From big screen to picket line: Why your favourite U.S. actors are striking – National

Some of Canada’s favorite Hollywood actors are officially off the screen to join the picket line.

The Screen Actors Guild, Federation of American Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) decided Thursday to join the Hollywood Writers Guild strike. Officials said the main reason for the Actors Guild’s decision was demand to compensate studios and streaming services for inflation.

“Compensation issues include up-front fees, session fees, money paid when a job is done, and balances and royalties paid by actors, writers and directors on re-releases and reuses of their work.” said Ross. Angeles entertainment attorney Jonathan Handel said in an interview with Global News.

When it comes to streaming, actors worry that they’ll be paid more to star in successful shows on services like Netflix and Prime Video than to star in shows that don’t get much attention.

Handel said, referring to the recent Netflix series, which was produced and partly directed by Tim Burton, “‘Wednesday’ works, so I’m not going to pay a higher balance than ‘Tuesday’.” rice field.

American producer Tom Nunan told Global News that actors are increasingly receiving lump sum payments for their work on streaming services. Now, they want a longer relationship with their content, as well as payment methods from non-streamers, and want more transparency in how streaming services measure success.

Before streaming services, “actors would premiere movies and TV shows, get paid for one of them, and it would be delivered on cable systems or on demand. And they would We continued to have a so-called residual relationship with content financially,” Noonan said.

“This is the age of streaming, once you get paid, it’s over.”

Attending a photography event on Wednesday, movie star Matt Damon hoped everyone could avoid the strike, but said many actors need fair contracts to survive.

“We have to kind of protect people on the fringes,” Damon told the Associated Press. “And you have to make $26,000 a year to get health insurance. cannot be.”

Another key issue in strikes is the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is already widely used in industry to simulate crowds and audiences.

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But as we move into the digital age, studios are looking for ways to convincingly recreate the voices and faces of actors. There are already early rumors about “deepfakes,” which use AI to create fake images of events or make it appear that someone is saying something they didn’t.

Handel says there are generally two schools of thought in the industry on the issue. Some actors have stated that they would have no problem with the studio recreating their likeness on his AI, but would like to be compensated by the studio. Some would argue against using AI purely for authenticity purposes.

“It’s a compromise on both sides of the table… but I think the unions are most likely to take the first position. They’ll be happy with the compensation,” Handel said.

Nounan said he doesn’t see a significant risk of images of popular Canadian A-listers being copied without their consent. Rather, lesser-known actors don’t receive the same protection from lawyers, agents, and managers, making it more likely that their traits will be duplicated without them noticing.

Audiences may have to prepare for something a little different for the time being, Handel said, as actors and writers move away from American productions. Along with sports, reality TV will be a big focus, he said.

There are also opportunities for overseas content featuring actors and writers who are not members of the strike union.

“Some companies, especially Netflix, have proven to be very adept at producing content overseas and getting it viewed by Americans. Netflix has achieved what no one thought possible: getting Americans to watch foreign content. “

Nunan, on the other hand, doesn’t believe foreign content currently dominates the screens, but “could be more heavily promoted,” he said.

The Actors Guild issued a statement early Thursday morning, announcing that the deadline for negotiations had expired without a deal.

“Companies have refused to engage meaningfully on some topics and completely sabotaged others. No agreement can be reached unless they negotiate in good faith,” said “The Nanny.” star and current president of the Actors Guild, Fran Drescher.

Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since early May, delaying production of movies and TV series in production hubs such as both coasts and Atlanta.

Handel said the actor-writer double strike was a “win” for the studio because it “wasn’t going to cost the production money.”

File from Reggie Cecchini of The Associated Press and Global News.

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