Hollywood stars strike outside Netflix and Disney as productions in UK are suspended
US actors and writers have come out in force to protest outside some of the biggest production companies in the world in a move set to paralyse Hollywood’s film and TV industry.
For the first time in 63 years, both SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and WGA (the Writers Guild of America) simultaneously took to the streets of Los Angeles in a bid for fairer pay, better working conditions and addressing the concerns of AI use in production.
Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis, Titanic actress Frances Fisher and radio and TV host Billy Bush were some of the famous faces spotted on the picket line as the joint protests started on Friday.
Ted Lasso actor, Jason Sudeikis. Pic: AP/RW/MediaPunch /IPX
Discussions broke down between the unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) which represents film studios, TV networks and streaming services.
Actors and writers claim their residual pay, money received from film and TV episode reruns, have been hit hard due to the streaming boom – broadcast TV rates were much higher.
Series have become shorter, breaks between seasons longer, and the unions say that although series budgets are rising, that increase is not being reflected in the share of the money coming to performers.
Actors also see their jobs as especially vulnerable to new technology, with AI able to replicate facial expressions, body movement and voice with alarming accuracy.
Members of both unions marched outside major studios including Warner Bros, Netflix and Disney. The 11,500 screenwriters belonging to WGA have been demonstrating since May.
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Strikes took place outside Warner Bros. studios too. Pic: AP
What about British cinema?
The chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, Phil Clapp, said the strike may cause “little, if any, disruption” to British theatres for the “foreseeable future”, but premieres may not see the glamour of stars on the red carpet.
“While it will clearly be for each individual to make their own decision, it may be that until the dispute is resolved we will see some premieres not being supported by the ‘talent’ in front of or behind the camera,” he said.
“In terms of wider UK cinema-going, given the challenges UK cinema operators have faced in the last few years, all will be concerned by anything which might potentially threaten the supply of films to the big screen, and so it is very much hoped that there will be a quick resolution.
“Unless the current strike is a protracted one, we are confident that cinemas will see little if any disruption in the foreseeable future.”
Some productions in the UK have already been suspended as a result of the strike; Marvel’s Deadpool 3, featuring Ryan Reyolds and Hugh Jackman, has paused its filming in Norfolk.
Pictures also emerged this week of the abandoned set of Wicked in Buckinghamshire, after its stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Eviro posted in support of the strike on social media.
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Oppenheimer cast support strike
Further solidarity was expressed by celebrities including George Clooney, Alec Baldwin and Halle Berry.
“This is an inflection point in our industry,” Clooney said in a statement. “Actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living.
“For our industry to survive that has to change. For actors that journey starts now.”
Baldwin, who had all criminal charges dropped against him 18 months after Halyna Hutchins was shot dead on a film set, congratulated the union for calling the strike in order to protect its “rank and file” members.
“I don’t think anybody really wants a strike but they don’t want to continue under the unfair contracts that we’re working under now,” he said.
“So congratulations to everybody and I hope this is over right after we get everything we want.”
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During the London premiere of the historical epic Oppenheimer on Thursday, actors including Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, and Emily Blunt left the red carpet to “write their picket signs”, the film’s director Christopher Nolan said.
Meanwhile, Succession star Brian Cox said the strike could get “very unpleasant” and may not be resolved until the end of the year.
The 1960 Hollywood revolt began and ended with screenwriters protesting for 148 days, with 42 days of actors striking sandwiched in between.
There had been no further dual strikes until now.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
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Who is being targeted in Trump’s immigration raids?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
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Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
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In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
Read more from Sky News:
Kate’s ’emotional’ words for tearful tennis star
Music festival cancelled as headliner pulls out
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
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