Jesse Raatikainen
The effects of the actors’ and writers’ strike can be long-lasting. A similar situation has not been seen for more than 60 years.
Actors and writers who belong to the union react to the news of the actors’ strike in front of the Netflix office. PDO
Hollywood has not seen a similar situation in more than 60 years. The screenwriters’ union strike was now also followed by the actors’ union strike, which is exacerbating the inflamed situation of the film industry in the United States.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike on May 2nd. Screenwriters demand better collective agreements for themselves.
Now, a couple of months later, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) could not reach an agreement with the producers’ union, so the Actors went on strike on July 14th.
Since 1980, the actors’ union has not been on strike. PDO
You can read more about the reasons for the strike here.
You would quickly think that the strike will not affect our lives here in Finland in any way, but it is not that simple. When the world’s largest film industry stops completely, even if only for a short time, the effects will be felt later.
The writers’ strike alone halted the production of most of the series. Favorite series have been used as examples, such as The Last of Us, Emily in Paris, The Mandalorian and Stranger Things. The actors’ strike means an acute work stoppage even for productions that are already being filmed at the moment.
The Mandalorian is one of the many series affected by the strikes. PDO
Stopping massive film or serial production will increase production costs so much that budgets will be greatly exceeded. On the other hand, the shutdown also affects the future – already scheduled films and series to be shot in the future will move further. In the worst case, they will be abolished completely due to scheduling reasons.
An actor cannot leave production unfinished. If the actor is not available because the already started project needs to be finished filming after the strike, the actor cannot start filming the new production.
Even if you don’t watch movies produced in the United States at all, the actors’ strike also affects productions in other countries. Take, for example, the one recently filmed in France Jeanne du Barrywhich starred Johnny Depp.
In the film Jeanne du Barry, Johnny Depp will be seen in the role of King Louis XV. PDO
The production is European, but if the strike had happened during the shooting of the film, the scenes in which Depp appears would have had to be completely left unfilmed. It would not have been possible to film those scenes at all until the strike ended.
This would have caused a considerable delay in the shooting of the film, and at the same time a big dent in the budget, because everyone else working on the film has to stay on standby. The start of filming means extending the rent of filming locations or rebooking and preparing if the production is interrupted for several months.
In the future, the strike will also affect other sectors, such as distributors and cinemas. If the strike continues for a long time, there will probably be a window of time when there will not be much, at least not so versatile, to watch in cinemas.
Then you have to come up with creative solutions. For the premiere, republished classics may be brought, such as during the corona, or maybe something completely different. Personally, I would at least like to avoid a horror movie where the cinema shows Spede one after the other Unhangable and its remake.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One just premiered. Due to the strike, the shooting of the sequel is delayed, so it is possible that the film will not be seen as planned in the summer of 2024. PDO
The effects also extend to side events, such as award galas, film premieres and fan events, where Actors have traditionally arrived to promote their upcoming productions. The Emmy gala will probably be moved to a later date.
in the Guardian let’s also consider what will happen to the autumn film festivals, such as the Venice Film Festival. It may be that you don’t see the stars on the red carpet.
Streaming services also have to get their content from somewhere. When there is no new content, subscribers do not want to pay a monthly fee for titles they have already seen. At the very least, one could imagine that the grip of streaming services will weaken – perhaps the consumer will end their monthly subscription more quickly and try a competitor.
SAG-AFTRA held a press conference about its decision to go on strike. PDO