Actors protest on Hollywood sidewalks and pour anger on studios

The historic strike of Hollywood representatives began with great momentum on Friday. They organized gatherings in front of studios in Los Angeles, where a handful of stars lined the sidewalks, while passing cars honked their horns in a show of solidarity. 

A significant portion of the protesters' anger was directed towards Disney CEO Bob Iger.

In front of the headquarters of Netflix, Warner, Paramount, and other studios, hundreds of actors joined forces with television and film screenwriters, who have been occupying the palm tree-lined sidewalks for over two months.

The American film industry has not witnessed such a dual social movement since 1960.

Members of the two unions representing television and film writers, as well as on-screen talents, chanted slogans such as "No contracts? No actors! No salaries? No scripts!"

Everyone made sure to stay hydrated and drink water to combat the scorching heat, as they eagerly continued their protest.

Actress Frances Fisher, who starred in the film "Titanic," regarded this strike, which coincided with a series of strikes by hotel workers in Los Angeles since the beginning of July, as a "wonderful celebration of workers." She emphasized that it is not just an entertainment industry strike but one that extends to all workers throughout the United States and around the world.

The 70-year-old actress further stated to Agence France-Presse in front of the entrance to Paramount Studios, "Everyone has risen."

Amidst this movement, the actors' joining the battle started by the screenwriters serves as an "amplifier" for the cause advocated by the writers.

Renowned stars such as Meryl Streep, Colin Farrell, Ben Stiller, and Jennifer Lawrence have expressed their support for the strike in recent weeks. The presence of stars of this caliber participating in the upcoming protests in front of the studios is expected to bring a whole new dimension to the movement.

The vanguard of this trend was witnessed on Friday, with familiar faces among the protesters in Los Angeles, including Allison Janney ("The West Wing"), Mandy Moore ("This Is Us"), and Ben Schwartz ("Sonic the Hedgehog"). In New York, Jason Sudeikis ("Ted Lasso") and Susan Sarandon ("Thelma & Louise") joined the protests.

Ziv Frank, the writer of the TV series "Patriot," considered it a "historic event." He added, "To see them protest like this, in such large numbers, is different today."

Actor Tin Tran, 36, from the comedy series "How I Met Your Father," commented, "There are many people in our sector who are in the spotlight. Therefore, this additional publicity support will be helpful."

The actors and screenwriters are demanding improved salaries, which have become very low in the streaming era. They also seek guarantees to prevent the use of artificial intelligence programs to write scripts or reproduce their voices and images.

Disney CEO Bob Iger criticized the actors' demands, describing them as "unrealistic." Consequently, many of the protesters who spoke with Agence France-Presse expressed their indignation and disapproval of his statements.

Actress Shaun Robinson, who played lead roles in the series "The Office" and "Nip/Tuck," stated, "This man says that we are asking for unrealistic things? Are you kidding me?" She added, "He renovates his house at a cost of five million dollars while these people don't even have health insurance... It shows a lack of respect and is disgusting."

E.J. Arriola, a 40-year-old actor, believed that Disney CEO Bob Iger's remarks were an "excellent example of the mindset at the top" of the Hollywood pyramid.

He added, "We, as artists, have been around for a long time, and it seems that there is no respect for us."

In front of the Netflix headquarters, the protesters applauded the president of the Actors' Guild, Fran Drescher. The star of the 90s series "The Nanny" delivered a fiery speech on Thursday during the announcement of the strike.

Drescher described the strike as a "historic moment" and stated, "If we don't stand up now... we are all vulnerable to being replaced by machines and big corporations that care more about Wall Street than you and your family."




AFP