The actors contract with the AMPTP runs out at midnight tonight and there is no light at the end of this tunnel. The two parties are still very far apart on key issues, especially those dealing with new media compensation.
The only question that remains is will this be the final act of a 3-act play? Act 1 – WGA equaled a strike that lasted for four months and nearly crippled the industry. Act 2 – the DGA was able to work out a compromise that prevented a directors walk-out. This third act, if it concludes with a strike could, in reality, destroy Hollywood as the centerpiece of worldwide entertainment.
How likely is a strike? Not much, if you listen to the president of the Screen Actors Guild.
“We have taken no steps to initiate a strike authorization vote by the members of Screen Actors Guild,” Union President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement Sunday. “Any talk about a strike or a management lockout at this point is simply a distraction.”
Others, however, aren’t so sure and are bracing for what could be another long walk-out.
“If you’re a below-the-line worker, your blood is probably running cold, because they’re the ones that took the biggest hit from the writers strike,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation.
“Too many people would be put out of work,” actress Alexandra Leighton (“Swingtown”) said. “It’s just not worth it. The economy is already iffy, and it would just crush the local economy.”
Leave a Reply