Why The Drama?

1. The Hollywood Actors and Screenwriters Guild (HASG), which represents

more than 150,000 television and movie actors went on strike, joining
screenwriters who walked out in May to create Hollywood’s first industrywide
shutdown in 63 years. The rise of streaming platforms and the challenges
created by the pandemic have stressed the writers, many of which are facing
financial challenges, as well as actors, who are seeking better pay and new
protections in the dynamic workplace environment.
2. Actors will now not appear in films or even promote movies during the strike.
Do not expect to hear Ryan Gosling promote "Barbie" again anytime soon.
During the strike, union members are forbidden from engaging in promotional
activities called for by their contracts, including tours, appearances,
interviews, conventions, fan expos, festivals, panels, premieres, screenings,
award shows, junkets, podcast appearances, and social media.
3. This is very bad news for San Diego’s Comic-Con and upcoming film festivals
in places like Venice and Toronto. Red-carpet premieres, promotional
interviews, and events, including the Emmys and Cannes, have already been
halted, rescheduled, or scaled back, likely by months. The demonstrations
have received support from some of the biggest celebrities in the movie and
television business, including the stars of the upcoming Barbie &
Oppenheimer movies, who walked off the red carpet during the premiere.
4. Major films in production are likely to be affected, including sequels to the
Avatar, Deadpool, and Gladiator franchises, as well as upcoming seasons of
shows such as Stranger Things, Family Guy, and the Simpsons. During the
first two weeks of July, no scripted TV permits were issued in Los Angeles
County, according to Film LA, which tracks production activity. Film and TV
shows that have completed shooting and are already in postproduction can
likely stay on schedule because the work remaining does not typically involve
writers or actors.
5. Another reason that has acted as a catalyst in this movement is the age-old
culture of Hollywood pay disparity. It is a fairly prevalent fact that male co-
stars are always paid two to three times more than their contemporary female
counterparts. Females have now stood against this sexism and want to
revolutionize the entire pay structure of the industry, thus bringing pay parity.
Hence, the strike is being supported by a lot of female actresses in the hope of
achieving this goal.
6. HASG wants studios and streaming services to offer better pay, increased
royalties, higher contributions to their pension and health plans, and
safeguards on the use of AI in the industry. They have demanded increased
residual payments (a type of royalty) from streaming services. Streaming
series typically have far fewer episodes than television series. .
7. It used to be that if a television series was a hit, actors and writers could count
on a long stream of regular residual checks; streaming has changed the system
in a way that they say has hurt them. For actors, pay for individual roles has
declined, forcing them to seek several more roles to make the same amount of
money as they did a few years ago. Writing contracts have become shorter and
more perilous, with payment often not included for writers' work on revisions
or new material.
8. The invention of AI has always been seen as a boon to people, but its use in the
creative space has eaten up several jobs. The use of AI in the show business has
become highly contentious, as production houses have since started using it
for writing scripts.
9. They want aggressive guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence to
preserve jobs. Talks for a new contract with studios and streaming giants
broke down, with the HASG accusing the Alliance of Motion Picture and
Television Producers (AMPTP) of being "unwilling to offer a fair deal".
10. AMPTP is an alliance of one of the most renowned production houses in
Hollywood. These production houses have produced the greatest films in
 Hollywood, including The Godfather, The Terminator, Titanic, Casablanca,
etc. All these production houses are known for their larger-than-life films, but
COVID did not spare anyone. The pandemic pushed these production houses
towards loss, and to resolve this, they had to form AMPTP. Some of these
houses were even on the verge of bankruptcy. These production houses have
slowly revived, but the post-pandemic audience has more "streamers" than
viewers," which has forced these production houses to change their
conventional ways of film production. With internet providers hogging most of
the money in today’s time, the profit margins of the production houses have
seen a steep decline, which has left them with no other option but to cut the
pay and royalties of the actors and writers. In this ever-evolving world, AI has
come across as a cost-cutting tool for production houses, which has tempted
them to use it as a creative tool.
11. Earlier production houses had a monopoly in the area of entertainment and
recreation, but after the advent of social media and other entertainment
options, tough competition has been created for movie makers. Now they have
to strive hard to produce quality content to sustain their consumer base.
Thanks to globalisation, information has become widespread, and content is
now more easily available than ever due to piracy. Thus, the production houses
have to work even harder because the audience wants better cinematic
experiences, including better costumes and designs. There was a time when
movies used to set trends, and now trends influence movies, and this rat race
has put the production houses in deep waters.
12. AMPTP is ready to make certain changes for writers and actors social security
but is not in a financial position to revolutionize the same. AMPTP expects the
writers and actors to understand their problems and bear with them till they
regain their financial footing. AMPTP highly values and holds great regard for
their writers and actors and understands that they are incomplete without
them, but reaching a middle ground requires compromises from both sides.
13. AMPTP has requested that HASG join them in a session for negotiation
wherein both parties can try to understand each other's problems and come to
a common solution that benefits both parties. AMPTP would be represented in
the negotiation by their chairperson, Joey Tribianni, and their legal counsel,
Ross Geller. HASG would be represented by Chandler Bing and their legal
counsel, Janice Hosenstein.