Hollywood Halt Activities After Failed Negotiation With Streaming Platforms

Hollywood actors have embarked on a nationwide strike following failed negotiations with production studios and streaming services.

According to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the union representing over 160,000 Hollywood actors, its negotiating committee had voted unanimously to recommend a strike.

Fran Drescher, President of the union, revealed in a statement on Thursday, that studios and streamers are unwilling to offer a fair deal.

Drescher also said it will be the first time its members have stopped work on movie and television productions since 1980.

He said: “After more than four weeks of bargaining, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the entity that represents major studios and streamers, including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. Discovery, remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on the key issues that are essential to SAG-AFTRA members.

“The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and others completely stonewalled us.

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“Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal. We have no choice but to move forward in unity, and on behalf of our membership.

“Drescher decried that SAG-AFTRA was ‘duped’ into extending negotiations for two weeks by studios that wanted to promote their movies. But we were duped. They stayed behind closed doors, and they kept cancelling our meetings, wasting time.

“It was probably all to have more time to promote their summer movies. Because nothing came out of it that was significant.”

Recall that in May, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union representing television and film writers, also went on strike.

The writers demanded pay increases and changes to industry practices that they said forced them to work more for less money.

The simultaneous strike of writers and actors is expected to cause serious disruption to Hollywood.