An all-out strike brings Hollywood to a halt
PART-WAY THROUGH the London premiere of “Oppenheimer”, Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster about the father of the atomic bomb, the film’s stars were conspicuously absent. “We’ve seen them earlier on the red carpet,” Mr Nolan told his audience. “Unfortunately they are off to write their picket signs.” On July 14th the 160,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, better known as SAG-AFTRA, went on strike.
The union represents all kinds of performers, from actors such as Cillian Murphy, the star of “Oppenheimer”, to broadcast journalists and voiceover artists. The contract between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the negotiating body for the studios, expired on June 30th, but the sides decided to extend negotiations until July 12th. No deal was reached.
On the first morning of the strike, picket lines in Los Angeles and New York swelled with performers. Cars honking their horns in support of picketers could be heard blocks from Netflix’s corporate offices in Hollywood, even above the din of the 101 freeway. Hundreds of picketers marched around the block, carrying signs for SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union of screenwriters, who launched their own strike back in May. It is the first time both unions have been on strike at the same time since 1960. “Y’all bankrupt Blockbuster for this?” one placard taunted, referring to a hollywood-grinds-to-a-halt-as-all-out-strike-takes-place.html” title=”Hollywood Grinds to a Halt as All-Out Strike Takes Place”>defunct video-rental giant.
Both strikes are a result of the ways in which streaming has upended television and film. Indeed, the writers’ strike has come to be known as the “Netflix strike”. Actors and writers alike claim they can no longer make a living on residuals, or the money they get each time something they worked on is rebroadcast. (How to even define “rebroadcast”, in an era when viewers can binge on their favourite shows and…
2023-07-14 15:42:31
Link from www.economist.com
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