Hollywood actors may be on the verge of joining in what would be the first two-union strike in the industry in more than six decades, with huge consequences for film and television production. Here is a look at how it could play out, and why it鈥檚 happening.
WHAT鈥橲 HAPPENING WITH ACTORS鈥� NEGOTIATIONS?
The contract between the and the studios, streaming services and production companies that employ them expires Friday night at midnight Pacific time.
Unionized to authorize their leaders to call a strike when it does. But that鈥檚 hardly a hard deadline. Both sides have indicated a willingness to talk for what may be several days past the expiration, as happened before resolutions were reached in the same negotiations in 2014 and 2017.
Reports have said the talks have been productive. But some actors have expressed worry that their leaders may not be pushing hard enough.
More than 1,000 of them, including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Bob Odenkirk, have added their names to a letter to negotiators saying they are willing to strike, and are concerned they are 鈥渞eady to make sacrifices that leadership is not.鈥� The letter says 鈥渢his is not a moment to meet in the middle.鈥�
The guild, led by president and former 鈥淣anny鈥� star Fran Drescher, represents over 160,000 screen actors, stunt performers, broadcast journalists, announcers, and hosts, but a strike would involve only actors working on television shows and films.
WHAT DO THE ACTORS WANT?
Many of the same issues that are on the table for actors, including what the guilds say is shrinking compensation brought on by a in which royalty payments are no longer tethered to the popularity of a film or TV show.
A role or a writing credit on a show that became a hit with a long life in reruns is no longer the cash cow that it once was. And the unions say inflation is outpacing the scheduled pay bumps within their contracts.
For both scribes and performers, the move to streaming and its ripple effects have also meant shorter seasons of shows with longer gaps between them, and therefore less work.
And like the writers, actors fear the threat of . SAG-AFTRA said in a memo to members that the burgeoning ability of AI to recreate the performances of its members is 鈥渁 real and immediate threat鈥� that it wants to head off.
Issues particular to actors include the new and increasing burden of self-taped auditions 鈥� the cost of which used to be the responsibility of casting and productions.
HAVE HOLLYWOOD ACTORS GONE ON STRIKE BEFORE?
Movie and TV actors last went on strike for three months in 1980, though actors in broadcast commercials have gone on strike twice since then.
Overall they have had far more labor peace than screenwriters, whose walkouts have been far more frequent. That includes the current standoff, in which 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike for nearly two months, with no end in sight.
In 1960 the actors鈥� union, led by then-SAG president and future U.S. President Ronald Reagan, went on strike for six weeks that fell in the middle of a five-month writers鈥� strike, the only time two major Hollywood unions walked off the job at the same time.
Actors have shown broad support for striking writers, and many have joined them on picket lines in an act of what has so far been symbolic solidarity.
WHAT EFFECT WOULD THE COMBINED STRIKES HAVE FOR VIEWERS?
The writers鈥� strike had an on late-night network talk shows, including NBC鈥檚 鈥淭he Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,鈥� ABC鈥檚 鈥� Live!鈥� and CBS鈥檚 鈥淭he Late Show With Stephen Colbert,鈥� which all went on hiatus immediately. 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� axed its last three episodes of the season.
In the two months since, many scripted television series have also shut down, including Netflix鈥檚 鈥淪tranger Things,鈥� Max鈥檚 鈥淗acks,鈥� Showtime鈥檚 鈥淵ellow Jackets,鈥� and Apple TV+鈥檚 鈥淪everance.鈥� Some movies have reportedly also been paused.
Actors joining writers would force nearly every other show or film that hasn鈥檛 already been shot into a similar shutdown. would be delayed indefinitely, and movie releases will be pushed back.
Streaming menus on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video will show no immediate differences, though lovers of those outlets鈥� original series would eventually have to wait longer for their favorites to return.
Exceptions would be productions taking place outside the United States. And reality shows, game shows and most daytime talk shows will likely be unaffected.
The two strikes are also casting doubt on the viability of the , whose nominations are scheduled to be announced on July 12 before a September ceremony, though the and managed to shows go on despite the writers strike.
WHAT鈥橲 HAPPENING WITH THE WRITERS?
The has seen persistent picketing and some for two months, but so far no movement. There are no current negotiations happening between the strikers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, streamers and production companies in all the industry鈥檚 union negotiations. The longest previous writers strike, in 1988, lasted five months.
Along with the issues they have in common with actors, writers are especially concerned with the shrinking staffs that are used on shows, which they call 鈥渕ini-rooms.鈥� They have meant much less work, and far fewer guarantees of future work.
The AMPTP says the writers鈥� demands would require that they be kept on staff and paid when there is no work for them. The group also said that it had offered generous pay increases.
The two sides were so far apart on its negotiations that talks broke off hours before the contract expired. No one expects that will happen on Friday with actors, but whether a strike can be avoided in the coming days remains to be seen.
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