President of the association of American actors on negotiations with studios: "We were tricked"

President of the American Actors' Guild, Fran Drescher, confirmed in an interview with Agence France-Presse that the studios had engaged in unfair negotiations with the guild to buy time and promote their upcoming summer films in anticipation of the expected strike.

Drescher, star of the 90s sitcom "The Nanny," stated that they had been deceived, expressing her "disappointment" after the announcement of the historic strike in Hollywood.

She explained that studio representatives and streaming platforms had been "working behind the scenes and canceling meetings with us," adding, "Perhaps they did that to buy more time to promote their anticipated summer films."

The strike would cripple TV and film production in the United States, which has already been affected by the screenwriters' strike since May. Hollywood has not witnessed a similar dual protest movement since 1960.

Under the strike, the 160,000 members of the guild, including actors and workers in the film and television industry, refuse to participate in any form of promotional activities, whether in premieres, festivals, or on social media.

This would disrupt the marketing campaigns for highly anticipated summer films, including Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer."

Prior to deciding on the strike, the guild agreed to extend negotiations with Hollywood studios for ten days, within a deadline that ended on Wednesday, July 12.

During this extension, films such as "Barbie" and "Mission: Impossible," featuring stars like Tom Cruise, Margot Robbie, and Ryan Gosling, took advantage of the opportunity to promote themselves.

Drescher said, "Maybe I acted naïvely, but it was the first time I engaged in negotiations," adding that "greed is the root of all evils in the world, and this is a prime example."

She further stated, "I thought we could find common ground and they would see how much this new working model has been imposed on the entire industry," referring to streaming platforms.

Similar to the screenwriters, actors are demanding better salaries in light of rising inflation and guarantees in case their work is affected by the use of artificial intelligence programs.

They specifically criticize the low residuals they receive for each rerun of their films or series. These amounts are significant for television reruns as they are based on advertising, but they are very low when it comes to reruns on streaming platforms, which do not provide viewership numbers.

Drescher said, "We will be automatically replaced by artificial intelligence," adding, "Our marginalization will continue, and I urge everyone to wake up."

The Producers Alliance, representing studios and streaming platforms, announced on Thursday that they proposed "historic salary increases" and presented a "revolutionary proposal" regarding the use of artificial intelligence that protects actors' digital image.

The guild expressed regret in a statement for resorting to "a step that will cause financial difficulties for thousands of people."

Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, criticized the guild's demands as "unrealistic" in an interview with CNN.

Despite Drescher's frustration with the studios, she stated that "the doors of the guild will remain open to continue negotiations."

She added, "The strike does not represent the end; it's just an escalation. We want to continue negotiating with them, but the ball is in their court."

 

 

 

 

 

AFP