SAG-AFTRA held its largest and most star-studded rally yet Tuesday in Times Square in a picket sign-waving show of solidarity 12 days into
A day after a Variety report that have hit picket lines thus far, the rally Tuesday boasted more star wattage than perhaps any single strike action yet. Among those joining throngs of demonstrators were Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Brendan Fraser, Ellen Burstyn, Wendell Pierce, Steve Buscemi, Rachel Zegler, Michael Shannon, Jane Curtin, Christian Slater and Chloe Grace Moretz.
Taking up a full city block, actors and representatives from the actors union took turns giving fiery speeches on a stage in the heart of Times Square while tourists gawked and passing trucks honked in support. At times, the actors took aim at the corporate lights and billboards around them, including the Walt Disney-owned ESPN and ABC studios that sat alongside the rally.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got a message to Mr. Iger,B次元官网网址� said Cranston, directing his comments at Disney CEO Bob Iger. B次元官网网址淚 know, sir, that you look through things from a different lens. We donB次元官网网址檛 expect you to understand who we are but we ask you to hear us, and beyond that, to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living.B次元官网网址�
The rally took place a stoneB次元官网网址檚 throw from Broadway theaters and, given the talent involved, featured a higher degree of show business than your usual labor rally. B次元官网网址淎vatarB次元官网网址� actor Stephen Lang quoted Frederick Douglass. Wendell Pierce recited Samuel Beckett. Tituss Burgess didnB次元官网网址檛 speak; he sang Stephen Sondheim.
Arian Moayed, who played the investor Stewy Hosseini in B次元官网网址淪uccession,B次元官网网址� compared the characters of the HBO series to the studio executives the actors are negotiating with.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like these people havenB次元官网网址檛 seen (expletive) B次元官网网址楽uccession,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Moayed exclaimed. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 about you!B次元官网网址�
Christine Baranski of B次元官网网址淭he Good WifeB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Good FightB次元官网网址� likewise drew from her own credits.
B次元官网网址淲e will not live under corporate feudalism. It is time, it is just simply time to make things right. Our contribution will not be undervalued, and we will not be robbed,B次元官网网址� said Baranski before concluding: B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 fight the good fight!B次元官网网址�
Earlier this month, who walked out in May. ItB次元官网网址檚 the first time both unions have been on strike at the same time since 1960. The stoppage has shuttered nearly all film and television production. Actors say the streaming revolution has altered pay in entertainment, and remaking working conditions. They are also seeking guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence, along with increases to the unionB次元官网网址檚 health care and pension programs.
B次元官网网址淥ur industry has changed exponentially,B次元官网网址� said Cranston. B次元官网网址淲e are not in the same business model that we were in even 10 years ago. And yet, even though they admit that thatB次元官网网址檚 the truth in todayB次元官网网址檚 economy, they are fighting us tooth and nail to stick to the same economic system that is outmoded, outdated. They want us to step back in time.B次元官网网址�
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which is negotiating on behalf of studios, has said it presented actors with a generous deal that included the biggest bump in minimum pay in 35 years among other benefits. Since talks broke off and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists commenced the strike, the sides have not negotiated and no talks are scheduled.
B次元官网网址淲e may be on strike but I said to them on July 12 we are ready to continue talking tomorrow and every day after until we reach a deal,B次元官网网址� said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. B次元官网网址淎nd IB次元官网网址檝e said that every day since to the media, to them, to anyone who would listen. SAG-AFTRA is ready, willing and able to return to the bargaining table.
B次元官网网址淭he only reason we arenB次元官网网址檛 there now is because those companies said that they didnB次元官网网址檛 want to deal with people who were uncivilized and because those companies said they wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be ready to talk for quite some time,B次元官网网址� added Crabtree-Ireland.
Many actors Tuesday cast the strike in personal terms. Slater said the unionB次元官网网址檚 health care helped sustain his fatherB次元官网网址檚 life. SlaterB次元官网网址檚 father, the actor Michael Hawkins, died last November. Liza Col贸n-Zayas, the 51-year-old Bronx-born actor of the Hulu hit series B次元官网网址淭he Bear,B次元官网网址� said her lifetime of hard work isnB次元官网网址檛 paying off.
B次元官网网址淚 have struggled 35 years to get here only to find residuals have dwindled exponentially,B次元官网网址� said Col贸n-Zayas. B次元官网网址淚f you can announce the highest-viewed this and the highest profits in that, then you can track our residuals. So we need to come to the table but we need to come to the table in good faith that there will be transparency in how we are being paid by streaming. We need you to open the books.B次元官网网址�
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