The Deadline site reveals the cynical remarks of members of the AMPTP wishing to wait until the screenwriters are ruined by the strike before resuming negotiations in the fall. Ron Perlman reacts.
This Thursday, July 13, the American actors joined the screenwriters on the picket lines. SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), the American professional union representing 160,000 actors and actresses, has officially announced its strike. He joins the movement launched on May 2 by the WGA (Writers Guild of America, the union of American screenwriters), which had already attempted a new agreement with the AMPTP (the Alliance of Film and Television Producers) .
The two unions are demanding a revaluation of rights and working conditions as well as an increase in wages.
A historic movement since it has been 63 years since Hollywood had experienced a double strike. We must indeed go back to 1960 – when Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild – for the last simultaneous strike launched by the union of actors and authors, which had resulted in great advances such as improved rights and screenwriters’ pensions and a guarantee that screenwriters would get 5% of their net income from films released before 1960 shown on television, as well as the first Guild pension and welfare scheme.
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On the announcement of the SAG-AFTRA strike, the Producers Alliance issued a statement stating: “We are deeply disappointed that SAG-AFTRA has decided to withdraw from negotiations. It’s the union’s choice, not ours.
In doing so, he rejected our offer of historic salary and residual increases, dramatically higher caps on pension and health contributions, secure hearings, shortened series option periods, a proposed Breakthrough AI that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more. Rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a path that will compound the financial hardship of thousands of people who depend on the industry to support themselves.”
Did you say cynicism?
The AMPTP tries here to weigh the financial difficulties that the authors could encounter on the decision of the actors’ union to strike. However, as of July 11 (before the actors went on strike), the American site Deadline published an article in which a veteran of the film industry stated that the AMPTP had no intention of making a move towards screenwriters.
The producers are going to let the writers burn out.
“I think we’ve gone on a long strike and the producers are going to let the writers burn out”. According to him, the Alliance of Film and Television Producers plans to leave things as they are until October in order to financially exhaust the screenwriters.
The AMPTP would thus like to weaken the WGA. An Alliance executive, who remained anonymous, reportedly told the specialized site: “It’s been months since we agreed, even before the WGA went on strike. No one wanted the strike, but everyone knew it would make or break.”
The studios and AMPTP estimate that by October, most screenwriters will run out of money after going five months out of work.
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Colin Farrel
“The end goal is to let things drag on until union members start losing their apartments and homes,” a studio executive told Deadline. Acknowledging the coldness of the approach, several other sources confirmed this statement. Another leader called it a “cruel, but necessary evil”.
Studios and broadcasters believe that screenwriters in financial difficulty will force WGA leaders to resume negotiations before the holiday season. In this context, the Alliance would then be able to dictate most of the terms of a possible agreement…
The AMPTP seems convinced that “giving in to the writers will result in every contract cycle of the WGA, IATSE, Teamsters and others ending in a strike,” hence its immobility. Words that the Alliance obviously refuted via their spokesperson:“These anonymous individuals do not speak for AMPTP or its member companies, who are committed to reaching a deal and getting our industry back to work.”
However, no resumption of discussions has taken place between the WGA and the AMPTP since the start of the strike last May.
They have a level of expectation that just isn’t realistic.
During a press conference in Sun Valley, Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney commented on CNBC : “This strike very worrying to me. We talked about the disruptive forces in this sector and all the challenges we are facing, the COVID recovery which is underway, but not fully recovered yet. This is the worst time in the world to add to this disruption.
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Bob Odenkirk backs writers’ strike
I understand the desire of any labor organization to work on behalf of its members in order to obtain the best compensation possible and to be compensated fairly according to the value they bring. We were able, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the Directors Guild that reflects the value that directors bring to this great company. We wanted to do the same with the writers and we would like to do the same with the actors. They have a level of expectation that just isn’t realistic. And they add to the set of challenges that this industry is already facing that are, frankly, very disruptive.”
As Bob Iger points out, the negotiations with the Director’s Guild at the end of May have indeed proved fruitful and the AMPTP hopes to negotiate within a few weeks with the actors. If filming does not resume because of the scriptwriters’ strike, the actors could nevertheless once again promote works ready to be released and broadcast.
Ron Perlman’s Wrath
Words that did not fail to react to comedian Ron Perlman in an Instagram post since deleted but circulating on Twitter. The Hellboy singer issued a warning to those who would try to “starve” the strikers and wait for them to lose their homes.
“One thing, before I go… The kid who said they were gonna keep going until people started losing their homes and apartments? Listen to me: “There are lots of ways to lose your home. Some are financial, some are karma, and some are finding out who said that – and we know who said that – and where they live.”
He then adds:You wish this on people, you wish families to starve, while you’re making $27 million a year for doing nothing? Pay attention, you child. Be really careful, because that’s the kind of stuff that makes things happen. Peace.”