If you don’t know by now, the writers and actors are on strike. This means that show business has come to a standstill.
The writers have been on strike for over two months and last week the actors joined them. You might be wondering why is this important to us? Well most actors and writers aren’t millionaires like we think, they are just normal workers trying to survive like the rest of us.
So last week the actors represented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA started their strike. This is the first major strike by actors since the 80s. And the first time actors and writers went on strike at the same time since the 1960s. These strikes come down to one thing, making a decent living.
Here is what you need to know:
1. Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America, and AMPTP, a trade association that represents most entertainment corporations broke down and the guild members voted to strike.
2. This means that all actors that belong to these guilds won’t be working until an agreement is reached between the two parties. A bunch of huge movie productions came to a standstill including movies like Deadpool 3 and Venom 3. On the other hand the writers’ strike also stopped production on major movies and TV shows. So we shouldn’t expect shows like Young Sheldon or your favourite crime dramas to return in September or October.
3. The demands of the actors and writers aren’t unfair in my opinion. The guilds want new contracts with AMPTP that will provide them with peace of mind when it comes to compensation, especially with work done for streaming services. They also want clarity on the rise of digital technology like AI. They want regulations that will secure their work and they stand againt the unauthorised use of their voices, likenesses and performances. Actors also lose out on residuals due to shows going on streaming services and not sold into syndication. The writers have raised similar concerns, first about compensation and secondly about the rise of AI programmes like ChatGPT.
So what does this all mean to us as the audience and content creators?
Well, firstly now we know that no new content is currently in productions, but movies and TV shows that were finished before the strike will still be released – Although release schedules might change.
And for me as a content creator? Well I’ll obviously do what I do without promoting the media corporations.
I will still watch movies and TV shows, and I will still make videos but only about the work of the writers and actors. During this time I fully support the actors and writers who have made my life so much brighter through their work.
