“This is real life and death stuff”: ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ Cast Breaks Silence on SAG-AFTRA Strike, Demand For Fair Wages in Hollywood
With over two months, the Writers Guild of America’s historic strike began. It has shattered film and scripted TV productions, project delays, and other similar setbacks. The Minimum Basic Agreement that protected the rights of all authors who worked for broadcast television expired on May 1 of this year. The following day, writers who worked for streaming media went on strike because they weren’t getting paid enough. Along with that, the SAG-AFTRA Strike broke against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on July 14, 2023.
Hollywood is at a standstill because of the SAG-AFTRA strike by actors in the labor union’s ongoing battle with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Hollywood stars are joining the horde of the labor union on the picket lines in a show of support. The cast of the highly anticipated films, Oppenheimer and Barbie have alsp weighed in on their takes on the strike. The stars of the films have shown their support for the SAG-AFTRA strike.
The Cast of Oppenheimer and Barbie Shows Support to the SAG-AFTRA Strike
The summer’s highly anticipated movies, Oppenheimer and Barbie are about to hit theaters. Fans are all excited about both movies, and there has been a rivalry going on between the two. The cast of the film usually makes headlines by sharing their views about the film. However, this time the stars of Oppenheimer and Barbie are in the spotlight as they have decided to support the SAG-AFTRA Strike.
Oppenheimer had their film premiere in London. The cast including Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt, left the premiere of Christopher Nolan’s film as the strike was declared. The director announced that his cast left to make their picket line signs.
He said,
“I have to acknowledge the work of our incredible cast… Unfortunately, they’re off to write their picket signs for what I believe to be an imminent strike by SAG, joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of the union”.
Matt Damon, too expressed his view about the SAG-AFTRA Strike, saying,
“It’s really about working actors. It’s $26,000 to qualify for health coverage and a lot of people are on the margins and residual payments are getting them across that threshold. This isn’t an academic exercise. This is real life and death stuff.”
The actor hoped the strike would be resolved soon, as nobody in the industry wants a strike that halts work. Barbie star Margot Robbie revealed in an interview that she was absolutely ready to join the SAG-AFTRA Strike and show support through her picket line.
Various veteran actors took to their social media to speak for the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) as they too raise their voices against meager pay and unfair treatment.
What is the SAG-AFTRA strike about?
About 160,000 actors, broadcast journalists, announcers, hosts, stunt performers, and other media professionals are represented by SAG-AFTRA. Most US film and television productions halted at midnight in Los Angeles when approximately 160,000 performers stopped working.
As the labor market is being changed by streaming and threatened by artificial intelligence, SAG members are campaigning for improved compensation and working conditions. The union wants assurances that actors won’t be replaced by computer-generated looks and voices or artificial intelligence.
As per the strike rules, actors are permitted to work and are not allowed to promote their own films. This is the first time since 1960, the unions representing authors and actors have stopped working. Hollywood is currently teetering on precarity as the future remains dismal with tensions worse than ever between the writers/actors and the studios.
Also Read: Clash with Cillian Murphy’s ‘Oppenheimer’ Does Not Even Bother ‘Barbie’ Director Greta Gerwig
Source: Marca
