Produced by: Hitansh Gaur
Actors and performers have joined the screenwriters for the biggest Hollywood strike in six decades. Actors will not appear or promote films during this period.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced on Thursday that the negotiations with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have broken down. SAG has accused the producers of not offering a fair deal.
Several promotions and red carpet events have already been affected due to the strike including screenings of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Some events that got affected are the Emmys and the San Diego Comic-Con, where Project-K is set to become the first Indian film being unveiled at the global event.
Actor Brian Cox told BBC that producers are making a lot of money with streaming deals but are refusing to share it with the actors and writers. The members have demanded a 11% increase in pay due to inflation. Actress Priyanka Chopra, who is also a SAG member, has also come out in support of the strike.
Around 1,60,000 workers stopped working last week joining the 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), who stopped working on May 2.
The two guilds are demanding the studios and streaming services to offer better pay, increase royalties and give higher contributions for their pension and health plans. The members are also demanding safeguards on the use of AI in the industry.
The studios on the other hand have said that they offered $1 billion in higher compensation and enhanced benefits before the strike began.
Some of the major productions to be halted include the much awaited sequel of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Avatar 3, Ghostbusters 4, Wonder Woman 3 and even Avatar 4. Earlier, actors of the upcoming film Oppenheimer walked off the red carpet in support of the strike.
The effect of these strikes will go beyond Hollywood as various international shows are also going to be affected. The production of Netflix hit show Stranger Things has been halted along with Chicago P.D., Young Sheldon, Family Guy and The Simpsons.