Hollywood Strike Explained: Why Has Hollywood Shut Down And How It’s a Historic Move in Decades

The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has gone on a strike in what is seen as the biggest labour protest in six decades in Hollywood. Here's what it means and what are the rules.

In what is being seen as a historic move in more than six decades, leaders of Hollywood’s actors’ union joined the screenwriters in a strike, shutting down production across the entertainment industry. The move comes in retaliation to all the broken talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services to provide better pay to the writers and assure protection against Artificial Intelligence (AI).

What Does The Strike Really Mean And Why It is Huge?

This is the first time since 1960 when Ronald Reagan was the Actors’ Guild president that two major Hollywood unions have announced a joint strike. The protest means a complete shut-down on the production of all kinds of entertainment including movies, TV shows, music videos, readings, rehearsals, shoots, voiceovers, fittings, trials, promotions, red carpets, podcasts, or any other work in any capacity from the writers, performers, broadcasters, podcasters, and actors among others associated with the guild.

The strike is a huge move from the Guild because it just doesn’t strengthen the protest but also impacts its own members, especially small-time actors and other crew members who derive their livelihood daily from these productions – by making small appearances here and there sometimes or by assisting the big production houses.

Hollywood Strike: Rules Explained

Union rules prevent actors from doing any interviews or promotions around the awards and they may not appear at the ceremony. This is also the reason why the future of the upcoming 75th Emmy Awards looks grim. The strike rules also prevent actors from making personal appearances or promoting their work on podcasts or at premieres. They are barred from doing any production work including auditions along with actual shooting. So much so that they can’t even shoot themselves to send audition clips. The only relief comes via international shoots which are happening outside the US. While the shoot may continue, the stoppage among the US-based writers and performers is likely to have a drag on those too.

What Are The Projects Affected?

While the films and TV shows that are being shot will have a window to figure out their dynamics and wait for the situation to get better, it’s the daily shows that have suffered the most. The strike has brought the immediate shutdown of late-night talk shows including ‘Saturday Night Live’. Several scripted shows including Netflix’s Stranger Things, Hacks on Max, and Family Guy on Fox have either had their writer’s rooms paused or their production stopped. Many other shows are following suit.

Apart from this, the strike may have a giant effect on the release of Oppenheimer and Barbie – the two big offerings from Hollywood releasing July 21 across the world. On Thursday, the team of Christopher Nolan’s film organised a world premiere and moved it up by an hour to ensure that the cast could walk the red carpet before the AG board’s announcement of the strike. Stars including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon left the event once the strike was announced on July 14. The other actors who have joined the strike include Jennifer Lawrence, Bob Odenkirk, Meryl Streep, and Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis among others.

When Did It All Begin?

SAG-AFTRA represents more than 1.60 lakh screen actors, broadcast journalists, announcers, hosts, and stunt performers. The 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since May this year when their own talks collapsed and their contract expired. The strike didn’t help their cause and showed no signs of a solution, with no negotiations planned. On June 7, the union’s actors from television and film productions voted to authorize their leaders to call a strike ‘in solidarity’ with SAG-AFTRA workers.

What Are The Protestors Saying?

The workers on strikes including the actors and other members from the Guild have been trying to negotiate a deal with the big players in the industry including Netflix, Disney, and Amazon to better their pay. They say that their earnings have been undercut by inflation, and the streaming ecosystem, benefits, the growing tendency to make performers create video auditions at their own expense, and the threat of unregulated use of artificial intelligence.

One of the key members who’s leading the protest is Fran Drescher, known for ‘The Nanny’ who chastised the industry in her highly appreciated impassioned speech as the strike began at midnight. In her speech, she called out the employers who are providing hefty salaries to the CEOs but asked the writers and others to use their own expenses at work. “Employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history,” she said in her speech.

She added, “At a moment when streaming and AI and digital were so prevalent, it has disemboweled the industry that we once knew. When I did ‘The Nanny’ everybody was part of the gravy train. Now it’s a vacuum.”

In their official statement about calling the strike, the group also acknowledged the problems that its own members will have to face. A part of the statement read, “A strike is certainly not the outcome we hoped for as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life. The Union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.”

It is a one of its kind protest and definitely a move that inspires other labour protests all across the world.

— with inputs from AP