Actors join writers on strike, shutting down Hollywood film and TV productions – NBC Los Angeles

Members of the actors union SAG-AFTRA joined writers on picket lines in the greater Los Angeles area, marking the first time in 63 years that both unions have gone on strike at the same time.

Many Hollywood watchers fear the union standoff could last for months with unions and production companies estranged on key issues, which could cost more than $3 billion.

Dozens of productions have been shut down, including the highly anticipated “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two” starring Tom Cruise, the Clint Eastwood directed “Juror #2” and “Gladiator 2” starring Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal. On the television side, “1923” starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, HBO’s “Pretty Little Liars: Summer School” and the long-running Showtime series “Billions” have halted production.

Additionally, the Daytime Emmy Awards, originally scheduled for June 17, have been postponed until labor disputes are resolved.

The Primetime Emmy nominees were announced on Wednesday, but actors represented by the striking union SAG-AFTRA will be barred from campaigning for their support.

SAG-AFTRA members set up picket lines outside major Hollywood studios at 9 a.m. Friday, including Warner Bros. and Disney in Burbank, Amazon and Sony in Culver City, Paramount and Netflix in Hollywood, and Fox in West Los Angeles.

We’re here for the long haul,’ SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher told reporters Friday morning on the picket line when asked about the possibility of a prolonged union stalemate. “…It’s not something that’s going to go away quickly unless they (the studios) come to the table and come to their senses. Unless someone has the character and the guts to walk into that boardroom and say, “People make our business. They are the center of the wheel. If we don’t make them happy, what do we do? They must be happy. These are the performers. We must honor and respect them for their massive contribution to this industry.”

On Thursday, the union’s national council voted unanimously to issue a strike order – leading Drescher to angrily denounce major studios as ‘a very greedy entity’, while the studios’ bargaining arm hit back that he had offered “historic” benefit increases. .

The strike order went into effect at midnight Thursday and, beginning Friday morning, SAG-AFTRA joined picket lines with the Writers Guild of America, which is in the 11th week of its own strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

AMPTP represents studios, networks and streaming services. The Actors’ Union represents approximately 160,000 performers.

Thursday’s strike announcement – made jointly by Drescher and the union’s national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland – follows the expiration of the union’s contract with the AMPTP at midnight on Wednesday and the talks failed.

It is with great sadness that we have come to this crossroads, Drescher said at a press conference Thursday at SAG-AFTRA headquarters.

But we had no choice. We are the victims here. We are victims of a very greedy entity. I am shocked at the way the people we have dealt with treat us. I can’t believe, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things.

How they’re pleading poverty, losing money left and right, handing hundreds of millions to CEOs. It’s disgusting. Shame on them. They’re standing on the wrong side of history right now.”

Drescher went on to say that “at some point, the template is in – you can’t continue to be diminished and marginalized and disrespected and disgraced.”

Of the now-completed negotiations, Drescher said: “There was nothing there. It was insulting. … You can’t change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect to what the contract also changes.”

Following the union’s announcement of the strike, the AMPTP issued a statement on Thursday saying, “AMPTP member companies have entered into negotiations with SAG-AFTRA with the aim of forging a new mutually beneficial contract. .

The statement went on to say, “The AMPTP introduced an agreement that offered historic salary and residual increases, significantly higher caps on pension and health contributions, hearing protections, option periods shortened serials and a revolutionary AI proposition that protects actors’ digital likenesses for SAG-AFTRA Members.

A strike is certainly not the outcome we were hoping for because studios cannot function without the artists who bring our TV shows and movies to life. The Union has unfortunately chosen a path which will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.

It was unclear whether further negotiations were planned. SAG-AFTRA officials told reporters Thursday morning they were ready to resume the negotiation process, but said the studios were unwilling to do so.

The SAG-AFTRA/WGA double-barreled strike marks the first time since 1960 that both unions have hit Hollywood at the same time.

The WGA emailed its members shortly after SAG-AFTRA’s strike declaration, saying, ‘We strongly support our union brothers and sisters at SAG-AFTRA as they begin their work stoppage. ”

The AMPTP has been unwilling to respond to justifiable demands from actors and writers at the bargaining table in 2023,’ the WGA’s statement to its members said. “…SAG-AFTRA has supported the WGA since the beginning of our negotiations, joining our picket lines and rallies across the country each day the writers are on strike. We are committed to our full support of SAG-AFTRA as ‘They’re on strike to get the contract they deserve.’

Thursday’s developments followed an 11 a.m. flurry of activity on Tuesday, with SAG-AFTRA announcing that it had accepted a “last minute request” from AMPTP for federal mediation. But the union again refused to extend its existing contract past the 11:59 p.m. Wednesday bargaining deadline.

Disney CEO Bob Iger made headlines Thursday during an interview with CNBC, saying the strikers’ expectations were “unrealistic.”

As an industry, we were able to negotiate a very good deal with the Directors Guild that reflects the value that directors bring to this great business,” said Iger. “We wanted to do the same with the writers, and we would like to do the same with the actors.”

But, he added, ‘there’s a level of expectation that they have that just isn’t realistic, and they add to a set of challenges that this business is already facing that are, quite frankly, very disruptive.

Union leaders countered that those statements were misplaced, noting the huge salaries of studio executives like Iger while many actors and writers struggle to live and pay their bills.

SAG-AFTRA’s contract was originally set to expire on June 30, but the union and AMPTP have agreed to an extension so talks can continue. The Actors’ Union represents approximately 160,000 performers.

The actors union is focusing on many of the same issues that prompted the WGA to call the strike on May 2, including calls for revised residual formulas for streaming content and protections against the use of intelligence artificial in film and television production.

The actors union has not gone on strike since 1980. The WGA went on strike for 100 days beginning in 2007.

Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP began on June 7.

AMPTP has already entered into a three-year contract with the Directors Guild of America. The pact was massively ratified by DGA members on 24 June.

The DGA-AMPTP deal includes a 12.5% ​​salary increase over three years for administrators, as well as a “substantial” increase in residuals for streaming content, including a 76% increase in residuals strangers for the biggest platforms and mutual confirmation. that artificial intelligence is not a person and cannot replace the functions performed by members of the DGA.

This agreement was reached after less than a month of negotiations, before the expiry on June 30 of the previous DGA contract.