In light of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ (SAG-AFTRA) historic move to join its fellow union, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), in striking against studios and streamers, actors and writers have shared horror stories that highlight the very corporate greed that the combined unions’ are fighting against.
Follow along here for real-time updates on the historic SAG-AFTRA strike
On Thursday (14 July), the actors’ union negotiating committee approved its membership, comprised of more than 150,000 television and movie actors, to join WGA screenwriters, who’ve been on the picket line since May.
Both unions are in dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which SAG National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has argued “remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on key issues essential to protecting the livelihoods of working actors and performers”.
“When employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors who make the machine run, we have a problem,” SAG president Fran Drescher said in an emotional tirade against studios. “We are being victimised by a very greedy enterprise.”
Among SAG-AFTRA’s chief demands – which remain similar to its WGA counterpart – include increased wages, higher streaming residuals and improved working conditions.
Here are some of the horror stories shared by those who say they have been affected by the alleged greed of Hollywood studio bigwigs: Disney, Netflix, Amazon, Paramount, Fox, HBO, NBC Universal, Sony, Sunset Glower and Warner Bros.
Matilda child star Mara Wilson ‘never once made enough to qualify for healthcare’ as an adult
Mara Wilson at the premiere of Killing Eve season 2— (Getty Images)
Former child actor Mara Wilson, best known for her leading role in Matilda (1996), shared the financial hardship she faced as a result of the streaming age. “Thanks to streaming, I have never once made enough to qualify for SAG-AFTRA healthcare,” she tweeted on Wednesday (13 July).
While she acknowledged she hasn’t “acted much as an adult”, Wilson, 35, argued: “But I WAS a recurring character on one of the most critically acclaimed animated shows of all time, as well playing an actual Disney villain.”
Despite having taken a major step back from the Hollywood limelight following her Nineties stardom, Wilson did return, albeit in a more limited capacity, to voice characters in Netflix’s original animated dark comedy BoJack Horseman and Disney’s animated show Big Hero 6: The Series.
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Iconic Eighties and Nineties romcom actor John Cusack rails against ‘legendary’ Hollywood greed
John Cusack, who began acting in films in the early 1980s, shared his view on the actions of Hollywood executives on social media soon after the strike had been announced.
In a repost of a video showing SAG president Fran Drescher speaking out against the “disgusting” greed of film and TV bosses, the High Fidelity star shared an anecdote relating to the hit 1989 teen romcom Say Anything, in which his character wooed his love interest by holding a boombox above his head at her bedroom window.
“The greed is almost a legendary comic trope,” he began his post. “One fun fact – when I was a youngin – I did a film (with a boom box) and somehow I got points – net not gross.
“Never expected to see any money but the film became quite famous – so about 10 years ago I looked again at the financial statements they were obligated to report – and to my shock, they claimed they had LOST 44 million dollars on the film.”
The Must Love Dogs star, 57, then went on to point out differences between the amount the film cost to make and release, and how it has reportedly fared in the years since.
John Cusack in ‘Say Anything’— (Getty / Twentieth Century Fox)
“I thought wow, I almost bankrupted Fox! (not really) The film cost about 13 million to make – and money spent to release was minimal at the time. 30 years in – that film lost millions every year! A neat accounting trick don’t ya think?”
She-Hulk writer reveals ‘appalling’ amount his residual check was worth
She-Hulk writer Cody Zigler led the outrage aimed at Disney boss Bob Iger’s earlier criticism of the union for not being “realistic” with their strike expectations.
“The residual check from my episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was $396 [£302],” Zigler tweeted in response to an article relaying the millionaire’s words.
“This was one of the most watched episodes of television, of one of the most watched television series on Disney +. Even made multiple ‘best episodes of 2022’ lists. My residual check was $396,” he further argued in a subsequent tweet. “This is why we’re striking,”
Hours before SAG-AFTRA called the strike, CEO Iger, 72, complained that the actors’ union was threatening to join the writers’ strike at the “worst time”.
“We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from Covid, which is ongoing, it’s not completely back,” he said during an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday (13 July).
“And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive,” he added. “This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption.”
Iger is expected to earn up to $27m (approximately £20.1m) in 2023.
