Becketters emphasized the unity between the writers, who have been on the line for more than two months, and the performers, who are only on the second day of the strike—as well as the camaraderie between the highly paid actors and those with spare screen credits who are struggling to shake it off.
Kevin Bacon, who was among the famous faces squatting among unknowns outside Viacom’s New York headquarters, said his presence was about “seeing people here and realizing that not all actors are well-paid actors, that they’re working-class people trying to make a living.”
One of the working actors, Whitney Morgan Cox, who appeared on CBS’s “Criminal Minds,” said it was “powerful” to see writers and actors coming together who often don’t work at the same time in the production.
“I don’t think people necessarily realize the energy that writers and actors have, the stamina, our ability to commit, that’s what our whole business is about just committing to something and following through with it,” Cox said outside Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It was a really nice sense of community.”
Leaders of the American Screen Actors Guild of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted unanimously Thursday that when their contract expires they will Start swiping The next day, he joined the Writers Guild of America, which withdrew on May 2.
“It’s been great to be here now that we have a second wind of the upcoming SAG members,” said Paul Scheer, who was already a noted author and now does the same thing as an actor, outside Netflix’s Hollywood headquarters. “I’m on strike twice, which means I have to walk twice, which is hard, but I’m willing to do it.”
Monday temperatures were in the high 80s in New York, and topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) in parts of Los Angeles, where some afternoon sit-ins were canceled due to the sweltering heat.
A union rally is planned for later in the day in Atlanta, where many productions have moved in recent years due to tax breaks and other lower costs.
The issue also came up in Washington, when White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre responded to a question during Monday’s news briefing about whether the Biden administration supports the goals of striking entertainment workers.
The boss believes that all workers, including writers, including actors, deserve a fair wage. “They deserve fair benefits,” said Jean-Pierre. “We sincerely hope that the strikes of the actors and writers will be resolved, and that the two parties will come together and reach a mutually beneficial agreement as soon as possible.”
While actors and writers have also emphasized the need for an agreement, few thought any such agreement would come soon, given the vast distance between unions and the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance—which represents studios, broadcasters, and production companies in negotiations that are neither currently happening nor planned. she has.
Major issues for both guilds include residual payments, which were nearly eliminated by switching to the broadcast system, unpaid use of their work and the like by AI avatars.
AMPTP said it offered fair terms on these and other issues.
“These things I can personally negotiate,” Bacon said. “But I’m here for the working class, the middle class part of our union that needs these basic provisions in the basic contract.”
