About 65,000 actors represented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) had planned to stop work and joined a strike walk by screenwriters from midnight in Los Angeles, which halted most films and TV production in the US. Picketing will begin outside the California headquarters of Netflix before moving on to Paramount, Warner Bros., and Disney.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) wants streaming giants to agree to a fairer split of profits and better working conditions. To declare the strike action, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s national executive director, said in a press conference in Los Angeles, “Actors deserve a contract that reflects the changes that have taken place in the industry. Unfortunately, the current model devalues our members and affects their ability to make ends meet”.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said, “Plead poverty, that they are losing money left and right while they give millions to their CEOs. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment”.

Risk of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The union is seeking guarantees that artificial intelligence (AI) and computer-generated faces and voices will not be used to replace actors. To address concerns about the use of AI, the big studios have offered a “ground-breaking proposal” that would protect the digital likeness of actors and require their consent when digital replicas are used in performances or alterations are made.

“They propose that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day’s pay, and their company should own that scan of their image, their likeness, and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity,” he said. “If you think that’s a ground-breaking proposal, I suggest you think again.”

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said the strike was “certainly not the outcome we hoped for, as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life”. To add on, “The union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.”

Another of the demands of the streaming services is that actors receive greater base pay and residuals, meaning payments made to actors from repeats of films and programs they’ve starred in. The strike includes tens of thousands of actors who receive significantly less pay for minor parts than their A-list colleagues.

A separate strike by the 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America demanding better pay and working conditions has been going on since May 2. Some writers have turned to projects that are not covered by the contract between the guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

It is the first-ever industry-wide “double strike” by both unions (actors and writers) since 1960. For films in production, the strike means a large portion of work will be halted. Even in cases where films and TV shows have already been completed, artists won’t be able to re-shoot minor editing shots to give the films a final touch.

Top Hollywood stars will not be able to attend events to promote new and upcoming releases. Gala events such as the Emmys and Comic-Con may be rescheduled or postponed.

While the strike is going on, actors neither can appear in films nor promote movies that they have already made. Consequently, stars Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt left the premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in London on Thursday night as the strike was declared.

Disney chief executive Bob Iger said the demands of both actors and writers were impractical and damaging to an industry still recovering from the pandemic. “It’s very disturbing to me”. He further added, “This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption.”