LOS ANGELES: “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudekis and other top movie and TV actors joined picket lines alongside screenwriters Friday on the first full day of a walkout that has become Hollywood’s biggest labour fight in decades.
Sudeikis was among the picketers outside NBC in New York. “Lord of the Rings” star Sean Astin joined chanting protesters outside Netflix’s offices in Hollywood. Also present at Netflix were “Titanic” and “Unforgiven” actor Frances Fisher and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher, who is president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
The actors’ arrival energized the picket lines outside Netflix, where music blared and the sidewalks were packed with demonstrators. Elsewhere, “Once Upon a Time” actor Gennifer Goodwin was among the protesters outside Paramount Pictures.
The walkout is the first double-barreled strike by actors and screenwriters in more than six decades. The dispute immediately shut down production across the entertainment industry after talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services broke down. The famous faces of Oscar and Emmy winners will likely be seen with some regularity on picket lines in New York and Los Angeles, adding star power to the demonstrations outside studios and corporate offices.
The on-going strike by roughly 11,500 writers has sent late-night TV talk shows into endless reruns, disrupted most production for the autumn TV season and halted work on big-budget movies. In recent weeks, many actors made a show of solidarity with writers, who walked out in May. Now 65,000 members of the actors’ union have formally joined them on strike.
Both SAG-AFTRA- Hollywood’s largest union, representing 160,000 film and television actors – and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are demanding increases in base pay and residuals, or fees paid from streaming television, plus assurances that their work will not be replaced by artificial intelligence. The actors’ union announced the strike after failing to reach a deal with studios, including Walt Disney Co and Netflix Inc. Agencies
Sudeikis was among the picketers outside NBC in New York. “Lord of the Rings” star Sean Astin joined chanting protesters outside Netflix’s offices in Hollywood. Also present at Netflix were “Titanic” and “Unforgiven” actor Frances Fisher and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher, who is president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
The actors’ arrival energized the picket lines outside Netflix, where music blared and the sidewalks were packed with demonstrators. Elsewhere, “Once Upon a Time” actor Gennifer Goodwin was among the protesters outside Paramount Pictures.
The walkout is the first double-barreled strike by actors and screenwriters in more than six decades. The dispute immediately shut down production across the entertainment industry after talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services broke down. The famous faces of Oscar and Emmy winners will likely be seen with some regularity on picket lines in New York and Los Angeles, adding star power to the demonstrations outside studios and corporate offices.
The on-going strike by roughly 11,500 writers has sent late-night TV talk shows into endless reruns, disrupted most production for the autumn TV season and halted work on big-budget movies. In recent weeks, many actors made a show of solidarity with writers, who walked out in May. Now 65,000 members of the actors’ union have formally joined them on strike.
Both SAG-AFTRA- Hollywood’s largest union, representing 160,000 film and television actors – and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are demanding increases in base pay and residuals, or fees paid from streaming television, plus assurances that their work will not be replaced by artificial intelligence. The actors’ union announced the strike after failing to reach a deal with studios, including Walt Disney Co and Netflix Inc. Agencies