Hollywood's Biggest Stars Unite in Groundbreaking Strike, Joining Writers in Historic Movement
Major Hollywood upheaval looms as actors unite with writers in an unprecedented movement, authorizing a SAG strike With SAG-AFTRA's contract expiration on July 13, the entertainment industry braces for significant disruptions
SAG-AFTRA has declared an actors strike for 2023. The union has been negotiating a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) since June, but the contract expired on July 13. The main issues under negotiation were residuals for streaming content and the regulation of artificial intelligence.
During a live-streamed press conference, SAG-AFTRA officially announced the strike, effective from midnight on July 14. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher delivered an impassioned speech, acknowledging the historic nature of the union's largest strike authorization vote. She expressed concerns about the possibility of being replaced by machines and emphasized that studios cannot thrive without the actors.
The SAG-AFTRA Strike Will Hugely Impact Hollywood
The SAG-AFTRA strike order will have immediate repercussions in Hollywood, affecting both major and minor aspects. Alongside the ongoing 2023 writers strike, it will result in the immediate cessation of productions worldwide. Previously, productions with finished scripts were still able to proceed with shooting. However, as of midnight, this will no longer be the case.
Numerous planned productions will face delays until the issue is resolved by the AMPTP. Additionally, a significant number of ongoing productions will be disrupted by this strike order. Included in this list are Mortal Kombat 2, Wicked, and Gladiator 2.
In addition to pausing productions, the SAG-AFTRA strike restricts actors from taking part in promotional events for their films and TV shows. In fact, the cast of Oppenheimer already boycotted the movie's premiere in London in anticipation of the strike. The duration of the strike will determine the potential impact on the box office earnings of upcoming releases in the coming months, such as Disney's Haunted Mansion, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, The Meg 2, and Blue Beetle, unless their releases are postponed entirely.
