Actors vote to strike - Hollywood shuts down

[short ornery norwegian]

so it appears to be official - SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents TV and movie actors, has voted to go on strike against the producers (who represent the major studios and streamers).

this is the first actors' strike since 1980 - and the first time since 1960 that actors and writers will be on strike at the same time. the Writers' Guild has been on strike for over two months.

the major issues for both unions appear to be similar. with the rise of streaming services, a lot of TV shows now have shorter season with fewer episodes. also a lot of difference in how residuals are handled for repeats on streaming as opposed to a show in syndication on network TV. and AI is a big issue for writers and actors.

this will basically shut down production on all movies and TV shows using union actors. shows and movies that completed their filming before the strike can still be released.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Well now maybe I can catch up to all the shows I'm so far behind on.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Time for me to dust off my treatments and resubmit!

 

[7Gopher7]

I’m not ok and I am ok admitting this. Not sure how I will get over this.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

so it appears to be official - SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents TV and movie actors, has voted to go on strike against the producers (who represent the major studios and streamers).

this is the first actors' strike since 1980 - and the first time since 1960 that actors and writers will be on strike at the same time. the Writers' Guild has been on strike for over two months.

the major issues for both unions appear to be similar. with the rise of streaming services, a lot of TV shows now have shorter season with fewer episodes. also a lot of difference in how residuals are handled for repeats on streaming as opposed to a show in syndication on network TV. and AI is a big issue for writers and actors.

this will basically shut down production on all movies and TV shows using union actors. shows and movies that completed their filming before the strike can still be released.

Plus, no promotion including:

• Tours
• Personal appearances
• Interviews
• Conventions
• Fan expos
• Festivals
• For your consideration events
• Panels
• Premieres/screenings
• Award shows
• Junkets
• Podcast appearances
• Social Media
• Studio Showcases

In other words, they will either be on the picket line, in live theater, or in hiding.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Hopefully they don't come back until they figure out how to make funny movies again

 

[Ope3]

Hopefully they don't come back until they figure out how to make funny movies again

Not necessarily a good/great movie, but I do admit to laughing quite a bit during "No Hard Feelings".

 

[forever a gopher]

Well now maybe I can catch up to all the shows I'm so far behind on.

There is so much media already out there, this will likely not faze the general public for quite some time. This gets one big "yawn" from me. But maybe I'm not typical - I just finished watching Tiger King, so I'm already pretty far behind.

 

[Full Speed Ahead]

Look for a lot more production being done overseas. The UK actors and writers union says they totally support the US unions going on strike...
... and that UK writers and actors cannot legally strike and thus have to continue working.

 

[Iceland12]

Admit that haven't been paying much attention to the issues but saw this earlier today.

Producers want the "ability to hire an actor once, digitize their performance, & then use it forever without compensation". Not sure if that is in there to be negotiated away or whether the producers are married to it.

 

[howeda7]

Admit that haven't been paying much attention to the issues but saw this earlier today.

Producers want the "ability to hire an actor once, digitize their performance, & then use it forever without compensation". Not sure if that is in there to be negotiated away or whether the producers are married to it.

How could any actor agree to that? I suppose anything is possible if the upfront $$ is huge enough.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Bump - looks like one of the Hollywood Strikes may be ending.

the Writers Guild (WGA) and the group representing the major studios and streamers (AMPTP) have reportedly reached a tentative settlement. Next steps - the WGA executive board needs to approve the agreement, and then it would go out for a vote of all WGA members.

no details yet on the terms of the agreement. major sticking points were use of AI for script-writing and residuals for shows on streaming networks. other issues included the number of writers who could be hired to work on TV shows; guaranteed number of weeks of employment; and of course salaries.

if the contract is ratified, it would clear the way for talk shows to return fairly quickly. production on movies and TV shows are still on hold due to the actors' strike.

Now the focus will shift to SAG-AFTRA (the actors' union) which is still out on strike. the actors have some similar issues with concerns over AI and residuals, so it's possible the WGA agreement could serve as a starting point for new negotiations with SAG-AFTRA.

My niece and her fiance are both WGA members, so good news for my family. before the strike, my niece was in negotiations to sell a proposal for a sitcom to one of the networks. hope that deal is still in place. her fiance mainly works in movies. He did some work on the script for the new Jennifer Lawrence movie.

 

[Ope3]

Bump - looks like one of the Hollywood Strikes may be ending.

the Writers Guild (WGA) and the group representing the major studios and streamers (AMPTP) have reportedly reached a tentative settlement. Next steps - the WGA executive board needs to approve the agreement, and then it would go out for a vote of all WGA members.

no details yet on the terms of the agreement. major sticking points were use of AI for script-writing and residuals for shows on streaming networks. other issues included the number of writers who could be hired to work on TV shows; guaranteed number of weeks of employment; and of course salaries.

if the contract is ratified, it would clear the way for talk shows to return fairly quickly. production on movies and TV shows are still on hold due to the actors' strike.

Now the focus will shift to SAG-AFTRA (the actors' union) which is still out on strike. the actors have some similar issues with concerns over AI and residuals, so it's possible the WGA agreement could serve as a starting point for new negotiations with SAG-AFTRA.

My niece and her fiance are both WGA members, so good news for my family. before the strike, my niece was in negotiations to sell a proposal for a sitcom to one of the networks. hope that deal is still in place. her fiance mainly works in movies. He did some work on the script for the new Jennifer Lawrence mo

I'm guessing in the short term most noticeable to TV viewers will be the return of late night talk shows, though the guests will be limited to non-actors or those promoting non-active projects.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I think the writers and actors are in a similar position to RBs in the NFL. The world has changed with online content and their leverage is just not what it used to be.

I also kind of figured they would come to a deal when the NFL season started. In 2023, the vast majority of people can find all the entertainment they could possibly want with old shows, NFL, and digital entertainment and barely even notice there was a strike at all.

 

[MplsGopher]

Agree they may overestimate their value, but disagree that people aren’t hungry for new, good shows and movies.

I think the John Grisham lawsuit is interesting - suing ChatGPT parent company for training their model on his work without his permission. I don’t see how he has a leg to stand on if he isn’t also suing every writer who ever read one of his books, and therefore automatically became trained in his style of writing. But will be interesting to see what happens with it.

 

[howeda7]

One issue I hope they fix on the residuals is incentivizing platforms to simply delete shows to avoid paying them.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Agree they may overestimate their value, but disagree that people aren’t hungry for new, good shows and movies.

I think the John Grisham lawsuit is interesting - suing ChatGPT parent company for training their model on his work without his permission. I don’t see how he has a leg to stand on if he isn’t also suing every writer who ever read one of his books, and therefore automatically became trained in his style of writing. But will be interesting to see what happens with it.

George R. R. Martin - author of Game of Thrones - is part of a suit involving 17 writers against the company that owns ChatGPT.

The Authors Guild in the lawsuit alleged Microsoft-backed Open AI of a ‘systemic theft on a mass scale’ by using their copyrighted content without permission to train its AI models, including ChatGPT.

For the unversed, ChatGPT and other similar large language models (LLMs) including Google Bard learn by analysing a massive amount of data usually available via online sources.

Citing the ChatGPT searches for authors, the lawsuit alleged that the program generated ‘an infringing, unauthorised, and detailed outline’ for a ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel titled ‘A Dawn of Direwolves’ and even used the existing characters from Martin’s successful book series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Update - writers allowed to go back to work.

from the AP:

Hollywood's writers strike was declared over after nearly five months Tuesday night when board members from their union approved a contract agreement with studios, bringing the industry at least partly back from a historic halt in production.

The governing boards of the Writers Guild of America and their joint negotiating committee all voted to accept the deal, two days after the tentative agreement was reached. After the vote they declared that the strike would be over and writers would be free to start on scripts at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

The writers still have to vote to ratify the contract themselves in early October, but lifting the strike will allow them to work during that process, the guild told members in an email.

Late-night talk shows — the first to go dark when writers walked out on May 2 — are likely the first shows that will resume. Scripted shows will take longer to return, with actors still on strike and no negotiations yet on the horizon.

The three-year agreement includes significant wins in the main areas writers had fought for – compensation, length of employment, size of staffs and control of artificial intelligence – matching or nearly equaling what they had sought at the outset of the strike.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Update - writers allowed to go back to work.

from the AP:

Hollywood's writers strike was declared over after nearly five months Tuesday night when board members from their union approved a contract agreement with studios, bringing the industry at least partly back from a historic halt in production.

The governing boards of the Writers Guild of America and their joint negotiating committee all voted to accept the deal, two days after the tentative agreement was reached. After the vote they declared that the strike would be over and writers would be free to start on scripts at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

The writers still have to vote to ratify the contract themselves in early October, but lifting the strike will allow them to work during that process, the guild told members in an email.

Late-night talk shows — the first to go dark when writers walked out on May 2 — are likely the first shows that will resume. Scripted shows will take longer to return, with actors still on strike and no negotiations yet on the horizon.

The three-year agreement includes significant wins in the main areas writers had fought for – compensation, length of employment, size of staffs and control of artificial intelligence – matching or nearly equaling what they had sought at the outset of the strike.

I just can't imagine there are very many people who missed late-night talk shows. They've been terrible for years, and there are way too many other options. There will be a lot of people who WERE watching before that found other ways to fill the void and won't go back

 

[Slim Tubby]

There will be a lot of people who WERE watching before that found other ways to fill the void and won't go back.

Quite possibly the dirtiest thing never said here.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

I just can't imagine there are very many people who missed late-night talk shows. They've been terrible for years, and there are way too many other options. There will be a lot of people who WERE watching before that found other ways to fill the void and won't go back

The modern late night show has 2 components; the show that airs that night and the You Tube clicks.

I watch the monologues, Seth Meyers’ A Closer Look, Colbert’s Meanwhile, and some of Fallon’s stuff the next day.

 

[TRF Guy]

I just can't imagine there are very many people who missed late-night talk shows. They've been terrible for years, and there are way too many other options. There will be a lot of people who WERE watching before that found other ways to fill the void and won't go back

Late night talk shows are unwatchable and have been for some time. I’ll watch old Johny Carson monologues on YouTube for my laughs

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

FWIW per my friend who is an actor and involved with the strike - they are holding talks today.

As he told me, the writers had to be taken care of first, no scripts, no acting.

 

[Full Speed Ahead]

Newsome makes his choice - CEOs and studio executives are bigger contributors to his campaign than the workers. Uses the excuse that California is broke as his reason.

Newsom vetoes bill that would allow striking workers to get unemployment checks​

... “Any expansion of eligibility for UI benefits could increase California’s outstanding federal UI debt projected to be nearly $20 billion by the end of the year and could jeopardize California’s Benefit Cost Ratio add-on waiver application, significantly increasing taxes on employers,” Newsom wrote.

 

[Gophers1992]

Newsome makes his choice - CEOs and studio executives are bigger contributors to his campaign than the workers. Uses the excuse that California is broke as his reason.

Newsom vetoes bill that would allow striking workers to get unemployment checks​

... “Any expansion of eligibility for UI benefits could increase California’s outstanding federal UI debt projected to be nearly $20 billion by the end of the year and could jeopardize California’s Benefit Cost Ratio add-on waiver application, significantly increasing taxes on employers,” Newsom wrote.

I'm ok with the move by Newsom. We don't need unemployment being paid to people who are choosing not to work.