Hollywood actors to join screenwriters in strike over wages, AI
Al JazeeraThe strike is first joint action between actors and writers in 60 years, bringing major studio projects to a standstill. On Thursday, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the lead negotiator with the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union, said that the strike would begin at midnight following a breakdown in negotiations with the studios. Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds, reporting from Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, said the strike would cause “total disruption” to the industry. So it’s going to really bring everything to a screeching halt almost immediately.” Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the workers’ demands were “very disturbing” and that the strike would be harmful and disruptive. In response to the strike, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers issued a statement saying the actors’ union “has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more”.