the kind of experience, reputation and relationships to fill the vacuum.

At this point, the only real solution has been offered by actor Mark Ruffalo, who recently suggested that workers seize the means of production by getting back into the indie business, which is difficult to imagine and not much help for those working in television.

It’s the AMPTP that needs to heed Iger’s admonishment. At a time when the entertainment industry is going through so much disruption, two strikes is the last thing anyone needs, especially when the solution is so simple. If the studios don’t want a full-blown revolution on their hands, they’d be smart to give members of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA contracts they can live with."

[nikademus1969]

[stankrhodes]

my partner today messaging me about starting a union at his job just... really reinforced in me that we are truly witnessing the rise of a very important moment in history for the future of labor in the world. we shouldn't be living the way we do and my full support is with every single person, union, and entity that is fighting for workers' rights and the security of a livable life.

[charlesoberonn]

Next season's TV shows are gonna be a bunch of TikTok voice AIs reading a chatGPT script over static images of people with fucked up hands.

[gentlebeardschild]

there's been some confusion! it's vital for the fans to support the projects or they wont see the light of day. what i meant it's for links to corporates/companies

i think it's also important to highlight that some of the articles out there are putting the blame on the strike for delays that the COMPANIES themselves initiate to make the strike look bad. that's where all of this from my side comes from. i should have explained it better, thank you for keeping me from spreading misinformation!!

SPREAD THE WORD!!!! IM TAKING DOWN MY POSTS WITH THE LINK OR SIMPLY REMOVING IT!! i thought we were safe bc it said that the interviews were done prior to the strike but i guess it makes more sense! it's okay if you shared it, just take it down and remove the links

[hidinggal]

nah because the studios saying they wanted to make the writers homeless is wack they way they said that on SAG's 90th birthday also the way that the very next day SAG-AFTRA went on stirke like thats wack

[divdevdump]

As these posts are dated November 11th 2023, Justine is indeed talking about the terms that SAG AFTRA agreed to to 'officially' end the strike. If you search her name you will see her arguments against AI over the past many months from even before the strike began. As an agreement was reached so quickly after AMPTP's last proposal that still included permissions to AI actors' likenesses, the rush for streaming residuals and ending the strike might have lead to unfortunate compromises with long term repercussions to the industry. [edit] Added her explanations of AI permissions AMPTP will have over SAG AFTRA members;

[the-experimental-writer]

A call to arms against AI (Important)

Dearest members of Tumblr, we are all aware of the dangers and fears that AI sparks in our industry, we are all aware of what we face at large, but we have been in luck, for we are not the only ones against this and I come to you today with a chance to join the grander fight. US Copyright Office wants to hear what people think about AI and copyright https://theverge.com/2023/8/29/23851126/us-copyright-office-ai-public-comments "The US Copyright Office is opening a public comment period around AI and copyright issues beginning August 30th as the agency figures out how to approach the subject." These will help you comment, make sure to read exactly what it is asked and here are the links to post comments. https://regulations.gov/commenton/COLC-2023-0006-0001… If this one gets stuck then use this one. https://copyright.gov/policy/artificial-intelligence/comment-submission/ Those who support the artists, come voice your opinions.

[adventuretolkienlover]

UH... GUYS?!!! WGA ISN'T THE ONLY ONE STRIKING NOW!!!!

HOLLYWOOD IS GRINDING TO A HALT!!! Holy Cow! Now the screen actors are striking too! They're fighting against artificial intelligence and better wages too now!!! THEY ARE LITERALLY JOINING FORCES WITH THE WGA. Something like this hasn't happened in decades!

Those jerk execs are going DOWN. And this whole thing with the actors guild is being lead by the lady who played Fran from The Nanny. HOW COOL IS THAT?!??

 #sag strikeThis isn't over. Keep up y'all.

[abnerkrill]

[image id: tweet from The Hollywood Reporter @/THR that says "At a moment when Hollywood’s writers remain on strike, members of performers’ union SAG-AFTRA will soon be mounting their own picket lines, constituting the first “double strike” involving both actors and scribes since 1960 http://thr.cm/Q03rwkE"

[fans4wga]

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher's strike announcement speech

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Thank you. Thank you everyone for coming to this press conference today. It's really important that this negotiation be covered because the eyes of the world and particularly the eyes of labor are upon us. What happens here is important, because what's happening to us is happening across all fields of labor. By means of when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run. We have a problem. And we are experiencing that right at this moment. This is a very seminal hour for us.

I went in, in earnest, thinking that we would be able to avert a strike. The gravity of this move is not lost on me, or our negotiating committee, or our board members, who have voted unanimously to proceed with a strike.

It's a very serious thing that impacts thousands if not millions of people, all across this country and around the world. Not only members of this union, but people who work in other industries that service the people that work in this industry. And so it came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads, but we had no choice. We are the victims here; we are being victimized by a very greedy entity.

I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with, are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly. How far apart we are on so many things. How they plead poverty, that they are losing money left and right while giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment.

We stand in solidarity, in unprecedented unity. Our union and our sister unions and the unions around the world are standing by us, as well as other labor unions. Because at some point the jig is up. You cannot keep being dwindled and marginalized and disrespected and dishonored. The entire business model has been changed. By streaming, digital, AI. This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don't stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble. We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business who cares more about Wall Street than you and your family.

Most of Americans don't have more than $500 in an emergency. This is a very big deal, and it weighed heavy on us. But at some point, you have to say no. We’re not going to take this anymore. You people are crazy. What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Privately they all say we’re the center of the wheel. Everybody else tinkers around our artistry, but actions speak louder than words. And there was nothing there. It was insulting.

So we came together in strength and solidarity and unity with the largest strike authorization vote in our union's history. And we made the hard decision that we tell you, as we stand before you today. This is major. It's really serious and it is going to impact every single person that is in labor. We are fortunate enough to be in a country right now that happens to be labor friendly. And yet, we are facing opposition that was so labor unfriendly. So tone deaf to what we are saying. You cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect the contract to change too.

We are not going to keep doing incremental changes on a contract that no longer honors what is happening right now with this business model that was foisted upon us. What are we doing? Moving around furniture on the titanic? It's crazy.

So the jig is up, AMPTP. We stand tall. You have to wake up and smell the coffee. We are labor and we stand tall and we demand respect. And to be honored for our contribution. You share the wealth because you cannot exist without us. Thank you.

[small-lil-ducky]

Here's a thought :

If streaming services still remain "largely unprofitable," why are so many major production companies opting to host content under their own streaming platform?If they don't see large returns from their content, why can't they be transparent about subscription numbers? Their revenue? If the number is so inconsequential?

Even if that were true, it still makes Bob Iger and people like him look even worse because despite thousands of employees barely making ends meet, Iger is still pulling in millions every year.

The mf earned 45 million dollars in just 2021 alone, but oh, "we don't have enough money to pay our employees." What a joke. There's plenty of money to go around. You just hoard it all.

[timkontheunsure]

Support the strikes.

[lemon-bomb]

I desperately need corporations to start paying actors and writers fairly, because if good omens season 3 doesn't start production soon I will explode and die

[hellenahaurus]

As someone who's been on a picket line before,

It fucking sucks.

You all are incredibly badass for doing what you're doing and we all support you 1000000%

F u c k big companies trying to think they can take advantage of good talent and work.

Thank you for everything you've done and everything you're doing.

Take care of yourselves and eachother.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

In Theaters Now. http://Newsday.com/matt

* * * * *

[Nice piece of writing by Jim Wright]

I have many friends on the picket lines in Hollywood at the moment.

And I am reminded of this one scene in the film The Thirteenth Warrior.

The Vikings believe their fates were written long before their birth and so they face their death in battle with indifference and maybe even glee and, above all, courage. The movie takes a great deal of time describing how these warriors believe they'll go to Valhalla where "the brave may live forever" and so there is no point in fear or any attempt to avoid your fate. And so they don't. They don't fear and they don't try to avoid death.

And, yet, while there are many, many great scenes in this criminally underappreciated reimagining of Beowulf, there's this one moment, less than 3 seconds on film, that makes the movie for me.

The Vikings have met the monster, they've fought with great courage against overwhelming odds, and they are now trapped in the lair of the Wendol. Many of their number have died by this point and they make a fighting withdrawal, becoming spread out down a narrow tunnel deep, deep underground. The scene is dark and chaotic and fraught with danger. One of the warriors, Helfdane (played by the brilliant Clive Russell) is wounded and can't run any further. He orders the Arab, Ahmed (Antonio Banderas), to go on without him and turns to face the Wendol on his own.

Ahmed goes on down the tunnel and after moment you hear distant fighting and know that the Viking has fallen at last.

When Ahmed catches up to the rest of the band, Herger looks over the Arab's shoulder up the dark tunnel and asks "Helfdane?"

Ahmed shakes his head. No.

And there's this moment. This fleeting second. This tiny brief flicker of pain and loss and FATE on Herger's face. The Viking, this warrior who truly believes the brave will live forever in Valhalla, who joked about the loss of comrades in battle and who has faced his own death over and over throughout the narrative with laughter and fatalism and cheerful indifference, there's this moment where his Viking stoicism cracks and you see for just a fraction of a second his sorrow at the loss of his comrade in arms.

It's an absolutely stunning bit of acting on the part of Norwegian actor Dennis Storhoi, who plays Herger, and if you blink, you'll miss it. It makes the movie. It makes these Vikings human, instead of the cardboard cutouts of most films.

That's acting.

That's craft.

That's art.

No AI, no matter how advanced, could duplicate that moment. No bit of software no matter how cleverly coded and animated could duplicate that second of raw humanity and pain. No computer generated character could transcend its programming to achieve that moment of greatness.

And so it is for a thousand other moments in film. In writing. In music. In art.

AI might imitate humanity, but it can never BE human.

If the bean counters get their way and replace human creatives with software then the future of movies and television will be one of bland cartoon imitation without those moments of brilliance that transcend the art.

Pay the writers.

Pay the actors.

Pay the musicians.

Pay the grips and the gaffers and the camera operators and the animal wranglers and the location scouts and all those people whose names appear in the end credits and we never bother to know but without true art could not exist.

If you're worried about profit, well, you could always replace the executives with AI.

[Thanks Jim Wright]

Business Executives always imagine they can do work without workers, make movies about people without people, write books without writers, make music without musicians, and make art without artists.

Strange how they can never imagine profit without themselves.

[Jim Wright]