Hollywood actors are now on strike, joining striking screenwriters — but some mocking observers are hoping the picket lines are permanent.
What are the details?
Thursday’s vote by leaders of the actors union — Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists — marked the first time in more than 60 years that both actors and writers are striking at the same time, the Associated Press reported, adding that the move shut down production across the entertainment industry.
Union leaders said at a news conference that they voted unanimously for a strike to begin at midnight after their contracts expired and talks broke off with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents employers, including Disney, Netflix, and Amazon, the AP said.
More from the Associated Press:
Before the talks began June 7, the 65,000 actors who cast ballots voted overwhelmingly [for] union leaders to send them into a strike, as the Writers Guild of America did when their deal expired more than two months ago.
When the initial deadline approached in late June, more than 1,000 members of the union, including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Bob Odenkirk, added their names to a letter signaling to leaders their willingness to strike.
The stakes in the negotiations included both base and residual pay, which actors say has been undercut by inflation and the streaming ecosystem, benefits, and the threat of unregulated use of artificial intelligence.
How are non-Hollywood folks reacting?
Well, given the disdain that many hold for actors — particularly when they pontificate socio-politically and lecture the rest of us on how to live — some observers aren’t exactly pining away for thespians to return to movie and TV sets anytime soon.
Here are some early comments on the New York Times’ tweet about the actors’ strike:
- “The woke clown show nobody needs,” one commenter wrote. “Strike forever, please!!”
- “Oh no, so no 27th remake of Superman or Batman???” another user wondered. “How can we go on???”
- “Good! I hope they stay on strike for at least a decade!” another commenter exclaimed.
- “If they never produce another thing, and we are all left with only what already exists, we would barely notice, and we would all be better off,” another user said.
- “Pull out the board games and actually interact….what a novel concept,” another commenter offered.
- “Good, maybe they can rent out some rooms to their homeless neighbors if they need some cash,” another user quipped.
Actors likely to join writers on strike after SAG-AFTRA negotiations with studios break downyoutu.be
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