adminLOS ANGELES. – Hollywood’s writers have been on strike for two months and soon the actors may join them, swapping the red carpet for the picket lines.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) contract expired at midnight local time on 12 July, following a deadline extension that delayed the possibility of a mega-strike by almost two weeks.
They would join the Writers Guild of America, which went on strike on 2 May after failing to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), an umbrella group representing studios like Disney, Netflix, Amazon and Apple.
Both SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP have said they will not comment while contract negotiations are ongoing.
It would be the first time that unions representing both writers and actors would strike at the same time since 1960, when future US President Ronald Regan was president of the actors’ union.
A third union, the Directors Guild of America, has already negotiated a contract and will not join the strike.
Dozens of productions have already been halted since the writers went on strike, including Stranger Things, Billions and Marvel’s Blade.
If there is an actors’ strike, there could be even more delays, and some shows may be cancelled altogether.
For audiences, that likely means the next series of your favourite TV show will be delayed, and many shows may disappear forever.
While some international productions will continue, it will be limited, because SAG-AFTRA represents more than 160,000 performers around the world – like writer and actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who addressed the strike at the London premiere of the latest Indiana Jones movie.
“I really hope we can get this sorted. Writers are the most important people in this industry, I really believe that,” she said. – BBC.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter