Saturday Aug 12, 2023
The protest started by Hollywood screenwriters under the leadership of the Writers Guild of America (WJA) on May 2 demanding the renewal of service and wage conditions is gaining strength at all levels. Even though the strike has been going on for almost three and a half months, no compromise formula has been reached, so support is being sought from various sectors. The main demands are that the big picture houses pay extra to the writers and ban the unbridled overuse of artificial intelligence (AI) that affects the profession. Big studios including Warner Bros. are still silent on this. With the widespread reliance on artificial intelligence, a large number of actors have found themselves in dire straits. The problem affects small players the most. Artificial intelligence is being used instead of scenes where a thousand junior artistes are supposed to appear simultaneously. Neither major company is ready to compromise. They can also make a huge profit on the construction capital. Another challenge for actors is that characters can be recreated through deepfake and dialogues through artificial intelligence. Hollywood largely came to a standstill and the protest gained more global attention as actors and actresses began protesting at midnight on July 13 in solidarity with screenwriters and demanding better pay. ‘Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ is an organization with more than one and a half lakh actors as members. It has been announced that the leading stars will not participate in any program including filming, recording and publicity. This is the biggest strike to rock Hollywood in 63 years. It is the first time since 1960 that the two organizations are joining hands in the field of struggle. Writers went on strike for 100 days in 1985 and 2007-2008. The Screen Actors Guild is an organization led by famous actors like Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. In 2012, it merged with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to form the Screen Actors Guild-S American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Actors also went on an indefinite strike after the union’s negotiations with the ‘Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers’, which represents famous Hollywood production companies such as Walt Disney, Netflix and Paramount, failed. The current labor contract between the union and the studio chains expired on June 30. However, there was no agreement on the new contract. As a sign of protest, 98 percent of the union members gave their unconditional support to the strike. Art buffs are disappointed as the shooting of the films that grabbed the news has been halted in the wake of the agitation. Unions have complained that the junior artistes are paid meager wages and the work environment is not friendly. The strikers, who demanded that production companies and streaming platforms pay a certain share of revenue, also stated that the existing contract does not respect their profession. Therefore, it was stated that the new employment contract should be signed immediately. Read on deshabhimani.com
