Global Courant
Not since 1980 — when they shut down production over residuals from now-quaint tech like videotapes and cable TV — have Hollywood’s actors gone on strike against the major film and TV studios. But with SAG-AFTRA voting to authorize a strike by a nearly 98 percent margin, another historic labor action is possible over a new generation of tech: streaming. And the work stoppage would grind to a halt the already diminished production that has been hit by Hollywood’s ongoing writers strike.
“I voted yes on the strike authorization because actors have been getting the short end of the stick from streaming,” says Nadia Alexander, a member of both SAG and the WGA. “All creators are.” SAG-AFTRA will strike if they can’t reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over a new contract by June 30.
With the writers strike entering its sixth week, production and writers rooms have already shut down on all of late night TV and major shows like ABC’s Abbott Elementary and Netflix’s Stranger Things. But other productions, like the UK-based set of Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, have kept shooting with non-writing producers on set. If an actors’ strike becomes official, it would make filming scripted movies and TV shows almost impossible for US companies.
The mere threat of a SAG strike has had a chilling effect on some sectors — insurance firms have begun refusing to bond indie film productions until at least June 30. Producers had to shut down the Joaquin Phoenix-Rooney Mara indie movie The Island, which was to start shooting in Spain in late May, after they couldn’t obtain a bond.
“If SAG doesn’t strike, people think they could mount productions for September or October,” says producer Ted Hope, who co-ran Amazon’s film division until June 2020. Hope had a movie with cast and financing in place that he had to pause due to the potential of the SAG strike. “If SAG strikes, those discussions won’t happen until there’s another signal. People are worried. A lot of folks believe the strike will go on until the end of the year.”
The actors’ authorization vote results came through less than 48 hours after the Directors Guild struck its own deal with the AMPTP, surprising many in the industry who thought the DGA would hold out for the actors’ vote results in order to have more leverage in its negotiations.
“If we’re all striking, the AMPTP will have to fold,” Alexander says. “The directors are going to show up and there will be no actors, no writers. What exactly are they going to direct?”
Some are hoping a strike by the 160,000 performers in the actors union will bring the industry’s labor unrest to a close more quickly. “I’d like SAG joining (the strike),” says one Oscar-nominated screenwriter who is in the WGA and DGA. “That’s to the benefit of everybody. That brings this to a swifter conclusion. Actors have some legitimate beefs. If there were a consistent stream of celebrities talking about these companies in a way that made them uncomfortable that would be helpful.”
The actors are aligned with the writers on many key issues, including how their compensation has shrunk due to inflation and a shift to streaming as well as concerns over the use of AI in entertainment industry jobs. There are also some bargaining issues unique to actors, like a desire to put limits on studios’ use of self-taped auditions, which became the norm during the pandemic. “We’re emerging from the pandemic where many actors believed things would soon quote ‘get back to normal,'” says SAG-AFTRA member Aleisha Force. “But our new normal is this pretty existential fight.”
Many say this Hollywood labor movement feels different from the 2007-08 writers strike, in that it is focused not just on securing new contract gains but on grappling with a broader industry shift. “This has always been a precarious business, but I have never heard so much questioning within the industry,” says Hope. “There’s a new awareness that perhaps we’ve started to ruin our own business with the way we manage things. Everyone recognizes it’s the creator class against the global stock market that rewards this attitude of growth at any expense.”
Writers, directors, producers and actors are now asking larger ideological questions. “Is tech altering the fabric of the industry?” asks the Oscar-nominated screenwriter. “More than a purely economic fight, this is a fight about values, about how we’re being treated.”
When writers struck 15 years ago, the economic impact of the 100-day work stoppage was around $2 billion, or $2.8 billion in 2023 dollars, affecting not just studios but also hotels, restaurants, construction and the other industries that serve Hollywood. The potential impact of a dual strike is unknown, but many in the industry have already seen their work opportunities dry up and have started belt-tightening. “I’ve had no on-camera auditions since the WGA started striking,” adds Force.
“I was at Erewhon two days ago,” says the screenwriter. “And I was like, fuck that. I just went back to Costco for the first time in two years.”
A version of this story first appeared in the June 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
