American actors will leave the studios to join the writers' strike in support of fairer pay and stronger protections for AI rights, leaving the Hollywood film industry in the dark

American actors will leave the studios to join the writers' strike in support of fairer pay and stronger protections for AI rights, leaving the Hollywood film industry in the dark.
Due to the decision to strike, SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and WGA (the Writers Guild of America) will both go on strike at the same time for the first time in 63 years.
The SAG-AFTRA union said that the strike would start at midnight, Los Angeles time.
As the strike was declared, celebrities left the London premiere of the historical epic Oppenheimer, including Matt Damon, to "write their picket signs," according to the film's director Christopher Nolan.
On stage, he said: "I have to thank the work of our wonderful cast, led by Cillian Murphy, minutes before the strike announcement.
Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek, and a plethora of other actors and actresses are on the long list. On the red carpet earlier, you saw them here.
Sadly, they are leaving to create their picket signs for what we expect to be an impending SAG strike, joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the fight for reasonable pay for their working union members.
SAG-AFTRA executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland called the strike a "last resort" and said it came after four weeks of negotiations during a press conference to announce it.
He claimed that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), an organization representing the industry, had "devalued the work of our members" and had "failed to offer a fair deal on key issues essential to protecting the livelihoods of working actors and performers."
He continued, "Actors deserve a contract that takes into account the changes that have occurred in the business.
160,000 performers are covered by the union, which previously unanimously decided to recommend a strike after talks with Hollywood studios fell apart.
Higher remuneration and protection against unauthorized use of their photographs by artificial intelligence (AI) are two of the performers' top demands.
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Hollywood will effectively grind to a standstill as a result of the decision by the performers to go on strike, after already suffering two months without its authors. Many are forecasting a reality TV-heavy autumn TV schedule as a result.
British actor's union Equity issued a statement in which it stated that it "stands full square behind our sister union in their claim, and the action their Board have agreed to take."
The union's decision, according to AMPTP, which represents corporations including Netflix, Disney, and others, left it "deeply disappointed."
"This is the union's choice, not ours," it continued.
Thus, it has rejected our offer of historical pay and residual increases, significantly higher caps on pension and health contribution rates, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a ground-breaking AI proposal that safeguards performers' digital likenesses, and more.