Girl, the Strike!

By Tim Klaum

You may have noticed in the past few months that, rather suddenly, movie and television productions have been shutting down at a moment’s notice and not picking back up. And while some shows have continued, almost all others (aside from news talk shows) have not. While the big studios, with all of their money and power, will try to convince you that it’s not that bad, trust me. It’s that bad.

Early this year, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began fighting for a fair deal of their contract, asking for a higher base wage (to match the cost of living in 2023) as well as residual payments for writers and more protections for them. The studios were unable to grant these very basic requests, and thus the WGA voted to go on strike. All writing for major productions, from studios such as Disney, Paramount, Universal, and others, immediately came to a halt, and those same studios tried to continue without their writers.

Then, later in the summer, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) also began negotiations for a better deal for their contract. While you may think of “actors” as big, highly paid stars like Zendaya or Chris Hemsworth, a majority of actors are background actors, and not getting nearly as much as their counterparts. So, when the studios tried to not raise their wages and involve AI, which I’ll get back to, SAG-AFTRA also voted to go on strike.

The last time the WGA and SAG-AFTRA were on strike at the same time was in 1960, and it only lasted about 6 weeks. Just like then, Hollywood is essentially completely shut down right now, with any productions still in progress being deemed a strikebreaker, or “Scabs.” A scab is someone who works for their own sole benefit, regardless of what the union is seeking.

For example, Drew Barrymore resumed filming of her daily talk show, without the show's union-sanctioned writing staff. They did not get permission from said unions, so the show was actively going out of its way to work without union members, fully defying the rules of both strikes for the benefit of those already in power. She has, thankfully, listened to those who called her out on it and paused production, but it’s really unfortunate that she used her own status and position to her own personal advantage while claiming to be in favor of the strikes.

Alternatively, many independent projects have been allowed to continue or start production because they are able to give the writers, actors, and crew fair wages. The most notable example of this is Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour Film.” She contacted SAG-AFTRA to ask for their blessing in creating her independent project without involvement from the studios. She famously pays her employees well, recently giving millions in bonuses out to her touring staff, dancers, truck drivers, and more. She then, in a very direct move, licensed the film directly to theaters in North America through AMC Theaters, meaning the film will not be distributed by any big studios. In doing this, she proves that the WGA, SAG-AFTRA, and even the theaters will be able to find opportunities without the studios, and will still be able to succeed. So really, the studios need all of these people more than they need the studios.

As of Monday, 9/25, the AMPTP and WGA have reached a tentative deal. While this is a good sign and likely means that a deal with SAG-AFTA is also in the work, it's important to remember that we aren't out of the woods just yet. Right now, the best way to support the strikes is to participate. Obviously, that doesn’t make much sense for people who aren’t involved in the industry, but still, don’t take this as an opportunity to get up there with Chalamet and Johansson, because as soon as the fair deal is reached, you will be ousted.

For the average person, it’s easiest to be loud about wanting this to be over. Watch the projects on streaming, and show that they have demand. Then, when Disney and Lucasfilm physically can’t make more Star Wars to meet our demand without Pedro Pascal or Rosario Dawson, they’ll be forced to jump back into negotiations, and hopefully reach deals that are fair for everyone. Because at the end of the day, these big names aren’t fighting for themselves right now. They’re fighting for the version of themself from 20 years ago, living paycheck to paycheck, trying to make their dream a reality. They’re fighting for the little guys, just like all strikes do. But the big names hold so much power over the corporations that they can fight for everyone. Because everyone deserves a high quality of life, not just those who have “made it.”