What is SAG-AFTRA? It is a joint group of two of the greatest American labor unions. SAG, or the Screen Actors Guild, consists of movie actors, television artists, and background performers. AFTRA, or the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, is a union of television and radio performers, announcers, recording artists, singers, etc. Both these unions merged on March 30, 2012, to form the much bigger union known as SAG-AFTRA. It represents over 1,60,000 media artists. In this blog, we will take a close look at the impact of SAG-AFTRA strike on TV and movies.
On May 2, 2023, the WGA, or the Writers Guild of America, started a strike over a labor dispute with the AMPTP. What is AMPTP? It’s the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers based in Los Angeles, California. To put the entire cause of the strike in a nutshell, the writers didn’t want “the studios” to use AI (like ChatGPT) for writing scripts, plots, etc. And, they also wanted their other demands, like better compensation, to be met by the studios.
Weeks later, the members of SAG-AFTRA joined forces with those of WGA in their demands for fair compensation. This is the first time in 63 years that actors and writers are simultaneously going on a strike. The actors started supporting the writers and the combined strike began in full swing when the negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP (including studios, such as Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, and Netflix) didn’t go well in the actors’ favor.
During the London premiere of the movie, “Oppenheimer,” directed by Christopher Nolan, the film’s cast started walking out of the premiere when they heard about the strike. Nolan has stated that he supports the members on strike in their demands for a fair and equitable contract.
Both the writers and actors have been seeing the strike as the only option to have all their demands met.
Owing to the strike, thousands of people in the film and television industry are subjected to financial hardships. Now, actors cannot work in major feature films or scripted television. Nor can they promote their movies that are under contract.
Many actors and actresses state that the strike includes their opposition to companies using AI against their consent. Some Hollywood companies use actors for just a day, after which they are scanned and their AI likenesses are used in various future projects. In addition to not getting the actors’ consent, the companies are not paying the actors for using their AI likenesses.
Lots of projects are getting awfully delayed because of the strike. Movies like Deadpool 3, Gladiator 2, Dune 2, and Avatar 3 and 4, are under a halt. And, a number of TV shows like Stranger Things, Citadel, The Last of Us, and Euphoria are also getting delayed.
Actors and writers have been appearing on picket lines. Fran Drescher, SAG’s president, has stated that the strike happened as a result of actors feeling “disrespected” by the studios.
Several TV series and movies have canceled production. Without actors on sets, not much can be done. This is an impact of SAG-AFTRA strike on TV and movies. So, countless people who were waiting to watch their favorite TV series and upcoming movies are now being forced to watch reruns at home!
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