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Here’s what most people who oppose the actors’ strike don’t seem to under: the strike *isn’t* about the actors you’ve heard of, but rather, the ones you haven’t.
The strike is about the 87% of SAG-AFTRA members that don’t meet the salary threshold to qualify for health insurance, which is just $26,000.
As for the movie stars you have heard of, though, there is a handful of them who have stepped up to the plate amidst the strike to each donate $1 million to the organization, which will go to funding support for the striking actors.
The list of actors that have donated $1 million to SAG-AFTRA are:
-The Rock
-George Clooney
-Matt Damon
-Leonardo DiCaprio
-Hugh Jackman
-Nicole Kidman
-Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
-Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively
-Julia Roberts
-Arnold Schwarzenegger
-Meryl Streep
-Oprah Winfrey
The actors’ union has been striking since July 14, largely in an effort to get protections against the age of streaming (and the lack of residual pay that comes with it) and artificial intelligence being used to create background performers.
The SAG-AFTRA strike also coincides with the writers’ strike, marking the first time that the two unions have halted work simultaneously in 60 years.
According to some reports, the movie studios and producers that the actors and writers are striking against are planning to “wait it out” until members begin to lose their homes, therefore forcing them back to the negotiating table. This report prompted quite the response from veteran actor Ron Perlman, who said, among other things, “we know who said it and where he f—— lives.”
At this time, a handful of major projects have been delayed as a result of the strike, such as the Zendaya-starring, Luca Guadagnino-directed drama Challengers and the Sony Spider-Man Universe film Kraven the Hunter, both of which were delayed until 2024.
There are also reports that Warner Bros. could decide to delay Dune: Part Two. Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, however, will apparently be keeping its early October release date.