On this edition of Your Call, we discuss the Hollywood actors and writers strike.
Last Thursday, more than 160,000 actors joined screenwriters who've been on strike since early May, marking the first industrywide shutdown since 1960.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher accused studio executives of making Wall Street and greed their priority while ignoring the essential contributors that make the machine run. Their demands include pay increases, healthcare, and revenue sharing for streaming shows. Demands also say, artificial intelligence can’t write or rewrite literary material; can’t be used as source material; and [works covered by union contracts] can’t be used to train artificial intelligence.
Guests:
Jonterri Gadson, strike captain for Writers Guild of America West, and an Emmy-winning screenwriter for several shows, including Everybody Still Hates Chris and HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show
Kevin E. West, member of the SAG-AFTRA theatrical negotiating committee, longtime television actor with roles on shows, including Criminal Minds and Bones, motivational speaker, author, and founder of The Actor’s Network
Web Resources:
The Hollywood Reporter: SAG-AFTRA Negotiator Anthony Rapp Claims Studios Stonewalled Talks Days Ahead of Strike
Deadline: Hollywood Studios’ WGA Strike Endgame Is To Let Writers Go Broke Before Resuming Talks In Fall
The Hollywood Reporter: Writers Guild Posts Studio-by-Studio Forecast of How Much a Deal Would Cost
The Los Angeles Times: Hollywood writers say the bosses make too much. This is what our analysis found
NBC: Actors vs. AI: Strike brings focus to emerging use of advanced tech
