These are turbulent times in Hollywood. Eight weeks after the scriptwriters’ strike began, which has paralyzed an important part of the activity in the union, the threat of the actors looms. In a letter, signed by more than 300 interpretersThey contemplate the possibility of a strike if the union’s negotiating committee, Sag-Aftra, does not reach an agreement with the studios that satisfies their demands before June 30.
Among the signatories there are heavyweights from the world of cinema, such as Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Jennifer Lawrence, Ben Stiller, Amy Schumer, Amy Poehler, Laura Linney, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Liam Neeson or Neil Patrick Harris, all of them concerned about the principle that Fran Drescher, president of the union, seems to have reached. “We are having extremely productive negotiations that are focused on all the crucial issues that are important to you,” Drescher said in a video this week. “We remain firm and we are going to reach a fruitful agreement.”
However, an important part of the actors does not see it so clearly. “We believe our salaries, our trade, our creative freedom and the power of our union have been undermined in the last decade,” they say in the letter that has circulated in recent hours. “This is an unprecedented turning point in our industry, and what could be considered good business in years ago is simply not enough today.
They maintain that “with inflation and the sustained growth of the streaming“A radical change is necessary in the conditions of the minimum wage and the income from royalties, demands similar to those of the scriptwriters. They also demand that much attention be paid to the impact artificial intelligence can have on your work in the next years. “We believe it is absolutely vital that this deal not only protects our image, but also ensures that we are well compensated when some of our work is used to train artificial intelligence.”
This is an issue that also came up in the negotiations between the major studios and the writers union. It has been almost two months since the strike began and there is still no sign of reaching an agreement. The blow is being notable for the economy of Los Angeles. The list of affected businesses is extensive, an added difficulty after overcoming the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.