Anurag Kumar
The Los Angeles branch of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has gone on strike, causing the biggest closure in the film business in 40 years.
The union has taken this action to exert pressure on streaming titans to meet their demands, which include a more equitable profit-sharing structure and enhanced working conditions.
160,000 performers will join the strike, joining a separate strike by writers fighting for similar rights and improved treatment in the industry.
The decision to strike follows the failure of last-ditch negotiations to produce a satisfactory agreement. The actors are requesting higher pay, better working conditions, and a guarantee from streaming services that artificial intelligence and computer-generated features and voices will not replace human actors.
Christopher Nolan, the film’s director, revealed that Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt fled the Oppenheimer premiere when the strike began.
During a news conference conducted in California, the executive director and chief negotiator of the union emphasised that the strike is “an instrument of last resort.”
He stated, “They’ve left us with no alternative.”
The day before, negotiations between the union known as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and major studios reached an impasse, resulting in a unanimous resolution in favour of strike action by the union’s negotiating committee.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios, was disappointed by the breakdown of negotiations. In a statement, they admitted that “a strike is certainly not the outcome we had hoped for, as studios cannot operate without the performers who bring our TV shows and films to life.”
In addition, the statement lamented, “The Union has regrettably chosen a course of action that will cause financial hardships for tens of thousands of people who rely on the industry.”
In the meantime, the Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2, demanding higher wages and better working conditions. As an alternative employment option, some writers have turned to non-contracted freelance economy work.
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The occurrence of a “double strike” by both unions is unprecedented since 1960, when actor and former U.S. president Ronald Reagan lead the SAG. The last significant strike by actors occurred in 1980.
In June, the Directors Guild of America effectively negotiated a contract and will no longer participate in the ongoing strike.
