Meryl Streep, Pedro Pascal, Jennifer Lawrence, Brendan Fraser, Glenn Close, Ben Stiller or Eva Longoria are some of the big stars who have publicly expressed their support for the strike of Hollywood actors. And there have already been many actors who have sympathized with the protests of the scriptwriters. They are just a representation because the union has the support of 97.91% of its members to organize a strike if the negotiations that end on July 13 do not evolve favourably.
In case of going on strike, none of the members of the union will be allowed to work as an actor inside or outside the United Stateswhich would mean the total stoppage of filming. Nor will they be able to participate in the promotion of titles even if they were done before the strike. One of the most imminent visible consequences, in addition to the delay of many premieres, could be for the Emmy gala, whose nominations will be announced today, and which is scheduled to take place on September 18. In fact, Variety publishes exclusively that November or January are the months that are handled to mark a new date. The Television Academy and the Fox network, which broadcasts the gala, are debating the date for the 75th edition of the Emmy Awards, given the more than likely strike of interpreters. The first opts to move it to November, while Fox is more inclined to celebrate it in January 2024.
Series like ‘Stranger Things’ or the second season of ‘The House of the Dragon’, the prequel to ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Cobra Kai’ had already been affected by the writers’ strike, but if confirmed the strike of actors and actresses could be many more titles that delay their filming and, therefore, also its premiere. It could be, for example, the case of the second season of ‘The last of us’among many others from a long list, which would mean large losses for the sector.
What does the strike mean?
The Actors Union (SAG-AFTRA) represents more than 160,000 performerss and is in full negotiation of its claims with the Association of Film and Television Producers (AMPT), which represents the studios and streaming services. Among the demands of the interpreters are the ssalary increase to compensate for inflation and also the fact that the series are increasingly shorter. As in the case of scriptwriters, they seek that the use of Artificial Intelligence be regulated and also the normalization of virtual casting, a widespread practice since the pandemic. Other issues such as the exclusivity of the series or the collection of royalties are also on the table.
Taking into account that the Hollywood industry generates more than 170,000 million eurosa strike by actors and actresses together with that of scriptwriters would mean a debacle for the audiovisual sector, which would also coincide with a delicate moment in the streaming industry. It is hard to think that the platforms can afford to lose all the productions from the United States and Canada at this time, no matter how much they have incorporated original series from other territories.
