Writer Gary Phillips traces the history of the Writers Guild, the militancy of Hollywood unions, beginning with the writers, the difference between the writers and actors, and why the actors remain on strike.
The singer-songwriter met the demands of striking SAG-AFTRA, including streaming residuals, to release The Eras Tour documentary.
While guild members would love to get back to work, the one thing they’re not going to do after months on the picket lines, whatever the studio’s strategic game plan when the strike began, is roll over and play dead.
Extras - they fear the general public thinks all actors get paid handsomely and are doing it for the love of the craft, almost as a hobby. Yet in most cases, it's their only job, and they need to qualify for health insurance, pay rent or a mortgage,
"The Nanny" speaks on land barons, new business models and why she is the right person for the job. “I think that the whole world is looking at us right now, because human beings in all different walks of life are being replaced by robots.”
160,000 actors, members of SAG-AFTRA, are shutting down all industry filming and voice-over production at midnight tonight. They are joining the 11,000 writers, members of the Writers Guild, who have been on strike since May 2.
While writers like me struggle to make ends meet, Hollywood studios get rich off the content we create.
While the methods of production and distribution have transformed several times over, every industry-wide strike since 1950 has been about residuals. Residuals have historically been the most hard-fought battles. Now there is streaming, and AI.
As streaming content has boomed, the Writers Guild of America says that new media models like Netflix and other online platforms have steadily eroded workers' pay and writers' ability to earn a living in Hollywood. Some 11,500 members are on strike.
It’s been 15 years since the last WGA strike, and the stakes are far greater.
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