More than a dozen top tier film stars have followed the lead of Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson in donating more than $1m to Sag-aftra’s emergency hardship fund.
As announced by foundation president Courtney B Vance on Wednesday, $15m has so far been raised to help those hit hardest by the cessation of filming in Hollywood.
This is in large part thanks to the contributions of George and Amal Clooney, Luciana and Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Julia Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Meryl Streep and Oprah Winfrey.
“The entertainment industry is in crisis and the Sag-Aftra Foundation is currently processing more than 30 times our usual number of applications for emergency aid,” said Vance. “We received 400 applications in the last week alone. It’s a massive challenge, but we’re determined to meet this moment.”
Vance described Johnson’s seven-figure donation last week as “a call to arms” for everyone to “step up however you can”. On Wednesday, Vance credited Johnson with helping “kick-start this campaign”, leading to a response he called “incredible, immediate and heartwarming”.
He singled out Clooney and Streep, both vocal campaigners for the foundation and members of its Actors’ Council, who “stepped up with $1m donations, emails and many calls-to-action rallying others to give generously.”
Both actors also shared statements urging peers to help chip in to the fund as the actors’ strike looks set to enter its second month.
“I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line,” wrote Streep. “In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath. We will stand strong together against these powerful corporations who are bent on taking the humanity, the human dignity, even the human out of our profession. I am proudest of my fellow actors who have immediately offered to fund the Emergency Financial Assistance Program.”
Clooney said the union were ready to re-enter renegotiations, but “until then, I’m proud to be able to support the Sag-Aftra Foundation and my fellow actors who may be struggling in this historic moment. We’ve stood on the shoulders of the likes of Bette Davis and Jimmy Cagney and it’s time for our generation to give something back.”
While actors such as Susan Sarandon, Paul Dano, Olivia Wilde and Bob Odenkirk have been seen, the picket line has been lacking in star power. “Where the fuck is Ben Affleck?” read one placard on the first weekend of the strike. Another bore the message: “Your poor Montana ranch! I’m trying to pay my rent, not my third and fourth mortgage and fuel my private jet!”
Some have hazarded that the multimillion-dollar pay packets taken home by top stars are helping fuel the same industry imbalance strikers are protesting against.
Former Fox and Paramount boss Barry Diller suggested such inequality might be addressed by studio heads and A-listers alike agreeing to a 25% pay-cut.
Although his suggestion has been warmly embraced by many, it has been met with silence by those he proposes take the hit.
