Hollywood has shut down in what it’s biggest strike in over 60 years. The screen actors guild (SAG AFTRA) went on Hollywood strike at midnight, July 14 joining the writers guild which has been on strike since May.
The Hollywood Strike announced on Tuesday morning by the writers guild of America demanding higher pay for their efforts. The first strike was initiated in 1960 and lasted more than 4 months. The recently ongoing strike, lasting hundred days is expanding and the actors guild joined writers troupe in their wellness interventions.
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SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood Strike : What are their demands
SAG-AFTRA(Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) , the biggest union for actors and writers in Hollywood, announced a Hollywood Strike on July 14, at midnight against writers’ exploitation. SAG AFTRA is demanding sustainable income guidelines and major accreditation for writers achievements.
What are the reasons for strike
Reason 1 – The Writers guild is much concerned about the exploitation of writers as they are meagerly paid for their script writing. Even they are given no accreditation for their achievements.
Reason 2- Nowadays it’s a trend to hire some ammature writers to serve them for peanuts.
Reason 3- Online streaming of episodes has started a new trend of cutting short of screening time as low as 15 to 20 minutes. The movie studios don’t want to include writers in residuals on its income from digital revenue.
Writers Hollywood strike brings Hollywood on a hault
The extended Hollywood Strike is affecting many areas of the film and television industry. The WGA has forced several movie and television productions to temporarily shut down and in result the most projects have decided to pause while their writers are striking. Avatar : The Way Of Water and Deadpool 3, Oppenheimer US premier are some movies that are delayed by the strikes. Now with actors who will not be doing publicity for movies, including appearing on the red carpet or interviews and some directors also going on strike, most remaining production will be stopped.
Big faces supporting strike
On 14 July 2023, Academy award winning actor Susan Sarandon and actor-writer Jason Sudeikis joined the strike. After that Margot Robbie emerged in SAG-AFTRA’s strike, meanwhile Christopher Nolan and Oppenheimer cast confirmed their involvement in the biggest Hollywood Strike before the beginning of the movie screening. The actors such as Jamie Lee Curt, Priyanka Chopra, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon have spoken out in favor of the strike. The screen actors guild represents 140,000 in Hollywood.
Hollywood vs AI
Another significant point of contention revolves around the misuse of artificial intelligence. SAG members are demanding guarantees from studios and production companies on the deployment of AI in the industry. SAG members demand an improvement in wages distribution and a proper working environment that is not dilapidated by artificial intelligence.
How long it will last
There’s no clear updates about how long this strike will continue. There is some information that the increased pressure of the union on the studios and streaming platforms to upgrade their policies will get everyone back to work sooner.
Conclusion
The whole cine industry is on a halt due to this countrywide strike. So far no organization had tried to catch up with the grievances of the writers guild. Many actors and directors have also shown solidarity to this movement. In this chaos everybody is looking forward to reaching a solution which meets the justified and valid demands of the writers guild, on the other hand the producers have to show a big heart for these writers as they are an integral and important part of the industry. In this fast changing scenario these writers can not be deprived of their share in this expanding spectrum of Hollywood film industry.
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