Hollywood's strikes are over, but a painful industry-wide transition isn't
Hollywood’s months of labor unrest are coming to an end, but the post-strike landscape that awaits actors and writers may be far from happy-ever-after
NEW YORK — Hollywood’s months of labor unrest are coming to an end, but the post-strike landscape that awaits actors and writers may be far from happily-ever-after.
The film and television industry could rightly celebrate the conclusion this week of a bruising, protracted work stoppage that began in May when the Writers Guild hit the picket lines and gathered more force when Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists members walked out in mid-July.
The strikes were historic in their length and cost, causing an estimated $6 billion in economic loss and leaving hundreds of thousands out of work. As Hollywood on Thursday began rushing back to production and stars again hit red carpets, many were surely still nursing wounds from a bitter feud with the studios, even after a deal that the guild says won actors a hefty boost to minimum pay and protections over the use of artificial intelligence.
SAG-AFTRA’s board was to vote on approving the contract Friday afternoon.
But as actors swap their picket signs for audition sides and call sheets, they’ll be returning to an industry still in the midst of painful transformation and streaming upheaval.
The strikes were prompted largely by the streaming wars, a digital land-rush to populate platforms like Disney+ and HBO Max (now just “Max”) with enough content to rival Netflix. That helter-skelter transition threw much of the economics of entertainment out of whack. One of the most contentious issues of SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations with the studios was the union’s attempt to win a percentage — 1 or 2% — of
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