Hollywood TV and film productions have shut down due to a historic WGA and SAG-AFTRA writers strike, with actors and union members joining in the fight.
Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actor Guild (SAG-AFTRA) union members are protesting “exorbitant pay for entertainment moguls and worried about not receiving a fair share of the spoils of a streaming-dominated future,” according to The New York Times.
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SAG-AFTRA’s National Board officially called a strike against major film and TV companies on July 13 as prior contract talks with studios and streamers resulted in no new deal negotiations.
Over 160,000 union members and actors joined the 11,500 screenwriters already on strike who walked out from the industry in May. One of the main concerns raised is the increased use of artificial intelligence.
“With the Screen Actors Guild joining the Writers Guild of America on strike, film and TV production has now grounded to a halt,” said Third Bridge analyst Jamie Lumley. “This comes amid the increasing pressure on traditional linear distribution models and the ongoing rise of streaming, which continues to change how content is consumed and monetized.”
He added, “With actors and writers seeing contracts and royalties heavily impacted by streaming, the stakes are high for everyone at the negotiating table.”
To date, all late-night talk shows have been temporarily cancelled, with some movie sets now paused from shooting due to writers and actors walking out.
Actors including Jason Sudeikis, Olivia Wilde, Rosario Dawson, Susan Surandon, Joey King, and more took to the streets of New York and Los Angeles in solidarity with the writers and fellow actors fighting for better residual payment and contract regulations.
“The industry that we once knew — when I did ‘The Nanny’ — everybody was part of the gravy train,” actress Fran Drescher, and the president of the actors’ union, said while announcing the walkout. “Now it’s a walled-in vacuum.”
Box offices and television stations everywhere are taking a massive hit financially, with the movie industry down 21 percent (roughly $4.9 billion) in the United States and Canada compared to pre-pandemic times in 2019.
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