< br />
MOSCOW, July 14The Screen Actors Guild and the United States Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) went on strike after they failed to negotiate better working conditions with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the union said on its website.
«SAG-AFTRA negotiated with AMPTP in good faith. We said that we needed a new contract that would take into account current issues. They responded in the usual way. <…> Our careers are now in danger, so we are on strike,” the organization explained.
As reported, the strike began on Friday at 00:01 local time (10:01 Moscow time).
According to the union, actors and employees of media companies such as Amazon, Disney, Fox, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros. and others.
Earlier it was reported that the stars of the film «Oppenheimer» about the creator of the atomic bomb Robert Oppenheimer left the premiere in London, having learned about the start of the strike. Among the Hollywood celebrities in the film were Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr. They managed to appear before the public on the red carpet, but then left the event.
The Guild is demanding higher minimum wages, social security and protection of the rights of industry representatives against the backdrop of the growing popularity and capabilities of artificial intelligence. The requirements also include royalties from impressions on streaming services and guarantees of rights to own images used to create content by artificial intelligence. Famous actresses such as Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep have already declared their support for the strike.
In May, after the failure of negotiations with the Film and Television Producers Alliance, the Writers Guild of American, which unites more than 11.5 thousand authors who create content for Hollywood films, series and entertainment shows, began to protest. Due to the ongoing strike, filming of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things was postponed, writing of the script for the prequel of the American TV series Game of Thrones, and many other projects was suspended.
The last time a similar «double» strike in the US film industry took place in 1960.