Actors, writers shut down Hollywood
The union representing almost 160,000 actors, SAG-AFTRA, is striking after negotiations fell through with the group representing most major Hollywood studios. The news comes about two months after 11,000 members of the Writer\u2019s Guild of America (WGA) announced their strike. \n\nStudios say the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of streaming services like Netflix, Crave and Disney+ has caused financial strain. Meanwhile, actors say the shift to streaming has led to decreasing residuals, meaning they aren\u2019t being paid for repeats of films and television shows. They're also concerned about proposals from studios to use their images and likeness in combination with artificial intelligence to create new content without their involvement.\n\nMaureen Ryan, a Vanity Fair contributing editor and author of \u201cBurn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood,\u201d explains why Hollywood actors are striking and what it could mean for the future of television, film and the labour movement as a whole.\n\nFor transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts