Hollywood actors have joined a strike by screenwriters in the industry’s biggest shutdown for more than 60 years, as about 160,000 performers stopped work at midnight in Los Angeles, bringing to a halt most US film and TV productions.
The actors under the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) wants streaming giants to agree to a fairer split of profits and better working conditions, and are also demanding that actors are protected from being usurped by digital replicas.
The union is seeking guarantees that artificial intelligence (AI) and computer-generated faces and voices will not be used to replace actors.
While the strike lasts, actors cannot appear in films or even promote movies that they have already made. As a result, stars Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt left the premiere of Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer in London on Thursday night as the strike was declared.
Several actors took to Instagram to voice their support for the strike, including Bob Odenkirk, Cynthia Nixon and Hollywood veteran Jamie Lee Curtis.
Picketing will begin on Friday morning outside the California headquarters of Netflix, before moving on to Paramount, Warner Bros and Disney.
What the strike means:
For films in production, the strike means a large portion of work will become impossible. Even in cases in which filming has already been completed, actors will be unavailable for re-shoots and other essential elements of the filmmaking process.
TV shows that are still being filmed will also largely have to stop, although in some cases side deals could be struck between performers and producers to allow work to continue.
Top Hollywood stars will not be able to attend events to promote new and upcoming releases. Events including the Emmys and Comic-Con may be rescheduled or scaled back.
