And It's On!

The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has

gone on strike, joining their brothers in the Writers Guild of America.

This is the first time in more than 60 years that we have had multiple strikes against Hollywood studios:

SAG-AFTRA announced Thursday that it is on strike against the film and TV companies, marking only the second time in Hollywood history that actors have joined writers on the picket lines.

The SAG-AFTRA national board held its meeting on Thursday morning and voted unanimously to approve a strike recommendation forwarded by the negotiating committee, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator of SAG-AFTRA, said during a press conference.

“Union members should withhold their labor until a fair contract can be achieved,” he told the room of SAG actors and journalists. “They have left us with no alternative.”

The strike begins at midnight on Friday and picketing will start on Friday morning. According to the guidelines, SAG-AFTRA members will not be able to attend premieres, do interviews for completed work, go to awards shows, attend film festivals or even promote projects on social media while the strike is in effect.

………

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, argues it presented a deal that offered “historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, and a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses for SAG-AFTRA members.”

Well, they would say that, wouldn't he?

Returning CEO of Disney Bob Iger, total remuneration about $50 million a year, is condemning the writers and the actors for being greedy.

………

All production under the SAG-AFTRA TV and film contract will immediately halt, bringing projects to a standstill both in the U.S. and around the globe. The strike is the first under the performers’ film and TV contract since 1980.

The only previous “double strike” — involving both actors and writers — came in 1960, when the Screen Actors Guild was led by Ronald Reagan. In that strike, both the writers and actors were wrestling with compensation issues arising from the dawn of television. Together, they won residuals for TV reruns and for broadcast of films on TV, and established the first pension and welfare plan.

 Here is hoping that the producers and the studio executives take it in the ass, without lube.