Story by AFP • 1h ago
Stars including Ben Schwarz joined rank-and-file actors on the picket lines in Los Angeles© Michael Tran
Honking horns, simmering heat, a smattering of stars, and a lot of anger at Disney boss Bob Iger.
The Hollywood actors' strike kicked off on a sweltering Friday morning in Los Angeles, just over 24 hours after contract talks collapsed with studios.
Several hundred actors swelled the ranks of picketing television and movie writers, who have been pounding the palm tree-lined sidewalks outside Netflix, Warner, Paramount and more for well over two months already.
Recent comments by Disney CEO Bob Iger drew the ire of many striking Hollywood actors© KEVIN WINTER
"No contracts? No actors! No wages? No pages!" went the chants, as organizers from both unions begged strikers to keep hydrated and stay off the roads, where passing cars and trucks blared their horns in support.
Actors swelled have the ranks of television and movie writers, who have been pounding the palm tree-lined sidewalks outside Paramount and other studios for over two months© DAVID MCNEW
"It's a wonderful celebration of workers. This is more than an entertainment industry labor strike -- it's all of labor, all over the country and the world," said "Titanic" star Frances Fisher, 71.
"Everybody's standing up," she told AFP, yards award from the historic arched entryway to Paramount Picture studio.
Actress Mandy Moored joins SAG-AFTRA and WGA members on the picket line at The Walt Disney studios© KEVIN WINTER
Chanting writers welcomed the new influx of noticeably louder voices from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), and expressed hope that the arrival of globally recognizable faces should bring renewed attention to the movements.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher was swarmed by fellow actors outside Netflix as the Hollywood actors' strike began© VALERIE MACON
Stars including Allison Janney ("The West Wing"), Mandy Moore ("This is Us"), and Ben Schwartz ("Sonic the Hedgehog") joined rank-and-file actors on the picket lines, while Jason Sudeikis and Susan Sarandon showed up across the country at protests in New York.
"It feels historic," said Zev Frank, 36, a writer on Amazon Prime series "Patriot."
"To see them show up like this, in huge numbers, it feels different today. It feels electric."
"We're part of an industry that has so many people that are front-facing, so that extra PR is gonna be helpful, said Tien Tran, 36, star of sitcom "How I Met Your Father."
- 'Disgusting' -
Among other demands, SAG-AFTRA is asking studios for pay rises to keep pace with inflation, a greater share in the profit of hit shows or films.
Those proposals were dismissed by Disney CEO Bob Iger this week as "unrealistic" -- comments that invoked fury among several strikers interviewed by AFP.
"He's refurnishing his house right now for $5 million, and these people don't even have health insurance... it's disrespectful and disgusting," said Shawn Richardz, an actress who has appeared in "Treme" and "Nip/Tuck."
"This guy is saying we're asking for unrealistic things? Are you kidding me?"
"That was a really prime example of the mindset of the people on top," agreed actor E.J. Arriola 42.
"As artists, we've been around for so long, and there doesn't seem to be any sort of respect."
Many heaped praised on SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, whose similar language in a press conference announcing the strike Thursday went viral.
She was swarmed by fellow actors outside Netflix on Friday, as the crowd cheered her comments and took them up as chants.
Elsewhere, among the hundreds of SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America signs, placards from other Hollywood unions representing behind-the scenes crew and transport workers were visible among the marchers.
"I have no sets to build without actors," read one slogan.
Both of those guilds re-negotiate their own contracts with studios next year.
"If they need to walk off the job, then we're going to be there to support them too," said Frank, the writer.
amz/caw
Hollywood studios allegedly want screenwriters to lose homes before negotiating, sources say
Story by National Post Staff • 4h ago
Striking WGA workers march in solidarity on the picket line outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel on July 3, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.© Provided by National Post
Hollywood executives are allegedly delaying talks with the Writers Guild of America until screenwriters are cash-strapped in order to hold sway over negotiations, insiders told Deadline.
“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told the publication , with another source calling it a “cruel but necessary evil.”
WGA went on strike on May 2 and has not met with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Studios have no plans to meet with the WGA until the fall, another source, a top producer, told Deadline: “Not Halloween precisely, but late October, for sure, is the intention.”
AMPTP has since denied the allegations, telling Deadline “these anonymous people are not speaking on behalf of the AMPTP or member companies, who are committed to reaching a deal and getting our industry back to work.”
Sean Penn, backing WGA strike, says AI dispute is 'a human obscenity' at Cannes Film Festival
Some writers seem to believe the report is a negotiating tactic intended to create a rift within the WGA.
“They were planning for a three month strike — not Halloween,” writer Joe Russo wrote on Twitter. “They need projects up again or they’ll get killed after their quarterly earnings calls (at the) end of July.”
“After 70+ days with no writers to create their product for them, the pipeline is running dry. Their stock price isn’t tanking yet,” wrote writer David Slack. “If they don’t make a deal with us, it will.”
“What an inept attempt to scare WGA members into turning on each other,” wrote journalist Mark Harris.
On July 13, the Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood’s actors union, voted to join screenwriters on the picket line. The two guilds have similar issues with studios and streaming services.
They are concerned about contracts keeping up with inflation and about residual payments, which compensate creators and actors for use of their material beyond the original airing, such as in reruns or on streaming services.
The unions also want to put up guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence mimicking their work on film and television.
According to Deadline, studios hope to bring actors to the negotiating table within a few weeks.
Additional reporting from Associated Press
Story by National Post Staff • 4h ago
Striking WGA workers march in solidarity on the picket line outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel on July 3, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.© Provided by National Post
Hollywood executives are allegedly delaying talks with the Writers Guild of America until screenwriters are cash-strapped in order to hold sway over negotiations, insiders told Deadline.
“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told the publication , with another source calling it a “cruel but necessary evil.”
WGA went on strike on May 2 and has not met with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Studios have no plans to meet with the WGA until the fall, another source, a top producer, told Deadline: “Not Halloween precisely, but late October, for sure, is the intention.”
AMPTP has since denied the allegations, telling Deadline “these anonymous people are not speaking on behalf of the AMPTP or member companies, who are committed to reaching a deal and getting our industry back to work.”
Sean Penn, backing WGA strike, says AI dispute is 'a human obscenity' at Cannes Film Festival
Some writers seem to believe the report is a negotiating tactic intended to create a rift within the WGA.
“They were planning for a three month strike — not Halloween,” writer Joe Russo wrote on Twitter. “They need projects up again or they’ll get killed after their quarterly earnings calls (at the) end of July.”
“After 70+ days with no writers to create their product for them, the pipeline is running dry. Their stock price isn’t tanking yet,” wrote writer David Slack. “If they don’t make a deal with us, it will.”
“What an inept attempt to scare WGA members into turning on each other,” wrote journalist Mark Harris.
On July 13, the Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood’s actors union, voted to join screenwriters on the picket line. The two guilds have similar issues with studios and streaming services.
They are concerned about contracts keeping up with inflation and about residual payments, which compensate creators and actors for use of their material beyond the original airing, such as in reruns or on streaming services.
The unions also want to put up guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence mimicking their work on film and television.
According to Deadline, studios hope to bring actors to the negotiating table within a few weeks.
Additional reporting from Associated Press
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