The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is in the middle of negotiating a seminal contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in hopes of promoting a healthy workplace and ethics between actors and Hollywood studios. If the two organizations do not reach an agreement by the end of the month, actors would freely walk away from sets, the same scenario that occurred during the writers strike that took place early in May.
Writers leaving their workplace has already affected many projects, with production houses either shutting down or choosing to continue without any writers on board. If actors ultimately leave the sets, Hollywood will collapse.
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More Celebrities Join The Fight And Threaten SAG To Strike If Demands Aren’t Fulfilled
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher released a statement earlier this week to provide an update regarding the negotiations:
“I just want to assure you that we are having extremely productive negotiations that are laser-focused on all of the crucial issues you told us are most important to you. We’re standing strong, and we’re going to achieve a seminal deal.”
More than 300 actors signed a letter urging the SAG to assure all demands are met and addressed it to the SAG-AFTRA Leadership and Negotiating Committee. Prolific celebrities such as Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Rami Malek, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ben Stiller, Neil Patrick Harris, Amy Poehler, and Amy Schumer joined the petition.
The letter contained the actors’ sentiments toward their job being disregarded for the past few years (via Rolling Stone):
“We hope you’ve heard the message from us: This is an unprecedented inflection point in our industry, and what might be considered a good deal in any other years is simply not enough. We feel that our wages, our craft, our creative freedom, and the power of our union have all been undermined in the last decade. We need to reverse those trajectories.”
With only a few days left to make an agreement, actors who signed the letter confessed that they are prepared to strike if the organization fails to meet their demands. The letter also addressed many dilemmas that actors face which include the minimum wage, pensions, healthcare, and the use of artificial intelligence.
The Writers Guild of America went on strike back in May after the organization failed to reach an agreement with Hollywood studios.
Public Shows Support For Actors And Writers
Fans displayed moral support for actors and writers amid the strike and negotiations deals. Several movie and television projects will be delayed if the issue will not be addressed. Check out what people are saying on Twitter:
I support the writers!
Actors are nothing without writers!
Pay the writers!
END THIS STRIKE NOW!!!!!
— Max Powers (@MaxPowers44) June 28, 2023
Actors are getting screwed out of residuals due to streaming. Day players are getting paid a flat fee while streaming platforms and execs make money hand over fist.
It’s not like it used to be. Streaming and the threat of AI have changed the game for the worst. pic.twitter.com/MvKa6E8kY3— R U Kitten Me 🟧 (@AugustEnchanted) June 27, 2023
The industry is on fire rn😭 but im glad. Ppl think hollywood is just this big think where everyone is on a diff world. Had that been the case unions would have never been made. They are there for a reason and im glad they are exercising their rights
— vale✨ (@SelfStan) June 28, 2023
now all we need is an artist/animators’ strike
— mike/nata 🥀🩷 idvedtwt (@natajokr) June 28, 2023
Settle with WGA first or SAG won’t have to worry about any acting parts
— catcrazy (@bungeeh) June 27, 2023
Many praised the actors for speaking up and exercising their rights, while others expressed their admiration for their favorite stars who are leading the battle against the unfair treatment of artists.
Sources: Rolling Stone, Twitter
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