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2023-08-09 19:07:35 UTC
Actor Billy Porter may have won an Emmy and appeared in a string of major
studio productionsbut the ongoing Hollywood strikes are forcing even him
to make tough financial decisions.
Actors union SAG-AFTRA, which has around 160,000 members, went on strike
last month over pay, working conditions, and concerns related to the use
of A.I. in the film industry.
It joined the Writers Guild of Americaa union representing thousands of
Hollywood writers, who havent worked since early Maymarking the
industrys biggest shutdown in more than six decades.
Ahead of SAG-AFTRA announcing its strike, Deadline reported that studio
executives were gearing up for an extended stalemate between actors and
the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)with
sources telling the publication that studios were willing wait it out for
months.
The end game is to allow things to drag on until union members start
losing their apartments and losing their houses, an anonymous studio
executive told Deadline, with several other sources reportedly echoing the
same stance.
Now, it appears that the strikes may be crossing that threshold.
Porterwho starred in the television series Pose and Amazons 2021 version
of Cinderella, as well as making history as the first openly gay Black man
to win an Emmytold British newspaper the Evening Standard he was being
forced to make major sacrifices because of the strikes.
I have to sell my house, he revealed in the interview.
Were on strike, and I dont know when were going to go back [to work],
Porter said. The life of an artist, until you make f***-you moneywhich I
havent made yetis still check to check.
Representatives for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and AMPTP were not available
for comment.
Porter told the Standard he was lined up to appear in a movie and a TV
show from Septemberbut now none of that is happening.
So to the person who said: Were going to starve them out until they
have to sell their apartments'youve already starved me out, he said.
For the actors on strike, much of the breakdown in negotiations with AMPTP
has been related to residual payments, the amount actors are paid for
reruns of a movie or show they appeared in, which have been squeezed with
the rise of streaming platforms.
Many of those on the picket lines have taken to sharing their paychecks on
social media, with some revealing they have received checks for as little
as 3 cents for their parts in content made by major studios.
Taking on Disney
Porter also lashed out at Disney CEO Bob Iger, who publicly labeled
striking actors and writers demands as unrealistic and disturbing last
month.
To hear Bob Iger say that our demands for a living wage are unrealistic?
While he makes $78,000 a day? I dont have any words for it, but: f***
you, he said in the Standard interview which took place in London.
When Iger returned to the helm of the entertainment giant last year, the
annual compensation package Disney offered him was worth $27 million
(almost $74,000 a day).
A spokesperson for Disney was not available for comment on Porters
interview.
Ive kept my mouth shut. I havent engaged, because Im so enraged,
Porter said in last weeks interview. Im glad Ive been over here. But
when I go back [to the U.S.] I will join the picket lines.
Porter isnt the only actor facing tough financial circumstances because
of the strike. The SAG-AFTRA Foundation, which assists striking members of
the union financially, has been asking high-profile talent for donations
to help those on the picket lines who it says are facing dire necessity.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hollywood-studios-reportedly-want-strikes-
150707089.html
studio productionsbut the ongoing Hollywood strikes are forcing even him
to make tough financial decisions.
Actors union SAG-AFTRA, which has around 160,000 members, went on strike
last month over pay, working conditions, and concerns related to the use
of A.I. in the film industry.
It joined the Writers Guild of Americaa union representing thousands of
Hollywood writers, who havent worked since early Maymarking the
industrys biggest shutdown in more than six decades.
Ahead of SAG-AFTRA announcing its strike, Deadline reported that studio
executives were gearing up for an extended stalemate between actors and
the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)with
sources telling the publication that studios were willing wait it out for
months.
The end game is to allow things to drag on until union members start
losing their apartments and losing their houses, an anonymous studio
executive told Deadline, with several other sources reportedly echoing the
same stance.
Now, it appears that the strikes may be crossing that threshold.
Porterwho starred in the television series Pose and Amazons 2021 version
of Cinderella, as well as making history as the first openly gay Black man
to win an Emmytold British newspaper the Evening Standard he was being
forced to make major sacrifices because of the strikes.
I have to sell my house, he revealed in the interview.
Were on strike, and I dont know when were going to go back [to work],
Porter said. The life of an artist, until you make f***-you moneywhich I
havent made yetis still check to check.
Representatives for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and AMPTP were not available
for comment.
Porter told the Standard he was lined up to appear in a movie and a TV
show from Septemberbut now none of that is happening.
So to the person who said: Were going to starve them out until they
have to sell their apartments'youve already starved me out, he said.
For the actors on strike, much of the breakdown in negotiations with AMPTP
has been related to residual payments, the amount actors are paid for
reruns of a movie or show they appeared in, which have been squeezed with
the rise of streaming platforms.
Many of those on the picket lines have taken to sharing their paychecks on
social media, with some revealing they have received checks for as little
as 3 cents for their parts in content made by major studios.
Taking on Disney
Porter also lashed out at Disney CEO Bob Iger, who publicly labeled
striking actors and writers demands as unrealistic and disturbing last
month.
To hear Bob Iger say that our demands for a living wage are unrealistic?
While he makes $78,000 a day? I dont have any words for it, but: f***
you, he said in the Standard interview which took place in London.
When Iger returned to the helm of the entertainment giant last year, the
annual compensation package Disney offered him was worth $27 million
(almost $74,000 a day).
A spokesperson for Disney was not available for comment on Porters
interview.
Ive kept my mouth shut. I havent engaged, because Im so enraged,
Porter said in last weeks interview. Im glad Ive been over here. But
when I go back [to the U.S.] I will join the picket lines.
Porter isnt the only actor facing tough financial circumstances because
of the strike. The SAG-AFTRA Foundation, which assists striking members of
the union financially, has been asking high-profile talent for donations
to help those on the picket lines who it says are facing dire necessity.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hollywood-studios-reportedly-want-strikes-
150707089.html