SAG strike news: Universal Studios accused of pruning trees to remove shade for picketing actors and writers
Los Angeles picketers are scattered between several studio lots
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Your support makes all the difference.Universal Studios has been accused of trimming the trees that lined its studio lot and provided shade for striking actors and writers.
On Monday (17 July), following the first weekend of the historic Hollywood shutdown, comic Chris Stephens tweeted a photo showing the bare trees.
“Quick shoutout to the good people at @UniversalPics for trimming the trees that gave our picket line shade right before a 90+ degree week,” Stephens wrote.
SAG-AFTRA negotiators unanimously recommended a strike after talks with the AMPTP broke down last week.
Additionally, the Writers Guild of America has been on strike since early May. Both groups demand increases in base pay and residuals in the streaming TV era, plus assurances that their work will not be replaced by AI.
Fran Drescher, former star of The Nanny and SAG president, said studios’ responses to the actors’ concerns had been “insulting and disrespectful”.
In light of the historic double strike, several actors and writers have shared personal horror stories of Hollywood studio greed.
Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger condemned the threatened strike action as “very disruptive” at the “worst time” as well as calling the expectations of writers and actors “not realistic”.
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George Clooney and Alec Baldwin have voiced strong support for the action
In a statement shared with the PA news agency, Clooney said: “This is an inflection point in our industry. Actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living.
“For our industry to survive that has to change. For actors that journey starts now.”
In a video posted to Instagram, Baldwin congratulated the union for calling the strike in order to protect its “rank and file” members.
“I don’t think anybody really wants a strike but they don’t want to continue under the unfair contracts that we’re working under now,” he said.
“So congratulations to everybody and I hope this is over right after we get everything we want.”
Tom Cruise tried to make a change last month
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Cruise urge the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to support the guild’s position on stunt performers. He was unsuccessful.
Ronald Reagan led actors in Hollywood’s first double strike 63 years ago
While the ongoing double strike, which has effectively shut down Hollywood, is a historic event, it’s not the first of its kind.
In 1960, the industry experienced its first joint walkout between the actors’ guild (SAG-AFTRA) and the screenwriters union (Writers Guild of America).
The strike was led by Ronald Reagan, who was the SAG president at the time, years before his US presidency.
The WGA first went on strike, beginning on 16 January 1960, before SAG-AFTRA began their own strike on 7 March 1960. While the latter ended picketing on 18 April 1960, the former strike lasted until 12 June 1960.
Disney’s Haunted Mansion movie cast skips premiere amid strike
None of the movie stars showed up at Disney’s Haunted Mansion premiere held at Disneyland on Saturday night (15 July).
The big names who were notably missing were Lakeith Stanfield, Danny DeVito, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto, Winona Ryder, and Rosario Dawson.
The one person who did show up was the film’s director Justin Simien.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Simien said: “I feel very ambivalent about it, but at the same time, I’m just so proud of this cast and I’m so, so proud of Katie Dippold who wrote the script, and so much of why I did this was to honor her words and to honor their work
He added: “If they can’t be here to speak for it, I felt like I had to be here to speak for it. It’s sad that they’re not here, at the same time, I totally support the reason why they’re not here. And I’m happy to be the one to ring the bell in their stead.”
Simien also noted that he finds the AI issues coming up in SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations to be “a very important thing to hammer home and to figure out.”
Will the actors’ strike affect Broadway?
While the total membership comprises more than 160,000 people, only the 65,000 performers in TV and film productions are currently participating in the strike.
Read more:
What the actors’ strike means for Broadway shows
Screen Actors Guild announced industrial action to coincide with writers’ strike
Kevin Bacon joins actors protesting against Hollywood studios
Kevin Bacon joined SAG-AFTRA members protesting in front of Paramount Studios’ New York headquarters on Monday (17 July).
“I think AI is a huge issue,” the Footloose star told The Associated Press from the picket line.
Read more:
Kevin Bacon joins picket line to protest for ‘working class’ actors
‘I think AI is a huge issue,’ A-lister said from SAG-AFTRA picket line in New York
Tom Cruise tried to make a change last month
ICYMI: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Cruise urge the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to support the guild’s position on stunt performers and artificial intelligence (AI). He was unsuccessful.
Why are actors striking?
Basically, it comes down to what most strikes are about: fair wages.
But to get more specific, here is a list of demands from SAG-AFTRA’s website:
- Performers need minimum earnings to simply keep up with inflation.
- Performers need the protection of our images and performances to prevent the replacement of human performances by artificial intelligence technology.
- Performers need qualified hair and makeup professionals as well as equipment to safely and effectively style a variety of hair textures/styles and skin tones.
- Performers need compensation to reflect the value we bring to the streamers who profit from our labour.
- All performers need support from our employers to keep our health and retirement funds sustainable.
- Principal performers need to be able to work during hiatus and not be held captive by employers.
- Principal performers need to be reimbursed for relocation expenses when they’re employed away from home.
Actors and writers share horror stories of studio greed
To put “fair wages” into perspective, I’ll reshare some of the horror stories from actors and writers who’ve experienced firsthand the negative consequences of unfair wages.
Read more:
Kimiko Glenn, who starred as Brook Soso on Netflix’s groundbreaking series, said, ‘We couldn’t afford cabs to set’
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