Global Courant
It’s Day 11 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 84 of the WGA strike.
On a Monday that saw Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joins the picket lines in front of Warner Bros Discovery in New York, a mother and son became strike demonstrators Monday as both actors and writers picketed in front of Paramount in Los Angeles.
The pair — Carol, in town from Vermont to visit her son Graham, who attends USC — arrived at the Melrose Avenue lot to take the studio’s guided tour. But when they arrived they saw the picket signs of SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild, both unions on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over new film and TV contracts.
As the tour was about to begin, the two were asked by guides to enter but they declined to cross the picket line — and instead grabbed signs.
Their story got a shoutout by WGA organizers as the picketing came to a close at noon.
Meet Carol and Graham, a mother and son from Vermont, who ventured to Paramount Pictures today to take part in the studio’s guided tour of the grounds.
That is, until they saw picketers gathered outside the front gate.
With tour guides ready to take them inside, the duo refused… pic.twitter.com/SYF6IyBB70
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 24, 2023
Other picketers seen at Paramount today included Jack Black.
Jack Black is seen walking with SAG-AFTRA and WGA members outside of Paramount on July 24, 2023 in Los Angeles
MEGA/GC Images
At Fox Studios in Century City, more than 100 picketed demonstrators included Clark Gregg, who has been heartened to see “oozing solidarity and passion” among SAG-AFTRA and the WGA as a member of both groups.
In terms of the most distressing issues affecting the issue, Gregg pointed to “a very current American phenomenon” that has seen companies give undue focus to “hedge fund institutional shareholders” rather than to “their audience.” He acknowledged at the same time that companies find themselves in their own “tricky moment” as they are compelled “to figure out their own monetization.”
Also addressed by the actor, known for his work in a variety of Marvel projects, was the looming threat of AI. “I’m open to new technologies. I’m often excited by them, but you don’t get to turn me into megabytes of information that you can use whenever and however you would like,” said Gregg. “That’s not the nature of a partnership with an artist.”
We caught up with actor Clark Gregg on the #ActorsStrike picket line outside FOX today, and he told us his thoughts on AI: “You don’t get to turn me into megabytes of information that you can use whenever and however you would like…” pic.twitter.com/0qLThkA3Nh
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 24, 2023
Also on hand at Fox was This Is Us star Jon Huertas, who pointed to systemic issues with residuals, to the extent that “there are series regulars on some shows…that barely make a middle-class wage.” Among the issues at the top of mind for the actor was the limited respect he feels background performers have frequently been met with, and the kinds of economic protections that they, like so many other actors, need. “I really feel that it’s one of the most important components of any production, is the background. It’s how we create a world and make it feel real,” said Huertas. “I feel like these are the people who sometimes make wages that are below the poverty line, especially in a town like LA where the cost of living is so high. So I’ve seen people questioning what they’re doing in life.”
Actor Jon Huertas on the importance of protecting background actors: “Sometimes the way background is referred to and spoken about, it’s like they’re not an important component… It’s a misstep…” #ActorsStrike pic.twitter.com/R9bLC14M2m
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 24, 2023
Showrunner Shawn Ryan, attending at themed picket day celebrating his FX series The Shield and Timeless, he hinted at the ways in which so-called “efficiencies” in the writers’ room have actually made the process therein and the ultimate product worse, highlighting the fact that he’s wielded his authority with the studio to maintain more old-school ways of doing business.
WHY I’M STRIKING: “So many of the things we’re fighting for are things that would make the business and these shows better which would benefit the companies which I don’t think that they fully understand….”: Shawn Ryan tells Deadline outside of Fox Studios #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/FHL3izgteN
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 24, 2023
At Netflix in Los Angeles, the strike lines included Schitt’s Creek alum Jennifer Robertson, Patrick Fischler and Jo Bustamante, the latter recounting that she has worked on five productions since September but “I sleep in my car and go to a local gym to take a shower so I can be ready for an eight- to 12-hour day on the set.” She is particularly worried about AI:
WHY I’M STRIKING: “We need to do this together… everyone needs to come out and show these people that we deserve a fair wage” – Jennifer Robertson tells Deadline outside of Netflix Studios in LA today #ActorsStrike pic.twitter.com/jnohTaXzQ5
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 24, 2023
WHY I’M STRIKING: “The contract we have now with streaming services is so completely unfair… we make 0 residuals or we get checks for 68¢ or $1.40… the system is totally broken” – Patrick Fischler, SAG-AFTRA, tells Deadline at Netflix in LA today #ActorsStrike pic.twitter.com/50dUAZHjxL
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 24, 2023
Demonstrators at the streamer’s LA location today also saw the cast and crew of Netflix’s drama Queen of the South, along with series cast member Yancey Arias.
In New York, Sandra Bernhard joined the lines and talked about the strike action being part of a larger “tipping” of the world “environmentally and politically.”
