From big screen to picket line: Why your favourite U.S. actors are striking

Hollywood actors are officially headed to the picket line. Their issues? Fair compensation, transparency with streaming services and AI.

Some of Canadians’ favourite Hollywood actors will officially be taking a break from the big screen to join the picket line.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) made the decision Thursday to join the Hollywood’s writers’ union in a strike. Observers say the actors’ union’s decision largely comes down to a demand for compensation from studios and streaming services that keeps up with inflation.

“The compensation issues include both upfront compensation, the session fees, the money they’re paid when they do the work, and also residuals or royalties that actors, and also writers and directors get paid when product is rerun or reused,” said Los Angeles entertainment lawyer Jonathan Handel in an interview with Global News.

When it comes to streaming, actors are concerned that being on a successful show on services like Netflix or Prime video won’t earn them a higher compensation than one that draws in less buzz.

“‘Wednesday’ doesn’t pay any higher residual than ‘Tuesday’ as it works,” Handel said, referencing the recent Netflix series produced and partially directed by Tim Burton.

American producer Tom Nunan told Global News that actors are increasingly being paid one lump-sum for their work on streaming services. Now, they want longer relationships with their content — similar to how they have been paid by non-streamers — and to see more transparency with the way that streaming services are measuring success.

Before streaming services, “actors would have a movie or TV show premiere and then get paid for that one thing and then it would be on cable systems or on demand… and they would continue to have what we call residual relationships with the content financially,” Nunan said.

Attending a photo event on Wednesday, film star Matt Damon said that while everyone was hoping a strike could be averted, many actors need a fair contract to survive.