Over 160,000 actors have joined screenwriters on the picket line – but what are they striking for?
All 11,5000 members of the Writers’ Guild of America began a full strike on May 2nd. They have now been joined by the Screen Actors’ Guild of America, with support from actors’ unions in Europe.
Business Post US Correspondent Marion McKeone told On the Record with Gavan Reilly there has been a “misconception” that actors with high pay are simply demanding more money.
“Most of these 160,000 jobbing actors make a pretty miserable income,” she said. “They’ve really seen their standards of living and their income just plummet.”
Actors and screenwriters are protesting to increase the amount of residuals they receive from TV shows and films streaming on services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
“Gilmore Girls, for example, was a huge hit back in the early 2000s with Warner Brothers,” Ms McKeone said.
“While it was being shown on TV - the repeats and the global repeats - the actors were getting really decent residuals.”
However, according to Ms McKeone, after Gilmore Girls was sold to Netflix, actors and screenwriters effectively “get nothing” as streaming services do not share how many viewers they have.
SAG-AFTRA member taking part in the actors and screenwriters' strike for increased residuals. Image: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo.“One woman who I know personally who was in Gilmore Girls told me she used to get several thousand a year in the early 2000s from residuals,” she said. “Last year she got $27 from Netflix.
“They can show something on Netflix a million times, you might get a couple of cents from it.”
Under the strike, actors cannot continue in filming productions or take part in any promotional activity for projects.
Irish actor Cillian Murphy and his fellow Oppenheimer stars left the London premiere of the film in support of the strike.
The #Oppenheimer cast walking out from the London premiere in solidarity with the members of the Screen Actors Guild. 👏🏻❤️ #SAGstrike pic.twitter.com/2mjI3e1MBt
— best of emily blunt (@badpostblunt) July 15, 2023
Despite the publicity A-list actors have received for supporting the strike, Ms McKeone said the protests are not for their sake.
“The big stars can take care of themselves,” she said. “But the 99.999% of actors who make less than probably $100,000 a year – or most less than $20,000 a year apparently – cannot.”
Ms McKeone said there will be a “huge knock-on effect” across Los Angeles as the protests continue.
“Every drycleaner, every florist, every coffee shop, every caterer,” she said. “They're all really being hit hard because they really do cater to the wealthy people and to the film studios.”
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