Hollywood 2023 Strikes Ended

[Melinda Halliwell]

Saw the news this morning with actors and actresses walking up and down with placards then.

Could go on for two years apparently.

[matt]

Damn this might be the worst Hollywood strike ever if it lasts a long time.

Which means Reality TV will be a big deal for the next year.

Although chances are non American made shows and movies will be gaining popularity without American made stuff. Of course American actors under SAG can't work say in British or Australian shows I don't think. No idea if that'll be against rules.

[Tim]

Two years is highly unlikely.

First of all, who could possibly hold out that long.  A list actors like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Meryl Streep might be able to, but for every Cruise, Pitt, and Streep, there are the "person in bar" actors.  They don't have anywhere near the amount of money that A-listers make, and never will.  Ditto for the writers. 

Second of all, as long as they are not working, they are not being paid.  Unless they can find work elsewhere (picturing Fran Drescher standing behind a counter saying "You want fries with that?" in her nasal voice), the bills are going to start piling up.  If that happens, they'll find themselves in deep, financial doo-doo.  Be hard for one to maintain pride when the landlord is pounding on their door with an eviction notice and the bank is about to repossess their car.   And if they have children, well, God help them. 

They would all be bankrupt long before two years pass.

Like it or not, streaming and AI are here to stay, and there is no going back.  My advice to both actors and writers are suck in your guts and deal up.  Or stick to your guns while you, and possibly your loved ones, are forced to go on welfare.

[matt]

deadline.com/2023/07/actors-strike-david-duchovny-x-files-reunion-rosario-dawson-hilary-duff-1235440044/

It’s Day 4 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 77 of the WGA strike.

“Discover the past, live the present and fight the future,” was an apt message from The X-Files‘ 1998 spinoff movie and it’s one that could be applied to the current actors and writers strike.

Star David Duchovny told Deadline that there are so many issues to try and get through, particularly AI. “I think the powers that be have a lot on their plate right now with trying to figure out, kicking the can down the road with the AI stuff. What is it capable of? They’re philosophical questions,” he said.

Duchovny also highlighted streaming residuals. “We always worked in a business that rewarded success and didn’t want failure. Now, we have these opaque streamers who kind of tell us what’s a success and what’s a failure and I wouldn’t trust an employer to tell me how well I’m doing,” he added.

He was joined on the reunion by the likes of Annabeth Gish, who played FBI Special Agent Monica Reyes and Thomas Schnauz, who wrote on the show before becoming exec producer of Better Call Saul.

“It’s an inflection point time and we’re all out here just really fighting for what we deserve. As someone who has endured and lived through the golden age, the golden age is gone, unfortunately. The residual pool can’t carry us over like it used to and it’s got to change,” Gish told Deadline.

Schnauz added, “When I first started I could make a living. We had 22 episodes of television that I would work on and get residuals for. Now, it’s smaller rooms and shorter rooms and mini rooms. For writers starting out, it’s impossible to survive in this town under the current conditions.”

The X-Files actors and writers seemed to have the support of the local schoolchildren. A video of a bus full of kids outside Fox has gone viral (see below).

Kids chanting “Strike” from the school bus as they pass Fox Studios in LA today #ActorsStrike #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/I9N13zlqVH
— Deadline Hollywood (@deadline)
July 17, 2023

[Dark Avenger]

I like David's sign. Gave me a good laugh. Very clever!

Yeah, the contracts didn't have streaming taken into account 20-30 years ago in them so the actors are getting no money from residuals from streaming.

[Tim]

A funny sign.

[Katie]

I wonder if this strike will break records and be the longest one. The 2007 one only lasted 3 months I believe. I don't remember the one in the 80s well enough.

[Tim]

The 1988 WGA strike lasted six months.

[matt]

Aug 19, 2023 23:18:32 GMT -5 Tim said:

The 1988 WGA strike lasted six months.

Wow! That's a long time. This current one will have to last past December to top that one.

[Tim]

Guess I'm the only active poster here with clear memories of the 1988 strike.  I was 21 when it happened.  Jana would have been 11 (and still behind the Iron Curtain), Katie 10, Katherine 8, and Vanessa 6.  

I don't think the rest of you were born yet at that point.

[matt]

I wonder how long it'll take to resolve. Doesn't seem like it'll end anytime soon. the 2007 one seemed to be the one to resolve itself fairly quickly after 2 1/2 months.

[Tim]

And they'll just put on more reality shows.

[Melinda Halliwell]

Yep.

I remember the last Hollywood strike when Supernatural season 3 only had 16 episodes but not the one in the 80s then.

Hopefully, this one gets resolved quickly so productions aren't too badly hit.

[Squad 51]

I don't think I'd have noticed it. The series and all came back then very much later to us than nowadays.

[Tim]

Exactly.