By: Sammy Wang
It’s been three weeks since Hollywood actors went on strike on July 14th after failing to reach a deal concerning the treatment of actors with Hollywood Studios. They decided to fight back against their mistreatment by refusing to work.
Actors have only received a smaller paycheck than the promised amount when working on projects like shows, TV series, and movies. Actors are demanding higher pay and less use of artificial intelligence in projects. An example of how bad the pay was for actors was when one person was only paid the minimum of $3,756 weekly. Actors are supposed to get around $3,756 – $5,897 per week.
Kelle Stewart, an actress who appeared in shows like All American and Black-ish, said that the money actors get isn’t as much as it seems.
“You don’t get to keep it all when you get a paycheck,” Stewart said. “You have to pay taxes, plus commissions. For me, that would include an agent, a manager, and a lawyer that negotiates your deals. Right away, when you’re giving a quote for what you’re going to get paid, you already know that’s really going to be 35% less, give or take.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) is used for many background characters leaving many actors without jobs. Many actors are against producers using AI because AI steals their job. Surveys show that 48% of actors were concerned about AI taking away their roles.
However, Hollywood director Doug Liman, known for The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Edge of Tomorrow, said that AI was more efficient than human actors.
“The main thing is the economics have shifted,” Liman said. “It used to be so expensive to create a computer-generated character that was automatically a limiter and a job protector. But now the computer can do it cheaper and, in some cases, better than a human can.”
Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has supported the actor’s strike by setting up a website dedicated to helping actors in urgent financial need at https://sagaftra.foundation/emergencyfinancialassistance/.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/02/1191667978/sag-aftra-foundation-donations
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sag-aftra-strike-hollywood-union-actors/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/business/media/clooney-streep-actors-strike-donations.html
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/17/business/hollywood-actors-sag-aftra-strike-by-the-numbers/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/business/sag-aftra-actors-talks-hnk-intl/index.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/actors-strike-digital-replicas-artificial-intelligence/
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/how-much-money-do-actors-make-75180/