Actors Strike Update: Jennifer Lawrence, Ben Stiller & More Sign Letter

Forum 9 months ago

Actors Strike Update: Jennifer Lawrence, Ben Stiller & More Sign Letter

A growing list of actors that include Jennifer Lawrence, Ben Stiller, Charlize Theron, and Joaquin Phoenix have written to SAG-AFTRA leadership noting that they are “prepared to strike” if the guild cannot come to an agreement on negotiations.

A potential extension could push negotiations into next week

According to reports from Deadline and Variety, a letter sent internally to the union’s negotiating committee and leadership was initially signed by over 300 actors and has now been signed by over 1,000, with high-profile actors including Jamie Lee Curtis, Cobie Smulders, Pedro Pascal, and even current SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher in a surprise move. The full list of signatories can be found here.

In the letter, the group noted that they “are prepared to strike if it comes to that,” and said that there were concrns that “SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.”

The current contract that SAG-AFTRA members are signed to is set to expire on Friday, but a new report from Deadline suggests that may be looking into extending negotiations until July 7, 2023. At any rate, should no agreements be made by whenever the contract does run out, union leadership would have the power to call for a strike as soon as the next day, and they seem ready to.

“This is not a moment to meet in the middle, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the eyes of history are on all of us,” the letter stated. “We ask that you push for all the change we need and protections we deserve and make history doing it. If you are not able to get all the way there, we ask that you use the power given to you by us, the membership, and join the WGA on the picket lines. For our union and its future, this is our moment. We hope that, on our behalf, you will meet that moment and not miss it.”

News of a potential SAG-AFTRA strike comes as the Writers Guild of America continues to strike after failing to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. That strike began last month and is reported to potentially continue on until the holiday season, with writers protesting and fighting for better residual pay as well as increases to the size of a writers’ room and limiting the use of artificial intelligence in the writing process.