Hollywood A-lister and Mission: Impossible superstar Tom Cruise has found himself in a fix ever since he began helping negotiate a contract agreement between the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). SAG-AFTRA is a labor union representing approximately 160,000 media professionals worldwide. On July 14, 2023, SAG-AFTRA went on strike after failing to reach a new contract agreement with the AMPTP.
The SAG-AFTRA strike is preceded by an ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike that has been ongoing since May 2, 2023. This is the first time since 1960 that both actors and writers have stopped all work, causing productional mayhem throughout Hollywood.
The reasons for the strikes
The SAG-AFTRA strike is monumental because of a couple of reasons, including the WGA strike. The thing is, the WGA strike was seen coming by almost everyone in Hollywood, but not the SAG-AFTRA strike. None of the big studios thought that SAG-AFTRA would actually go on strike.
The strikes are primarily against the studios’ use of generative A.I., the use of actors’ likeness, (which is to say that no studio can have the right over any actor’s digital likeness in perpetuity), and finally, the residuals for their work from OTT platforms; the fact that the studios should be open about what they are earning from the OTT platforms and give the actors and writers their respective residuals.
The WGA has gone on strike a couple of times, the last time being in 2007-08. In legal terms, the strikes mean that any and all work, contractual or otherwise, that a writer or an actor has to do for a studio stands paused until the strike is called off.
However, there are some caveats to that; which is to say that SAG-AFTRA members can work in the U.K. (under the predetermined Equity collective bargaining agreements).
Tom Cruise: All cinema’s lord and savior; and his sudden change of stance
Tom Cruise has forever been an advocate of the whole theatrical experience and the conservation of Cinema in terms of going to a theater and watching a film, instead of simply streaming it. Turns out, Cruise has been an active part of the negotiations between the two. In one of the negotiating sessions, Cruise asked the folks at AMPTP to understand the importance and the gravity of SAG-AFTRA’s demands pertaining to (but not restricted to) generative A.I. He also spoke in favor of the SAG-AFTRA’s demands with regard to professional stunt coordinators and other performers quite specifically, though not many details have been revealed about that specific tangent yet.
The strike has had a major impact on the movies set to release on dates around the beginning of the SAG-AFTRA strike, since, in accordance with union regulations, no promotional events are allowed for the actors during the strike. Tom Cruise even approached SAG-AFTRA to allow actors to at least continue promoting their newly released films, given the current challenging circumstances of the industry, including the repercussions of COVID-19 on ticket sales ever since.
Sources have confirmed that this is not with respect to his newly released Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which has also been produced by the actor; since they had already completed their marketing and promotional campaign. To which, SAG-AFTRA responded by asking the actor to join the picket lines, as seeing a global movie star stand with them might make the AMPTP reconsider their end of the contract and would also send the studios a message, in spite of the actor’s active involvement in the negotiations between the two. Cruise’s response to this was “noncommittal”, but he did offer to help in other possible ways.
The strike is having a significant impact on the entertainment industry. Production on many television shows and films has been delayed or postponed indefinitely. The strike is also having a negative impact on the economy, as it is costing jobs and businesses money.
The SAG-AFTRA strike is a complex issue with no easy solutions. Both sides are dug into their positions, and it is unclear when or if a new contract will be reached. The strike is having a significant impact on the entertainment industry, and it is unclear how long it will last.
Source: Variety
