Actors strike in New York and Los Angeles as film production grinds to a halt

Film production across much of the United States began grinding to a halt on Friday as actors took to the picket lines as part of a work stoppage that threatens to shut down Hollywood.

Thousands of film and TV writers have already been on strike since last May. The strike by actors, led by their union Sag-Aftra, is over pay and the impact of new technology and artificial intelligence on the industy.

On Friday morning about 100 actors and their supporters gathered on Broadway in New York where companies such Warner Bros, Discovery, Paramount and Netflix have offices.

On the west coast Sag-Aftra president Fran Drescher arrived on a bus to a large group of press and pickets outside Netflix in Los Angeles.

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The strike by actors follows the breakdown in talks between the union, which has about 160,000 members, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on a new contract. A previous deal expired on Wednesday.

The strikes by actors and writers are the first to be held simultaneously since the 1960s.

The writers’ dispute has already affected production of some TV shows in the United States. The strike by actors is likely to worsen the production line and may delay new films and series scheduled to be released in the autumn or into next year.

The White House said US president Joe Biden “believes all workers — including actors — deserve fair pay and benefits”.

A White House spokeswoman said: “The president supports workers’ right to strike and hopes the parties can reach a mutually beneficial agreement.”

The union says actors have lost out financially while top executives have gained under the new streaming model for films and television which have become much more important in the entertainment industry in recent years.

The actors maintain that income from what is known as residuals — payments for re-runs of shows and films on television or on different formats such as video or DVD — has been drying up under the streaming model. They also say that series made by streaming services are shorter in duration leading to reduced earning at a time of increased inflation.

They also fear that film studios will adopt developments in artificial intelligence to use their images without paying them.

Film studios argue that the deal they have proposed would see union members receive the biggest rise in minimum pay in 35 years. They also say they put forward “a groundbreaking AI proposal that would protect actors’ digital likeness”.

Job losses

The union’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, rejected this proposal. “They propose that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day’s pay, and their company should own that scan of their image, their likeness, and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity.”

Film production companies have been under pressure as their business model has changed with the advent of streaming services.

Over the past year, studios including Disney, Warner Bros and Netflix as well as Amazon have all announced job losses.

Disney is one of the biggest players in the US entertainment industry, owning several production companies such as Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, 20th Century, Searchlight, Marvel, Lucasfilm and the Disney live-action label.

Disney chief executive Bob Iger said this week in an interview with CNBC that the prospect of a strike was very disturbing.

“There’s a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic and they are adding to a set of challenges that this business is already facing that is quite frankly very disruptive and dangerous. I understand any labour organisation’s desire to work on behalf of its members — to get, you know, the most compensation and to be compensated fairly based on the value that they deliver. But you also have to be realistic about the business environment and what this business can deliver.”