"Economic Damage May Exceed 5 Trillion Won"…Hollywood Writers and Actors Strike Simultaneously for the First Time in 63 Years

Negotiations with Major Studios like Netflix and Disney Fail
Demand to Prevent Rights Infringement by Streaming Residuals and AI

In Hollywood, the "home of movies" in the United States, actors and writers' unions are going on a joint strike for the first time in 63 years. As the streaming and artificial intelligence (AI) era fully arrives, conflicts have erupted during the process of readjusting profits and rights with major studios. The interests within the film industry are also changing significantly due to technological shifts.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

◆ Actors' Union to Strike from the 14th... Actors Leave Film Premieres

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others on the 13th (local time), the Screen Actors Guild?American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced that negotiations on employment contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) had broken down, and they would begin striking from the 14th. The AMPTP represents major studios such as Netflix, Disney, and Discovery-Warner, and the actors' union had been negotiating with this group for about a month.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the lead negotiator for the actors' union, held a press conference at the union office in Los Angeles (LA), California, stating, "By a unanimous vote of the leadership, we have decided to start the strike at midnight tonight." He said that fair negotiations with the AMPTP were impossible, adding, "(AMPTP) left us with no alternatives."

The actors' union includes 160,000 actors, broadcasters, announcers, and hosts, but the strike will only affect the 65,000 actors who voted to approve the strike on the 7th of last month, according to the Associated Press. Over 300 top actors, including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, and Ben Stiller, sent a joint letter to the union leadership at the end of last month expressing their intention to participate in the strike.

Fran Drescher, American actress and broadcaster, president of the Screen Actors Guild?American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) (left), declared a strike and spoke at a press conference on the 13th (local time).
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The strike is already intensifying on film sets. On the same day, the cast and crew of Christopher Nolan's new film "Oppenheimer" moved the premiere held in London, UK, one hour earlier to avoid disruption from the strike. Additionally, some actors left the event to join the strike, and Director Nolan explained this to the audience.

Matt Damon, the lead actor in the film, commented on the strike, saying, "No one wants a work stoppage, and it will be hard for actors too," but emphasized, "However, if our leadership says the negotiations are unfair, we must stand strong until fair negotiations are achieved for working actors."

◆ Writers and Actors Unions Strike Simultaneously... Why Are They Taking to the Streets?

This actors' union strike is the first in 43 years since 1980. The strike is drawing more attention because the Writers Guild of America (WGA) had already been on strike since May 2. It is the first time in 63 years since 1960 that both the actors' and writers' unions have struck simultaneously. Back in 1960, the actors' union president was former President Ronald Reagan.

The reasons for the actors' and writers' strikes are the same. They are demanding that major studios re-negotiate residual payments, which are royalties paid to writers, directors, and actors each time viewers watch works on streaming platforms in the streaming era. Additionally, with the emergence of generative AI, writers face copyright issues and actors face rights of publicity concerns, prompting calls for preventive measures.

They have also demanded basic salary increases, strengthened medical and pension insurance, and improvements to unfair audition practices.

A placard reading "The Screen Actors Guild?American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) supports the Writers Guild of America (WGA)" appeared at a rally held in Los Angeles, California, on the 6th of last month. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Fran Drescher, president of the actors' union, criticized the studios, saying, "Employers prioritize Wall Street and greed above all else, forgetting the essential contributors who operate that machine," calling it "disgusting and shameful." She added, "Streaming has changed the entire business model," calling this "a moment of history and a moment of truth."

The AMPTP, representing the studios, stated in a press release, "This is not our choice but the union's choice," adding, "The union rejected our historic proposals including wage and residual increases, significant increases in pension and health insurance caps, shortened series production periods, and groundbreaking AI measures to protect actors' digital likeness rights." They further said, "Regrettably, the union has chosen a path that causes financial hardship for many who depend on this industry."

◆ "Economic Loss Could Exceed $5 Trillion"... Disney CEO Calls It "Worst Timing"

With the writers' union and now the actors' union striking together, the Hollywood industry is expected to suffer massive damage. Bloomberg News noted, "Programs with scripts already completed could be filmed without writers, but filming is difficult without actors," hinting at possible halts in movie and drama production schedules. The writers' strike has already caused immediate stoppages in filming of flagship programs such as late-night talk shows, and production schedules for streaming series and films like Netflix's "Stranger Things" have been indefinitely suspended.

According to CNN, the Milken Institute warned that if the joint strike by the actors' and writers' unions is not resolved quickly, it could cause economic losses exceeding $4 billion (about 5 trillion won). Bloomberg also reported that during the 2007 writers' strike, California's economy suffered losses of $2.1 billion.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Bob Iger, CEO of Walt Disney, the "content empire," expressed in an interview with CNBC that the strike "will cause significant damage to the entire industry," and warned, "This is the worst timing for such disruption to intensify."

The WSJ reported, "This will be a double blow to major entertainment conglomerates already facing difficulties," noting that several major streaming services such as Disney+ from Disney and Paramount+ from Paramount Global are not yet profitable, the advertising market is weakening, and traditional TV businesses are struggling.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.