Every actor in Hollywood went on strike on July 14 earlier this year. Over time, there have been many changes that have affected the industry in various ways.Some of these changes have been for the better, but some have been for the worse.
Nevertheless, the problem is that the big studios aren’t adjusting to these changes. For example, actors used to get paid royalties for every time their movie or TV show played on cable, but now cable isn’t as relevant. Streaming is popular, but no deal pays actors royalties for streaming. Another example is that the big movie studios wanted to use AI to scan actors’ faces so they can put them in movies without paying them.
The big movie studios such as Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros., and more refused to make a fair deal with the SAG-AFTRA after numerous attempts made by the union. So, SAG-AFTRA went on strike so they could eventually reach a fair deal with the studios.
During the strikes, actors weren’t able to film anything related to film or television, and they couldn’t promote upcoming projects. This negatively affected some of the new movies that were released because they could have benefited from actors promoting it.
The strike lasted five months and ended after the SAG-AFTRA finally reached a deal. This new deal includes bonus payments from streaming services, restrictions on AI, better benefits, on time payments for actors, and more. Actors are now able to film new movies and TV shows.
“I think it’s good that they’re getting paid for their work because they work really hard,” stated junior Grant Sawyngim.
During the strike many anticipated movies got delayed like “Deadpool 3,” ”Dune: Part 2,” “Minecraft,” “The Movie Critic,” and so many more.
“I was sad when the actors went on strike because it pushed back a bunch of stuff,” said Sawyngim.
Actors are also now allowed to promote their upcoming movies, this can have a massive positive impact on some new movies that are lacking some promotional material like “The Marvels” or “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.”
“Movies take a really long time to make so it’s good that actors can go back to filming,” said Swayngim. Overall, the strike ending is good for everyone because the actors got the deal they wanted and movie and television production can continue.
