Happy Birthday
Entertainment News and Features
Entertainment Web Guides
Damian Dovarganes/AP
Actor Patrick Dempsey shows support for the Writers Guild of America members at
Prospect Studios in Los Angeles.
Actor Patrick Dempsey shows support for the Writers Guild of America members at
Prospect Studios in Los Angeles.
Threat of Actors' Strike Stalls TV and Movie Production
June 25, 2008 03:41 PM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Primetime TV and movie actors may find themselves on the picket line if an agreement isn’t reached.
30-Second Summary
After taking a major hit from the writers’ strike, primetime TV shows are threatened by the possibility of an actors’ strike. This could be a devastating blow to television shows, whose ratings have already dropped significantly in the past year. A strike now would be “another protracted work stoppage that’s a fight for pennies, winds up costing millions, and it’s anathema to entertainment,” according to Allison Waldman of the TV Squad blog.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) must strike a deal with the studios by June 30, when the current contract expires, but if no agreement is reached, the union may call a strike. Actors are fighting for “royalty pay hikes, approval over the use of clips and product placements, and payments for original programs on the Internet.” If no contract is finalized, studios may also declare a lockout.
Movies will suffer as well. Agents have stopped making deals for actors, and plans for new movies are stalled.
Hollywood has responded by pushing up as many projects as possible. Primetime TV shows are trying to complete at least part of the new fall season prior to the June 30 deadline. “CSI,” “House” and “My Name is Earl” will have several episodes filmed by June 30. They can’t afford to lose more viewers to other forms of entertainment.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) must strike a deal with the studios by June 30, when the current contract expires, but if no agreement is reached, the union may call a strike. Actors are fighting for “royalty pay hikes, approval over the use of clips and product placements, and payments for original programs on the Internet.” If no contract is finalized, studios may also declare a lockout.
Movies will suffer as well. Agents have stopped making deals for actors, and plans for new movies are stalled.
Hollywood has responded by pushing up as many projects as possible. Primetime TV shows are trying to complete at least part of the new fall season prior to the June 30 deadline. “CSI,” “House” and “My Name is Earl” will have several episodes filmed by June 30. They can’t afford to lose more viewers to other forms of entertainment.
Headline Link: ‘Strike threat creates a suspense drama for Hollywood’
The current Screen Actors Guild contract runs out at the end of this month, but after weeks of negotiations, there is no end in sight. “We’re kind of in no-man’s land right now," a partner at the Endeavor talent agency said. He represents Christian Bale, but hesitates to make more deals for the actor until he knows whether there will be a strike. A strike would be particularly destructive for primetime TV. Not only does television account for thousands of jobs in L.A., but networks have not been able to get ratings up since the writers’ strike this winter. A strike now might mean a fatal plummet for primetime television.
Source: Los Angeles Times (free registration may be required)
In early June, movie and primetime TV producers began shifting production schedules and changing plans in anticipation of a strike. Television shows such as “House,” “CSI” and “My Name is Earl” moved up shooting so that four to six episodes for next season would be completed by June 30, the day the SAG contract is up. Meanwhile, “the studios are not greenlighting films right now,” actor Emile Hirsh said. The issues actors are fighting for include “royalty pay hikes, approval over the use of clips and product placements, and payments for original programs on the Internet.”
Source: USA Today
Background: Damage from the Writers’ Strike
Even after the writers’ strike had ended, viewers did not go rushing back to television in great numbers. The number of viewers in April and May of 2008 dropped 9 percent from the same period the previous year. Critics speculated that viewers had lost interest in the shows that required them to follow a season-long plotline.
Source: findingDulcinea
During the writers’ strike, viewers turned to other forms of entertainment. The Internet is now an increasingly threatening rival to TV, as audiences spend hours on social networking sites and watching YouTube videos.
Source: Los Angeles Times (free registration may be required)
Reaction: We can’t afford a strike
When news of a possible strike broke in March, blog TV Squad begged actors not to strike and warned that an actors’ strike would be “another protracted work stoppage that’s a fight for pennies, winds up costing millions, and it’s anathema to entertainment.” The writers’ strike nearly destroyed viewers’ faith in TV, and another strike would be a “cold shower,” says TV Squad blogger Allison Waldman.
Source: TV Squad
The smaller of the two actors’ unions, the America Federation of Television and Radio Artists, has reached an agreement with the studios, and although SAG is fighting its ratification, more than100 actors, including Tom Hanks, are urging AFTRA to close the deal. According to the petition, “There really is no alternative if the AFTRA deal is defeated." The two possible outcomes if the AFTRA deal fails are a SAG strike or a studio lockout of actors.
Source: The Telegraph
© 2009 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
