The Sag-Aftra union represents 160,000 actors, broadcast journalists, anchors, dancers, DJs and stunt performers and hasn’t called a strike since 1980. Meryl Streep, Ben Stiller and Glenn Close are among the 65,000 actors who have been laid off from the strike.
The union wants compensation to be in line with the new streaming landscape, which has led to lower compensation. Often today, a movie or television series is paid according to the kick-job model rather than royalties based on how many shows, or repeats, are shown.
The big movie and streaming giants also don’t want to reveal data about viewing figures, preferring to see sack-oftra analyzed by third parties and then reflected in salary levels. Additionally, the union wants, among other things, clearer rules around artificial intelligence that would pay actors to use AI-generated images of themselves.
The 11,500 screenwriters in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have been on strike since May 2 and have similar demands from big Hollywood giants.
The last time both screenwriters and actors went on strike together in Hollywood was in 1960 when the Screen Actors Guild was led by future President Ronald Reagan.
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