The Ripple Effect Of The Hollywood Strikes Reaches Across The Pond
Image Source: FBC News
As the WGA reaches a tentative deal with the AMPTP, industry workers across the Atlantic are starting to feel the ripple effects. Filmmaker and camera operator Rizwan Wadan claimed the strikes were having a similar effect to the pandemic-era lockdowns, “After the Covid lockdown we had a bottleneck of productions and there was a boom. Everyone was busy. Now, because of the strikes, it has come to another lockdown.”
While many are tempted to compartmentalize the strikes as affecting only the Hollywood elite, they forget there are hundreds of unglamorous cast and crew positions behind each red-carpet star. Dave Sulivan, a prop designer who has worked on Harry Potter and Star Wars productions, said, “We support our brothers and sisters in the industry but we have to draw the line somewhere. It's completely ground to a halt and the unions aren't doing enough. We seem to be forgotten about. It is quite distressing really”
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Image Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Sullivan continued, “When you go from earning a relatively good salary to nothing overnight you can imagine the impact it will have on a family. People are losing their houses.” When asked if he was worried about AI, Sullivan responded that the technology is inevitable, but we can’t disregard the people who already work in the industry.
Ana Muvoy Ten, a British actress residing in Los Angeles, returned to her home country to seek work amid the strikes. She emphasized that it’s the unseen positions most hit by the strikes’ effects, “What we see on TV in terms of Hollywood is that it's just people making millions, that it's all just fun and games all the time, and everyone's living this fabulous life. This may be true for a handful, but I think that the majority of people aren't living like that. 86% of SAG members can't get health insurance. It's hair and make-up people being hit hardest. Crews, lighting, sound, and caterers. It's not just people who are in designer clothes walking red carpets."
Although members of the Writers Guild of Great Britain have supported their sister union, the WGA, in their strike, they are eager to place people back in production roles, so creative professionals can once again earn a living doing what they love. If the tentative deal with the WGA is accepted, it won’t be long before SAG-AFTRA has its own deal, and all of the onscreen and offscreen talent, here and across the pond, can resume production work and exercise their creative potential.
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