Actors union will go on strike, shutting down Hollywood

Hollywood actors are officially headed to the picket line.

Unable to scope a woody with producers, members of The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists volition articulation up with much than 11,000 already striking movie and tv writers starting astatine midnight.

"We are the victims here," said Fran Drescher, president of the union, during a property league Thursday. "We are being victimized by a precise greedy entity. I americium shocked by the mode the radical that we person been successful concern with are treating us."

"It is disgusting," she said. "Shame connected them."

The failed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers means movie and tv productions featuring actors volition instantly halt, fundamentally shutting down Hollywood. It'll beryllium the archetypal tandem onslaught successful Hollywood since 1960.

The actors national had already granted 1 hold to its contract, which was primitively acceptable to expire July 1, and said it would not concede another.

Heading into negotiations past month, Hollywood performers were looking to amended wages, moving conditions and wellness and pension benefits, arsenic good arsenic make guardrails for the usage of artificial intelligence successful aboriginal tv and movie productions.

The Writers Guild of America, which has been connected onslaught since May, is seeking higher compensation and residuals, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to streaming shows, arsenic good arsenic caller rules that volition necessitate studios to unit tv shows with a definite fig of writers for a circumstantial period. The guild besides is seeking compensation passim the process of pre-production, accumulation and post-production. Currently, writers are often expected to supply revisions oregon trade caller worldly without being paid.

The WGA besides shares akin concerns implicit the usage of artificial quality erstwhile it comes to publication writing.

SAG-AFTRA said producers person been unwilling to connection its members a just woody and person worked to hold negotiations.

In remarks earlier Thursday's property conference, Drescher called the AMPTP's effect to actors' proposals "insulting and disrespectful."

Her comments travel arsenic reports person surfaced astir tactics workplace producers allegedly program to instrumentality against writers, namely, that producers don't program connected attempting to negociate with writers for respective months. According to the reports, producers expect writers will tally retired of wealth and perchance suffer their homes and beryllium forced to travel to the bargaining table.

While the AMPTP has denied these reports, workplace executives person remained outspoken astir what they see unreasonable declaration requests.

"We managed arsenic an manufacture to negociate a precise bully woody with the Directors Guild, that reflects the worth that the directors lend to this large business," Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC connected Thursday morning, up of SAG-AFTRA's announcement. "We wanted to bash the aforesaid happening with the writers. And we'd similar to bash the aforesaid happening with the actors. There's a level of anticipation that they person that is conscionable not realistic. And they are adding to the acceptable of challenges that this concern is already facing, that is rather frankly, precise disruptive."

Iger noted that the manufacture has not wholly recovered from the coronavirus pandemic and these strikes travel astatine "the worst clip successful the world."

"It volition person a very, precise damaging effect connected the full business," helium said. "And unluckily there's immense collateral harm to the industry, to radical who are, you know, enactment services. I could spell connected and on. It volition impact the system of antithetic regions, even, due to the fact that of the sheer size of the business. It's a shame. It is truly a shame."

Disclosure: Comcast is the genitor institution of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is simply a subordinate of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

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