Los Angeles (USA) (EFE).- The Hollywood Actors Union (SAG-AFTRA), currently on strike, held a virtual meeting on Monday with some members in which they discussed the importance of achieving “transformative changes ” in the collective agreement with the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP) in favor of the future of the profession.
“Without a transformative change to SAG-AFTRA’s current contract with the AMPTP, the acting profession will cease to be an option for future generations of performers,” said Hollywood Screen Actors Guild Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, according to sources from the specialized magazine Variety.
Crabtree-Ireland also considered that otherwise working conditions for actors could also push professionals already working in the sector to seek other careers in order to survive.
The American media pointed out that nearly 800 union members were present at the talk to discuss central issues of the strike that they have been holding since July 13, after the union and the AMPTP did not reach an agreement to renew their contract.
The SAG-AFTRA executive led the meeting and discussed topics such as revenue sharing, healthcare and retirement, online casting platforms, as well as artificial intelligence. He also answered questions from those present.
Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years Slave”), Melissa McCarthy (“The Heat”), Vanessa Hudgens (“High School Musical”), Lucy Liu (“Kill Bill: Vol. 1”), Michael Stuhlbarg (“The Shape of Water”) y Josh Pence (“Draft Day”), fueron algunos de los participantes.
At the same time, pickets were held outside the offices of the major studios in New York and Los Angeles, and among the actors who paraded through the demonstrations were Hilary Duff, Kevin Bacon, Bob Odenkirk and Francia Raísa.
The strike, which takes place simultaneously with that of the writers (WGA) for similar reasons for the first time in 63 years, looms a million-dollar crisis for the US entertainment industry and a wave of cancellations of productions, awards , conventions and promotional tours.
The interpreters demand an increase in the minimum wage, reduced by inflation and streaming, the regulation of image rights with respect to artificial intelligence and coverage of the cost of self-recorded auditions, among other requests.
Tom Cruise “pressured” the big movie studios and streaming platforms to reconsider their position on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on the big screen during the negotiations of this group with the Screen Actors Guild of the USA ( SAG-AFTRA).
In this intermediation attempt, reported exclusively on Monday by the specialized media The Hollywood Reporter, the American star also asked the representatives of the interpreters’ union to allow the actors to promote their films during the period that the strikes last.