Actors in Hollywood go on strike at midnight. They want to see higher minimum wages and regulation of AI – which they fear could take their jobs. Alexander Karim, who is currently filming Gladiator 2 with several American actors, sees the news positively.
– All major reforms in world history have been implemented after people put their foot down. It always leads to someone getting in trouble and productions having to be paused, but in the end it usually gets better, he tells TV4 Nyheterna.
After much back and forth, actors in Hollywood announced that they are going on strike.
Negotiations between the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA and the television and film companies have expired and the 160,000 union members have voted for a strike. The actors are demanding higher minimum wages and at the same time want to see regulation of AI because they fear that the technology could create actors digitally.
Inflation and the dominance of streaming services are singled out as two reasons for the strike.
Joining the printer’s strike
The president of the actors’ union, Fran Drescher, held a press conference on Thursday evening.
– That this happens is important because what happens to us happens in all industries, she says according to CNN and points out that they had no other choice.
– We are the victims here, she continues.
Hollywood screenwriters have been on strike for a long time. This is the first double strike since the 60s. The entire film industry, both in the United States and in the rest of the world, will be greatly affected by the strikes because it will not be possible to shoot films.
How long the strike will last is unclear.
“Good thing the union is fighting for”
For Alexander Karim, the strike means he has to leave Malta, where he is filming Gladiator 2.
– For me, this means that the film is put on pause. I’m going home to Sweden tomorrow morning, then we’ll see. They keep us updated on what is happening and how things are going. But at the moment it is still incredibly fresh, he says.
Although he thinks it is sad that the recording is now cancelled, he believes that the union is fighting for an important cause.
– On the whole, it is a good thing that the union is fighting for. It’s not just about American professional actors, but it’s also about us thousands of Swedish actors who audition for American films and TV series and do different roles in them, he says.