Michael Buckner for Variety
After the SAG-AFTRA leadership announced that the union would go on strike, the strike began on Friday. In New York City and Los Angeles, the actors joined writers outside the studios, had to strike and band together outside of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, Amazon NBCUniversal and more in both cities.
Corporate greed was at the heart of the messaging on the first day of the joint sit-down between SAG-AFTRA and the WGA.
When the bus carrying SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and the other negotiating committee arrived outside the Netflix offices, they were mobbed by the media and fellow protesters as they made their way slowly down the sidewalk along Sunset Boulevard.
Tatyana Zabardino, a series regular on “Tulsa King” who has also appeared on “This Is Us” and “NCIS: New Orleans,” appeared on the Netflix sit-down with her 1-month-old daughter.
“I’ve got 50 cents left in my check,” the SAG-AFTRA member said, rocking her baby in a stroller. “I’m looking forward to a fair decade this year, with my image not being used to monetize another billion people.”
When it got over 85 degrees on Netflix, actor Dermot Mulroney accepted sunscreen from a colleague.
“This is solidarity,” the star said, applying lotion to his arms. Mulroney declined to be interviewed because, “I’m just too emotional right now to talk. It’s crazy.”
“Your poor Montana farm!” ; “I try to pay my rent, not my third and fourth loan and fuel my private jet!” ; “ChatGPT can suck D”; and “Logan Roy will pay us more” were among the prominent picket signs.
Other notable names in the strike include Disney’s Mandy Moore and Mike Shore, co-founder of Paramount’s Parks and Recreation.
Also at Paramount there were cheers like “LA is a union city” and lots of sounds of support from passing cars. At Warner Bros., the SAG members chanted, “Hello! Hello, Hello! We’re actors, not AI.”
Drescher had given an impassioned speech at Thursday’s press conference announcing the strike, in which she said the action was a long time coming.
“You can’t change the business model as much as it has and don’t expect the contract to change either,” she said. “We’re not going to keep making incremental changes to a contract that no longer respects what’s happening now with this business model that’s been forced upon us. What are we doing—moving around furniture on the Titanic? That’s insane! So the jig is up, AMPTP. We’re standing tall. You gotta get up.” And you smell the coffee. We are labor and we stand tall and demand respect and honor for our contribution. You share the wealth because you could not exist without us.”
Besides shutting down film and television productions, SAG members have many other things they can’t do, including any promotion of completed work, attending award shows or film festivals, and even discussing work on social media.
Additional reporting by Matt Donnelly, Clayton Davis, Adam B. Fary, Cynthia Littleton, Emily Longretta, Jazz Tangcay, Joe Utterson and Jennifer Mass.
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