Industry insiders offer dire predictions regarding the Hollywood strike
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - A city in crisis! With two of LA’s most powerful unions now joining forces on the picket lines, the economic repercussions could be seismic, and the question everyone is asking, "When will it all end?"
"There’s nothing happening at all. And it's not at all clear when they will resume," said Gene Maddaus, reporter for Variety.
Maddaus says history may offer some insight in how these strikes will play out, but predicting when they will end is anyone’s guess.
"The last time the actors went on strike on this contract, it was 94 days. That was in 1980. So you could look at that. Everybody knows they went on strike, the writers and actors at the same time in 1960. But in 1960, the actors were only on strike for four or five weeks," Maddaus detailed.
Dire predictions
Some industry insiders are offering dire predictions that this could go on into 2024.
"I don't think this is going to resolve before the fall. And I...I do have this dread that it may take the Oscars to drive a solution the way it did the last writer's strike 15 years ago, the difference being that, at that point, the strike was only, you know, ended when it was 100 days old, not, you know, 180 or 200, if it dragged on to the Oscars. I just hope that I'm wrong," said Jonathan Handel, entertainment attorney/journalist.
Former studio executive Barry Diller appeared on Face The Nation on Sunday, and said both sides are facing a critical milestone in resolving the standoff and worries about a lack of urgency.
"What will happen is if this doesn’t get resolved by Christmas or so, then next year there’s not going to be any programs for anybody to watch. So, you’ll see subscriptions drop...that will affect the revenue of all these movie companies," Diller predicted.
Talking points
On Monday, Variety reported SAG-AFTRA held a Zoom meeting for more than 700 of its members and other industry insiders. A memo was shared with talking points about the strike, among them:
"Without a transformative change in SAG-AFTRA’s current contract with the AMPTP, the acting profession will no longer be an option for future generations of performers, and actors already working in the industry will need to pursue other careers in order to survive."
Among the major sticking points, artificial intelligence (AI) and the battle over residuals in streaming content. David Denman, who appeared in 30 episodes of “The Office,” says he took a big hit when the show moved from reruns on broadcast to Netflix.
"Very little money when it was on Netflix. Because it streams over and over on a loop in their home. And that’s fantastic, but they don’t share that profit with the actors who are on the show," Denman shared.
