Possibility of a strike by actors

[Kaufman]

Labor unrest continues to dominate Hollywood, and the possibility of a strike by actors has large movie studios planning to shut down production after Monday and has television studios rushing to complete episodes of series scheduled to return in the fall or January.

Most major movie studios long ago scheduled their big projects to finish shooting by Monday, the expiration date of the contract between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Screen Actors Guild.

Meanwhile, television studios plan to continue taping new and returning series as long as possible, banking episodes scheduled for broadcast in the fall or the new year in case an actors strike interrupts production, as the strike by television and film writers did last winter.

The first indication of an actors strike is expected around July 8, when members of the smaller of the two major actors unions, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, completes a vote on whether to ratify a new contract with the producers alliance.

Roughly 44,000 of AFTRA's 70,000 members also belong to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), which has about 120,000 members. So the AFTRA vote is being viewed as a strong indicator of whether SAG members will support a strike.

[#1 Mom]

I hope this includes porn stars!

[blogger]

Here's the latest:

Talks to prevent a looming Hollywood actors strike have broken down - with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) failing to reach an agreement with studio bosses.

Members of the 120,000-strong SAG last week rejected a three-year deal offered by the major Hollywood studios and TV networks, and negotiations between the SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) - the body representing the major studios and networks - resumed on Wednesday July 16 in a bid to draw up a satisfactory contract which will improve actors' pay.

After two hours of talks both sides failed to reach an agreement - making a strike later this year even more likely.

Hollywood's smaller union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), recently voted in favour of a deal with the AMPTP. But the move was heavily criticised by SAG bosses - who accused the rival union of weakening their own negotiations.

[Amber]

I can understand the writers and actors striking on the one hand but on the other hand I'm of the opinion that it should be possible to solve that "problem" quite easily.