After the screenwriters on strike, will the actors bring Hollywood to its knees? The suspense hovers in the United States in the face of the possibility of a double social movement, which could begin this weekend and would cause the cessation of almost all film and television productions. The deadline set for negotiations between the employers of the major studios and streaming platforms and the actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA) is Friday midnight in Los Angeles. And the 160,000 members of the organization have almost unanimously approved the principle of a strike, if no agreement on a new collective agreement is found.
Like the scriptwriters, already on strike since the beginning of May, the actors are demanding better remuneration to fight against inflation and the precariousness of the profession, and guarantees in the face of potential upheavals linked to the use of artificial intelligence. A double social movement bringing together actors and screenwriters would be a first in Hollywood since 1960, when Ronald Reagan led a major strike that led to major concessions from the studios and consecrated the political stature of an actor who later became president. the United States.
Already largely slowed down by the screenwriters’ strike, Hollywood would find itself completely at a standstill: the actors are able to freeze not only productions based on scripts already completed before May, but also the promotion of blockbusters expected in theaters this summer Barbie, Oppenheimer, Gran Turismo, etc. Only a few “talk shows” and reality TV shows could continue. And some big events like the Emmy Awards, which award the equivalent of the television Oscars in September, would be threatened.
“People who aren’t in this industry, and even some who are, vastly overestimate the money actors make. It’s assumed that if you see someone on TV, they must be rich,” actress Rebecca Metz told AFP. “But that hasn’t been the case at all for a few years.” Earning a living has become “extremely difficult”, insists this actress, who notably played supporting roles in the series Better Things and Shameless. “I know a lot of people at my level who take a second job,” she says.
As for screenwriters, the rub is particularly at the level of “residual” remuneration, due to each rerun of a film or series. Consequent during a televised passage because based on the advertising model, these emoluments are much lower for streaming platforms, which do not communicate their audience figures.
For a rebroadcast on Netflix or Disney, the actors thus receive a fixed remuneration, regardless of the popularity of their production. “I’ve seen my residual income shrink over the past 10 to 15 years,” Ms. Metz reports, noting that it’s now only a “tiny fraction” of what it used to be. A serious problem for many actors, she recalls, because it is necessary to reach a minimum remuneration to benefit from health insurance.
Nobody knows yet if the strike will take place, because the two parties are pouring out very little. Former A Nanny star and SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher posted a video message Friday to report “extremely productive negotiations,” and promised a “decisive deal.” But the union’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, worried about the “very narrow window” to reach a deal. Enough to fuel speculation about a possible temporary extension of the negotiations.
The issue of artificial intelligence also complicates the talks, as players want safeguards to regulate its future use, especially in terms of voice cloning. “There is currently no protection against the fact that a producer takes our voice, our image”, to use it as he pleases, without having to pay the actors, recalls Rebecca Metz.
The performers also want to regulate “self-recorded auditions”, which have become commonplace with the pandemic: the studios are asking candidates to film themselves with software like Zoom, which forces them to learn increasingly long scenes, without remuneration, and deprives them of the return of casting directors. “Speaking in front of a camera at home, knowing that we will never have an answer, is to move away from what the acting profession is,” laments Ms. Metz.
