Hollywood enters a crisis: Actors did not reach an agreement – Cinema and Tv – Culture

The Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) announced that the talks for the renewal of a collective agreement with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP) culminated unsuccessfully

“SAG-AFTRA negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach an agreement, (…) but the responses of the AMPTP to the most important proposals of the union have been insulting,” said the president of the union, Fran Drescher. The union, which represents more than 160,000 actors, announced that in the morning the union’s national board will hold a meeting to formally approve the launch of a strike that could cause the industry to Hollywood comes to a standstill.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), which represents some 160,000 artists, including movie starshad warned that they would go on strike if they did not receive a response to their demands by midnight on Wednesday.

(More information: Hollywood trembles before an imminent threat of strike of actors).

Negotiations focus on salary increases and other benefits, in addition to defining the use of artificial intelligence in the production of films and television programs. If the negotiations failed, the actors are expected to go to the protest pickets and join the scriptwriters who have been outside the studios for more than two months as disney and netflix in claim for similar requests.

The consequences

Consequently, the stars they couldn’t promote their movies, right in the American summer, the key season for the release of blockbuster films. The actors have not gone on strike against the studios since 1980. This would also be the first time that writers and artists will stop simultaneously in more than sixty years. On Tuesday night, the union expressed skepticism about the studios’ willingness to reach an agreement, accusing them of “organizing a cynical blueprint to devise another extension” by bringing in mediators from the federal level to unravel the knots in the talks. For the union, the studies had “more than enough time to reach a fair agreement”

The writers’ strike had already reduced the number of movies and shows in production in Hollywood, but if actors go on a sit-down, the industry must go on hiatus. Some reality, animation and talk shows could continue. But drama series and other shows that were due to return to television this year will face delays. And if the strikes spread, the next blockbuster productions will also be put on hiatus. The union strike would also put a stop to red carpets and promotional events.

Another topic: Hollywood scriptwriters: a month of strike and no hope of reaching an agreement

In London, the debut night of “Openheimer”by Christopher Nolan, was brought forward by an hour so that the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, who are part of the cast, could participate without violating union rules. The Red carpet of the film in the United States was scheduled for Monday in New York, but in this new setting, the event looks unlikely.

comic-con, the massive party from the world of pop culture taking place in San Diego next week, could also run out of stars. Until the ceremony of Emmy Awards September 18 could be postponed to November or even left for next year. “We hope that the ongoing union negotiations will reach a quick and equitable solution,” said Frank Scherma, head of the Television Academy, announcing the nominations for the 75th edition of the awards on Wednesday.

The last time Hollywood actors and screenwriters went unemployed simultaneously was in 1960, when Ronald Reagan, actor and future president of the United States, led an action that eventually forced the studios to back down. This time the actors, like the scriptwriters who have already been on the picket lines for eleven weeks, are asking salary increases to face inflation and financial guarantees in their profession.

Artists receive “residual” payments made each time the channels air a movie or show in which they starred, particularly useful when in between projects. But today, platforms like Netflix and Disney+ keep viewing statistics under lock and key, offering the same rate for everything they stream in their catalogues, regardless of popularity.

On the other hand, both actors and screenwriters want guarantees that the future use of artificial intelligence will be regulated, but the studios have refused to budge. Earlier on Wednesday, unions representing directors and workers in the industry released a statement expressing their “unwavering support and solidarity” with the actors.

“Although the studios are collectively worth trillions of dollars, billions of viewers worldwide and high profits, this fight is not between the actors and the studios“, reads the text. And he added that the workers of the industry are united “to prevent megacorporations from destroying the conditions for which we had to fight for decades.”

EFE AND AFP

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