SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strike: Why Are Hollywood Actors and Writers Picketing?

Hollywood is on strike as members of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America are picketing against major studios and streamers.

There are many underlying concerns, but while the issue involves all of Hollywood, the most affected are not the big celebrities but the background actors, extras, side characters, struggling actors who can barely make ends meet, and writers who write the scripts and often also help out in production.

The strike for SAG-AFTRA is against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the various movie and TV studios, broadcast networks, and streaming services. This has brought all of Hollywood to a halt, with many movies premiering without the biggest stars and some productions currently on hold.

According to The Today Show, actors and writers are primarily striking for better pay and working conditions as studios constantly earn more money, while many actors and writers do not get paid enough.

There is also dwindling compensation for actors and writers, especially around payments called residuals that actors and writers often get paid for every time a show or movie they appeared in gets a re-run.

Streaming Services Want To Pay Writers Less

One hot-button issue involves streaming services, which seem to be paying writers a lot less in residuals than cable and network TV.

Collider noted that streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ tend to pay less under the current agreements. Now, however, these streamers have a bigger share of the industry, which means writers and actors tend to get paid less as more and more works go into streaming.

Writers and actors seem to be on the same page in asking the studios for better pay, too, as some of the industry's biggest names showed solidarity, including Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep. Meanwhile, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson donated a massive amount of money to help out the striking members of SAG-AFTRA, and the entire cast of "Oppenheimer" walked out of the film's premiere as a show of solidarity.

SAG-AFTRA, the WGA, Hollywood, and AI

Artificial intelligence is slowly being embraced by Hollywood, especially to cut costs. It has also been suggested that the studios want to use AI to replace background actors and writers.

The topic is one of the most contentious issues for both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, as actors and writers fear that they will soon be replaced. This includes a suggestion that actors only be paid for a day of work, be scanned, and have their likeness be used as extras or background characters for many of a studio's works.

Such deals will mean that actors might lose control of their likenesses, with many not being able to work anymore as one studio has the right to their likenesses so they would not be able to find any work for other studios.

Fortune noted, however, that the AMPTP challenged this description and stated that its offers included an "AI proposal which protects performers' digital likenesses, including a requirement for performers' consent for the creation and use of digital replicas or for digital alterations of a performance."

As for writers, the WGA wants AI-generated storylines or dialogue to be regarded as "literary material." This means that human writers would not have to compete with AI for credit. In addition, writers also do not want these AI-generated storylines or dialogue to be considered "source material" as well.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Adam Conover Explains the SAG-AFTRA & WGA Strikes, Writing Residuals & Why He's not Scared of AI - Pod Save America