Hollywood Strike Gains Support as Actors Join Picket Line

As the Writers Guild of America (WGA) continues into its third week of labour disputes, multitudes of actors and performers have joined their ranks.

The WGA strike started on 2 May, and since then the union has been picketing over pay, working conditions and the use of artificial intelligence. The industrial action has affected the production of many films and television shows.

On Thursday, 13 July, the cast of “Oppenheimer” attended the red carpet London, England premiere of the movie, but exited the event early “to write their picket signs”, claims director Christopher Nolan.

That same day, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced that their some 160 000 members had voted to strike, joining forces with the WGA, the first dual strike in over six decades.

During a press conference in Los Angeles, California, Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, said: “Employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run. Shame on them. They are on the wrong side of history.”