Hollywood actors join writers in huge SAG-AFTRA strike

Roughly 160,000 television and movie actors are joining screenwriters on strike at midnight, marking Hollywood’s first industry-wide shutdown in over 60 years.

Screenwriters from the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) have been striking since May of this year, protesting the proposed use of AI in screenwriting, as well as demanding higher compensation in the TV streaming era. Today (July 13), actors from the Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have voted to join them in the action, meaning around 160,000 union members will go on strike from midnight this evening (LA time). On Friday, July 14, the actors plan to join screenwriters on the picket line.

The strike means that both screenwriters and actors will now be abstaining from work, halting and slowing down progress at numerous studios, including Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, and more. This will likely affect franchises such as the MCU, Star Wars, and other Disney titles, as well as the DCEU and more. While it is a US-based action, such a widespread industry shutdown will influence entertainment coming out around the world, potentially for the next couple of years due to the long production times on key titles.

What’s more, actors will not be able to take part in any activities related to their work, including interviews, junkets, and even fan conventions. For fans of major franchises, a long-term strike could affect events like SDCC, Comic-Con, and more.

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Actors that have already made their solidarity clear include Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, and Rami Malek, who reportedly left the Oppenheimer premiere early to write their picket signs on July 13, according to Sky News. Looking ahead, it’s expected that autumn TV schedules will be full of reality TV, with few scripted productions on the way due to more than two months without screenwriters.

We could be in for a quieter few years, with Disney’s Bob Iger recently announcing that Disney was planning to ‘pull back’ on Marvel and Star Wars content. Ultimately, the landscape for film and TV will be going through some widespread changes over the next few years.

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Rachael Davies
Rachael Davies
I write about all the very best fandoms – and that means LEGO, of course. Spending so much time looking at and talking about LEGO sets is dangerous for my bank balance, but the LEGO shelves are thriving. You win some, you lose some.

Rachael Davies

I write about all the very best fandoms – and that means LEGO, of course. Spending so much time looking at and talking about LEGO sets is dangerous for my bank balance, but the LEGO shelves are thriving. You win some, you lose some.

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