As the strike by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) enters its fourth week, over a dozen of Hollywood’s highest-earning stars have stepped up to support out-of-work actors. Iconic names like George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, among others, have each generously donated $1 million or more to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s actors’ support fund.
The Hollywood “double strike,” which also involves film and TV writers on strike since May, has brought the US film and television industry to a standstill. This is the first time both writers and actors have been on strike simultaneously since 1960, causing significant financial losses for the entertainment industry and the California economy on a daily basis, as well as depriving the striking union members of their paychecks.
To alleviate the economic hardship faced by thousands of actors, the nonprofit SAG-AFTRA Foundation has successfully raised over $15 million in the past three weeks. Courtney B. Vance, the foundation’s president, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that they are processing more than 30 times the usual number of applications for emergency aid.
The aid program is designed to help struggling performers retain their homes, cover utilities, provide for their families, obtain life-saving prescriptions, pay medical bills, and more. Although some actors in Hollywood earn lucrative salaries, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher revealed that a significant 86% of the union’s 160,000 members earn less than $26,500 annually.
The strike’s impact on the industry is far-reaching, with movie productions halted, premieres canceled, and major events like the Emmys delayed due to stars being unable to promote their TV shows. The demands of the unions center around securing higher pay in the streaming era and addressing concerns over the threat of artificial intelligence to members’ careers and livelihoods. Studios, on the other hand, argue that cost-cutting is necessary to navigate economic pressures.
While the writers’ union is expected to resume talks on Friday, actors continue to face an impasse with major firms like Netflix and Disney, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA, confirmed that they have not heard from the AMPTP since July 12, when the latter expressed their unwillingness to continue talks for quite some time.
Source | AFP