A group of 300 A-list Hollywood celebrities—including Ben Stiller, “Hunger Games” Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Kevin Bacon, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus—is threatening to take industrial action if their demands on key issues are not met.
They include better protection against artificial intelligence (AI) celebrity cloning, a “seismic realignment” in minimum pay, an increase in media residuals, and better health and pension terms.
The celebrities submitted a letter on June 28 to the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) stating their claims.
“As regards [to] artificial intelligence, we do not believe that SAG-AFTRA members can afford to make halfway gains in anticipation that more will be coming in three years, and we think it is absolutely vital that this negotiation protects not just our likenesses, but makes sure we are well compensated when any of our work is used to train AI,” the actors wrote.
The letter, which was provided to The Epoch Times by a union member, comes just days before the June 30 deadline for SAG-AFTRA to negotiate a new contract for the actors with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
It also comes amid the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike against the alliance. Like the actors, the guild has also cited concerns about the infringement of artificial intelligence on the industry and consequently their pay.
SAG-AFTRA—including its executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and president Fran Drescher, famous for her role on the 1980’s sitcom “The Nanny”—did not respond to inquiries about the strikes from The Epoch Times.
Days before the actors submitted their letter to them, Crabtree-Ireland and Drescher released a video in which they assure actors that they were being properly represented in contract renewal talks.
“We’re not providing you with a lot of detailed reports tonight, because ... it’s very confidential what’s going on in there,” said Drescher. “But I just want to assure you that we are having extremely productive negotiations that are laser-focused on all the crucial issues that you told us were most important to you.
“And we are standing strong and we are going to achieve a seminal deal.”
Crabtree-Ireland said he remained optimistic that the union negotiating team “will be able to bring the studios, networks, and streamers along to make a fair deal that respects union members and their ”contribution to this industry."
In their letters, the actors said they felt otherwise.
“A strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it,” read the letter addressed to the union leadership and negotiating committee. “But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that. And we are concerned by the idea that SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.”
Other well-known celebrities threatening to strike include Brendan Fraser, Maya Hawke, Lesley Ann Warren, Marisa Tomei, Rosie O'Donnell, Neil Patrick Harris, Tea Leoni, Glenn Close, Jane Fonda, Minnie Driver, Tim Daly, Debra Messing, Eva Longoria, Quinta Brunson, Dave Franco, Noah Wyle, and J. Smith Cameron.
Economic analysts like the Milken Institute predict the strikes could cost billions of dollars with the effects spilling over into the housing market, the trades, the hospitality industry like caterers, and temporary jobs created by TV and movie productions.
The last major Hollywood strike, which was in 2008, cost California $2.1 billion and was fingered as the catalyst for the state’s recession.
In addition to the strikes, Hollywood actors have also been at odds with SAG-AFTRA for allowing across-the-board and lingering COVID-vaccine mandates in the industry despite a lack of support for them among a large number of members.
Several actors have filed suits against major producers and studios over lost or terminated roles for refusing to take the experimental vax.
Last month, “Deadwood” actor Brent Sexton filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging the company rescinded its offer to him to play the role of President Andrew Johnson in “Manhunt”, which is scheduled to start airing in August.
In a social media farewell, actress Katarina Pavelek blamed the requirement to get the COVID vaccine on her debilitating health and the reason she went to Switzerland to undergo assisted euthanasia.
“The booster jab I received over [a] year ago destroyed my health, my body, and my life completely,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
In response to Pavelek’s death, several Hollywood actresses told The Epoch Times that they faced role or jab ultimatums.
“The Originals” and “Legacies” actress Danielle Rose told The Epoch Times that even on sets that didn’t mandate it, she was humiliated and singled out as “unvaccinated.”
“I needed to use separate restrooms from the other performers, and not sit with them in the same transportation van. While being ”allowed“ to work, I never felt so ostracized and unwelcome on set,” she said.
The A-list of actors threatening to strike also asks the union to restore in-person auditioning.
A policy put in place during the pandemic, but yet to be lifted, requires actors to produce and pay for self-taped auditions to mail them to casting directors.
“My biggest concern is that they’re not being seen,” “Mayan’s MC” actor Antonio Jaramillo told Deadline in March.
