“People are tired but not unmotivated. They still have energy,” he said. “We are in this together and we will not let them win. This is something I see in the protests outside Netflix, Amazon and Sony studios.” Marrone is not working and says he can barely survive on what he is earning from odd jobs. However, the “Westworld” actor is convinced that it is the studios that will have to give in to end the strike. “What the unions are asking for is not an exaggeration. It is an ethical wealth-sharing agreement,” he considered, stressing that artists “cannot give in on the issue of Artificial Intelligence and residual compensation.” These are two of the most contentious points. Actors and screenwriters want to ensure that studios will not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to replace them and want to receive residual payments in the streaming model. These are payments that previously gave artists revenue from series or films licensed for international markets or that were broadcast again on television. “It’s unregulated greed,” said Chris Marrone. “The top executive receives 400 million while the creatives who generate the money receive less than 0.5% of that.” This is precisely the same expression used by Portuguese screenwriter Filipe Coutinho, a member of the Portuguese Cinema Academy based in Los Angeles. Hollywood screenwriters on strike” data-title=”Hollywood screenwriters on strike – “We’re in this together”: strike in Hollywood is costing millions but actors and screenwriters refuse to give in – SAPO Mag”> “Why is this happening? happening has simply to do with the greed of the studios,” he said. “It is more than proven that they would rather lose more money at this stage than pay what we are entitled to.” Coutinho, who had also spoken to the Lusa agency at the beginning of the strike, on May 2nd, maintains the commitment, despite the long months of strike: the screenwriters’ strike began on May 2nd, the actors’ strike on July 14th. “I think the biggest surprise, which is more a confirmation, is the resilience of the writers and actors”, said the Portuguese screenwriter. “Particularly the writers, because they have been on strike for much longer than the actors and the fact that the union seems to remain strong and almost stronger as they Time passes, which is not easy.” Neither of them can predict a likely date of agreement. Chris Marrone expects the strike to be resolved before the end of the year and thinks the conflict is dragging on because AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) “didn’t realize how effective the strike would be”. actor Louis MacMillan (stage name) says that the moment is tough and he joins the protests almost every day, especially outside Amazon. “All of this is very necessary and is a reflection of how the business models of many things, not only from the big streaming studios, they need to change”, he said. MacMillan, a member of the actors union SAG-AFTRA, has been able to audition for advertisements, some projects with interim agreements and programs covered by different contracts, the so-called “network codes”. which encompass productions such as ‘talk shows’. This is where there are some signs of cracks in solidarity. Actress and presenter Drew Barrymore decided to return to recording her daytime talk show without the presence of the striking screenwriters, and although she is not technically breaking the strike, the decision is being heavily contested. That’s right, as Filipe says. Coutinho, that there will be consequences in terms of content, especially in 2024. “It is likely that in the immediate future we will have a little less content, across the board”, he predicted. “What I know will happen for sure is that we will have a lot fewer films next year, because there are a lot of things that would have been filmed in these four months and weren’t.” Comic Con San Diego” data-title=”Comic Con San Diego – “We are in this together”: strike in Hollywood is costing millions but actors and screenwriters refuse to give in – SAPO Mag”> Without a new “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, who made the box office soar this summer with the films “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, Coutinho predicts that revenues will “drop significantly” in 2024 and unearth the idea that cinema is dead, “which has no basis whatsoever”. AMPTP represents Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony. The effects of the strike, however, have uneven effects on the studios. Warner Bros. has revised its revenue forecasts downwards, calculating that the strike will have a negative impact of 300 million to 500 million dollars. Netflix added 5.9 million new subscribers in the June quarter, when the screenwriters’ strike took almost two months. “I don’t think it will be a Good year financially for no one”, lamented Coutinho, “but at the same time it will be a necessary correction for the next fifteen years and I think this will allow there to be more writers and actors who can live a normal life”. without needing to work three jobs to pay the bills while pursuing their dreams of a career in Hollywood. “That’s also a little bit of what we’re fighting for,” he said. “There are 99% of people there who are always on the ropes.”
"We are in this together": Hollywood strike is costing millions but actors and screenwriters refuse to give in
