Brooke Shields' plans as president of Actors Equity Association: a position she's not unhappy with

The 1990s supermodel turned TV icon has landed a new starring role after winning the election She was appointed in late May and now represents the union, which represents more than 51,000 actors and stage managers. At the helm for the next four years, Shields has her work cut out for her. But Shields insists she is not afraid of challenges.

How can I use Brooke Shields, this thing that is separate from me, that is a job and that is some kind of commodity to make a difference for a community that has given me nothing but love and acceptance when it was not cool to cast someone who had no Broadway training, she mused in an interview with The New York Times Michael Paulson added that the theater community has always welcomed and supported her.

“Her public persona is something Shields has struggled with her entire life,” said the actress, who landed her first role at 11 months old. So how do I turn it into something I don’t dislike?

Hollywood Strikes Are Over, But the Fight Isn't

Although Shields is a household name in the industry, she is more known for her on-screen work than her stage performances. That being said, Shields has continued Broadway replacing Morticia Addams in The Addams Family and Sally Bowles in Cabaret. As Paulson notes, Shields beat out two other contenders for union president who had more significant union experience.

Shields says the first union meeting she led was like a scene from Monty Python; she didn't know the jargon or even the procedure, as Roberts Rules of Procedure“There’s a huge learning curve,” Shields said, “but I’m ready.”

As is well known, Shields is not the only '90s icon to lend his name to the union cause. Last summer, Fran Drescherknown for The Nanny, traded in her cheetah-print blazers for SAG-AFTRA union T-shirts.

“I'm shocked by the way the people we've done business with treat us,” Drescher said at a famous news conference. year A few years ago they pleaded poverty, saying they were losing money left, right and centre, while giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It's disgusting.

In 2023, the unions of film actors and screenwriters negotiated new contracts. fought for a number of things, including better working conditions, fair wages in a new streaming economy with paltry residuals, and tighter controls on the use of artificial intelligence.

After winning a tentative victory in Hollywood, unions still face future battles with studios as AI advances with minimal mitigation measures. Hollywood workers aren’t alone: ​​prominent figures, primarily from the music industry, have since called for action, saying AI poses a risk to their artistic integrity.

And some big names have started to step to the forefront because, by name and net worth, they have less to lose as their industries struggle with, at best, growing pains or, at worst, complete evisceration. Famed producer Tyler Perry recently expressed concern that AI will make jobs obsolete for Hollywood Reporteradding that he was pausing his studio's expansion after seeing OpenAI's Sora.

I absolutely think everyone needs to be involved. [deck]Tyler Perry told the newspaper that the entire industry needs to be involved. It can't be a union fighting for every contract every two or three years. I think everyone needs to be involved in how we protect the future of our industry because it's changing rapidly, right before our eyes.

What shields Children in theatre need: fair pay

It seems not everyone can afford to be on the front lines of the picket lines in this economy, given the industry's paltry wages. Former Actors Equity Association president Kate Shindle, announcement She would not run for re-election because she spent too much time on unpaid work managing members' crises, and she had too few hours to qualify for union health insurance.

While the fight against runaway AI is currently taking place primarily in Hollywood, Broadway is also taking notice. Some stars like Idina Menzel, Bette Midler and Kristin Chenoweth have spoken out against the use of AI platforms in the industry, according to The World of Broadway. And the fight for fair wages continues for creatives off-screen. Negotiations have stalled for the union, Equity Bargaining Team Chair Stephen Bogardus said in a statement. statement that the Broadway League's proposed salary plan was simply unacceptable, adding that the rate proposed for the next five years meant that members could not afford to work.

As is union Construction workers have gone on strike against development work, meaning development projects will be put on hold while negotiations are underway. People are not being paid fairly, Shields said of the strike.

Shindle stressed that her successor will have to address the depressing wages or face a looming strike. “There's a battle on multiple fronts,” she told the Timesadding that it is morally imperative for people who decide to produce theatre to build their structures around decent wages for the artists who work for them.

And years after COVID-19 first hit, Broadway is still struggling to get a strong audience back. He's obviously not fully recovered from the pandemic, Shields adds, noting, however, that there have been some refreshing new shows.

I don't like to fight, I like to argue, she said to Times, even if it is not yet time for her to hang up her boxing gloves since the battle of the artists has only just begun.