Hollywood actors go on strike

Union chairman Fran Drescher (“The Nanny”) raised serious allegations against the film studios. “We are the victims here,” she emphasized. The decision to strike was expected after an agreement period in negotiations with the TV and film studio association AMPTP expired without result. In the talks with the association, which also represents Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Disney, the unionists also called in an arbitrator. The union represents around 160,000 actors in the United States. The strike decision is another hard blow to the US entertainment industry. The screenwriters have been refusing to work since the beginning of May.

Drescher sharply criticized the studios. They “wasted” a twelve-day extension of the deadline and hardly moved. “I am shocked at how we are treated by the people we work with.” She couldn’t believe how the studios are behaving poorly and at the same time “paying out hundreds of millions to their bosses. It’s disgusting,” said the trade unionist. Crabtree-Ireland was outraged that employers had suggested actors be scanned so that their images could be used “for all eternity”. Nevertheless, he signaled a willingness to negotiate. “We are ready when they are,” he said when asked about a return to the negotiating table.

Among other things, the actors are demanding better remuneration and regulation of the use of artificial intelligence in the industry. According to her, both creative industries – authors and actors – are suffering from the fact that more films and series are being produced, but budgets are falling and series are often shot with fewer episodes per season. In addition, unlike on television, repetitions with streaming providers would bring lower royalties for the creatives and they would be independent of the number of viewers.

Around 65,000 union members took part in a ballot on June 7, and 97.9 percent were in favor of a strike. In addition, stars such as Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Ben Stiller and Pedro Pascal publicly expressed their solidarity. The scriptwriters’ strike is already having an impact on viewers, for example many late-night shows can no longer be broadcast as usual. According to estimates by US media, films and series could hardly be shot in the event of a double strike.

The US actors last went on strike in 1980. At that time, the strike lasted more than three months. The last double strike by actors and screenwriters was in 1960.