As the end of June approaches, the Screen Actor’s Guild is inching closer to joining the Writer’s Guild of America on the picket line. The WGA has been striking for a fair deal with the Hollywood studios for over seven weeks ever since their deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) ended on May 2; and SAG may not be far behind. SAG’s current deal is set to expire this Friday, June 30, should a deal not be reached, and members of the guild have already overwhelmingly voted in favor of a strike. Now several hundred actors, including many high-profile A-lister stars, have sent a letter to the SAG-AFTRA Leadership and Negotiating Committee demanding they not compromise their demands while in talks with AMPTP.
Rolling Stone brings word of this letter, which brings up topics like the threat of AI to performers (“we think it is absolutely vital that this negotiation protects not just our likenesses, but makes sure we are well compensated when any of our work is used to train AI”), but also the stagnant rate at which residuals have grown. In part the letter reads, “We want you to know that we would rather go on strike than compromise on these fundamental points, and we believe that, if we settle for a less than transformative deal, the future of our union and our craft will be undermined, and SAG-AFTRA will enter the next negotiation with drastically reduced leverage.”
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Among the 300+ actors that signed the letter include: Seinfeld and Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stranger Things stars Brett Gelman and Maya Hawke, Mad Max: Fury Road‘s Riley Keough, Poker Face‘s Natasha Lyonne, Prey star Amber Midthunder, Taken‘s Liam Neeson, Better Call Saul‘s Bob Odenkirk, stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt, The Umbrella Academy‘s Elliot Page, Detroiters‘s Sam Richardson, Zoolander‘s Ben Stiller, The Fabelmans‘ Michelle Williams, plus Marvel stars Mark Ruffalo and Emily Vancamp, and Academy Award winners Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), and Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady).
“A strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it,” the letter says. “But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that. And we are concerned by the idea that SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.” Stay tuned as SAG-AFTRA negotiations continue.
