Time is a strange construct with a twisted sense of irony, because while each day in this abomination of an administration feels like an eternity, it also seems impossible that the writer and actor strikes of 2023 were already three years ago, come this summer. Fran Drescher was president of the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA during that time, and stood strong for those 118 days in order to secure better streaming residuals and AI protections for their members, among other issues. Sean Astin was an elected board member and very vocal participant during the strike, which is good, because Sean succeeded Fran as SAG-AFTRA president in an election last September. And because the contracts only last three years, which means talks for the new contract begin… now! The Associated Press just did a profile on Sean as he heads into negotiations, and in the interview President Astin dropped some tea that was fascinating. Sean says that three years ago the studios’ union — the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP — went into contract talks spoiling for a fight. Put more bluntly, “They wanted the strike.”
Astin said he has reason to believe the new talks won’t start with actors and their employers at each other’s throats.
“They came in last time provoking the fight,” he said, referring to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. “They wanted the strike. No question in my mind. I was in those rooms every single day. They’re sending much different signals now. They’re sending signals of wanting stability, of wanting to work as partners again.”
The AMPTP said in a statement to the AP that the group representing studios and streamers looked “forward to working collaboratively with our partners at SAG-AFTRA as we commence formal bargaining.”
“By taking the time to thoughtfully engage on the challenges confronting our industry, we are optimistic that, together, we can reach a fair deal that reflects our shared commitment to supporting our industry’s talented performers and promoting long-term stability,” the statement said.
Astin said the guild won’t yield any of the ground it won in 2023, whether it be wage increases or requiring informed consent for the use of actors’ likenesses via AI, and that means they can’t disarm in advance — striking is not out of the question, whatever the lingering pains from last time.
“There’s only one real tool available to a labor union in a negotiation, and that’s saying no,” Astin said. “We reserve the right to say no again if we need to.”
On March 1, the guild will hold the world’s most glamorous union meeting, the newly renamed Actor Awards, where high-profile members like Leonardo DiCaprio and Emma Stone are nominated. But the vast majority of acting members don’t even make the approximately $27,000 a year required to qualify for guild health insurance. And Astin represents the guild’s full membership — including video game actors, puppeteers, broadcast journalists and TV announcers. He’s spent much of his time since his election — and plenty before that — learning the specific concerns of, for example, stunt drivers or actors who live in Minnesota or New Mexico.
“I will say to everybody, I’m gonna fight as hard for you as anybody has ever fought for you, for your issue,” he said. “People say, ‘You can’t fight for everybody equally.’ I say, ‘Yes, I can.’”
That’s a bold opening move from President Astin for contract negotiations, and public to boot! But being put on blast is no less than AMPTP deserves, and the stakes are undoubtedly higher this time around. The mega Netflix-Warner merger casts a wide shadow over these talks (on the heels of the Skydance-Paramount merger, and oh by the way, David Ellison is still throwing a tantrum to try and takeover Warner), putting into sharp focus the erosion of a livable middle class in the film industry. And then there’s the AI of it all, heavy human sigh. It’s creeping into all corners of life at greater and greater speeds, yet with no greater accuracy. Then last year, an actor’s worst nightmare was realized with the announcement of Tilly Norwood, an AI “actor.” At that point SAG-AFTRA had to make the (obvious yet necessary) statement that AI cannot be an actor! What still gives me chills, though, was Tilly’s maker confirming that whether they’re copping to it yet or not, studios are already moving full steam ahead with AI.
So give ‘em hell, Sean! After all, actors never say die! (Unless of course it’s in the script.)
Photos credit: mpi099/MediaPunch/INSTARimages and Getty Images
As a WGA member & working writer, I agree 100% that AMPTP provoked the last strike. The issues facing the unions this time around are similar and more concentrated, but AMPTP is already more conciliatory than they were in 2023 — when they definitely wanted to punish talent. They wanted to see writers lose their homes & even said that part out loud & on the record.
Yep. And (as a SAG member), it’s pretty clear the industry hasn’t yet recovered from the mess they (amptp) started. Hopefully that is at least part of the impetus behind their more conciliatory attitude…
100%. I’m also WGA and a working writer, and I came here to say this. The AMPTP didn’t expect us to strike, and they didn’t expect that we’d prevail.
But honestly, once the strike turned into a WGA + SAG-AFTRA co-production, we were basically unstoppable. On one side: the AMPTP. On the other: the people who are the best in the world at controlling a narrative, paired with the hottest union on Earth.
In 2023, the AMPTP wanted to see the industry contract & used the strike to invoke force majeur clauses to cancel (& not pay for) projects — even those that were nearly completed — and to fire studio & network personnel in order to cut costs & reduce the stockpile of content. The Industry has not come back from that contraction & cannot survive another, similar, contraction. Hang in there, LGT, my comrade in arms!