July 16, 2023 • 6 mins
Em Gillespie joins Jonesy & Amanda to explain why Hollywood actors and writers are going on strike.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Tournament of that.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Put on your dance and shift.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I've give me your beast shot.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
That's Debonie Taata of the Daily Oauz.
Speaker 4 (00:10):
Emma Gillespie is here morning. How are we very well?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
So I've been reading and hearing about the writer's strike,
which is now morphed into an actors strike as well.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
That's right, the actors are officially on strike in Hollywood.
You might have seen some videos come out Friday morning
of the red carpet premiere of Oppenheimer. Now everyone's really
excited about this movie, Christopher.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Nolan, big budget movie.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
But Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, all the stars on the
Red carpet at the exact same time sort of rounded
each other up.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
And they left. They ditched the premiere.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
And that's because in La, at the exact same time,
the SAG after a union, which is the Screen Actors
Guild union that represents one hundred and sixty thousand US
and Hollywood actors, declared that they were on strike.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
And so it's tool down, get out of here, go
and fight the good fight.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
And what are they striking for?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
So the strike is largely around two main things, the
biggest things that have happened to kind of TV and
film in the last decade, streaming and AI the writer's
strike you've probably heard of, as Amanda mentioned, that started
back in May, and it's all to do with the
same stuff. So actors are basically saying that since the
advent of streaming, the way that they make money has
(01:27):
completely shifted and there are no protections in place to
guarantee their incomes. So think of like a Friends or
a Seinfeld. Those actors were working on network television series
twenty two episodes a year, They were working thirty weeks
of the year, and they were in the weeks that
they weren't working, making a lot of money off residuals
from the shows being broadcast on TV stations.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Now that still happens.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Those actors, the cast of Friends still make about twenty million.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Dollars a year alone off residual really.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
But those contracts don't exist today.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Exactly, so contracts for streaming.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Because it was such a sort of unknown landscape when
it dawned, those actors ended up being on a sort
of a union contract.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
That's more to do with YouTube short films.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
It was never really built for what streaming became, so
actors on shows like Orange Is the New Black or
House of Cards. They were the big Netflix originals that
kind of really began to change the game. Those actors
make like twenty thirty bucks a year on residuals for
shows that were arguably just as big at that time.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
And that's the same thing with the writers. And the
reason we have reality television pretty much is because the
writers strike from a number of years ago. Is that right?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So the prediction is certainly that reality television will ramp
up even.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
More because it doesn't have actors writers exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
The other thing is Australian production is not directly affected,
but Australian actors like Margot Robbie who were in the
SAG union.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
You know, the rules aren't work.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
You can't promote your films, you can't do you know,
red carpets and interviews, you can't do awards shows.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
So you know, we could be looking.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
At the next Emmys Oscars, all the likes of you know,
no one being in the room, no one there to
accept the awards.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
And how does AI come into play here?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
So the artificial intelligence angle of this really has more
to do with the cohort of the industry that we
would know as extras. They're called background actors. And I
think it's an important point. You know, yeah, sure, Matt
Damon's not going to work for a little while, He'll
be fine. This is more about the you know, tens
of thousands of actors in the union who might be
(03:37):
you know, on the fringes.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
These background actors.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Production companies have suggested that they get paid for one
day of work, and then those production companies so you know, Netflix, Paramount,
Warner Brothers, these types, they'll own their likeness in perpetuity,
and they can use their likeness through AI technology in
you know, god knows what kind of scenes and what
kind of films until forever.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
And you're paid for one day, exact, your face will
be used forever.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Which basically wipes out that whole section of the industry,
which is a massive.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
An actor then you know it, you know, and being
an actor is not it's for every brad Pit. There's
a billion other brad pits that could have got there
that never got there exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
And you know, obviously the way that the streaming services
make money is a little bit different to traditional cable
network TV, but it's still a two billion dollar industry.
They're still paying their CEOs between twenty and two hundred million.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
US per year.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And this is sort of what the SAG president, Fran Dresser, Yes,
that Fan Dresser has been saying. You know that the
people that they have been in business for and with
for decades and who they make money for, can treat them,
you know, in this way and be so unwilling to
come to the table to talk about a conversation.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Anyone can do it. It's Jesha I remember she negotiated
that pay rise for mister sef.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
There'll be a giant shortfall of what we watch.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yes, so this is the other thing that it will
probably impact, you know, not immediate short term impact what
we see, but you know, in the months to come,
in the year to come, you'll probably notice a slimmed
down sort of slate of exciting new films and shows.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
What's that show that Daryl Summers did where it was
filmed on a slant that might come back, Brendan was that?
Wasn't there one that was on a slang?
Speaker 3 (05:28):
You were in it, you're back in the room.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
There was one that was filmed. It might have been
Grant Danu who hosted it. We missed that you had
to act out a scene on an angle.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
That's yes, I actually.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Bring it back.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Well, bring that they think that was another show.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Check her out at the Daily Os
Tournament of that.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Put on your dance and shift.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
I've give me your beast shot.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
That's Debonie Taata of the Daily Oauz.
Speaker 4 (00:10):
Emma Gillespie is here morning. How are we very well?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
So I've been reading and hearing about the writer's strike,
which is now morphed into an actors strike as well.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
That's right, the actors are officially on strike in Hollywood.
You might have seen some videos come out Friday morning
of the red carpet premiere of Oppenheimer. Now everyone's really
excited about this movie, Christopher.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Nolan, big budget movie.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
But Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, all the stars on the
Red carpet at the exact same time sort of rounded
each other up.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
And they left. They ditched the premiere.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
And that's because in La, at the exact same time,
the SAG after a union, which is the Screen Actors
Guild union that represents one hundred and sixty thousand US
and Hollywood actors, declared that they were on strike.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
And so it's tool down, get out of here, go
and fight the good fight.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
And what are they striking for?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
So the strike is largely around two main things, the
biggest things that have happened to kind of TV and
film in the last decade, streaming and AI the writer's
strike you've probably heard of, as Amanda mentioned, that started
back in May, and it's all to do with the
same stuff. So actors are basically saying that since the
advent of streaming, the way that they make money has
(01:27):
completely shifted and there are no protections in place to
guarantee their incomes. So think of like a Friends or
a Seinfeld. Those actors were working on network television series
twenty two episodes a year, They were working thirty weeks
of the year, and they were in the weeks that
they weren't working, making a lot of money off residuals
from the shows being broadcast on TV stations.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Now that still happens.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Those actors, the cast of Friends still make about twenty million.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Dollars a year alone off residual really.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
But those contracts don't exist today.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Exactly, so contracts for streaming.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Because it was such a sort of unknown landscape when
it dawned, those actors ended up being on a sort
of a union contract.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
That's more to do with YouTube short films.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
It was never really built for what streaming became, so
actors on shows like Orange Is the New Black or
House of Cards. They were the big Netflix originals that
kind of really began to change the game. Those actors
make like twenty thirty bucks a year on residuals for
shows that were arguably just as big at that time.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
And that's the same thing with the writers. And the
reason we have reality television pretty much is because the
writers strike from a number of years ago. Is that right?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So the prediction is certainly that reality television will ramp
up even.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
More because it doesn't have actors writers exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
The other thing is Australian production is not directly affected,
but Australian actors like Margot Robbie who were in the
SAG union.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
You know, the rules aren't work.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
You can't promote your films, you can't do you know,
red carpets and interviews, you can't do awards shows.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
So you know, we could be looking.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
At the next Emmys Oscars, all the likes of you know,
no one being in the room, no one there to
accept the awards.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
And how does AI come into play here?
Speaker 1 (03:16):
So the artificial intelligence angle of this really has more
to do with the cohort of the industry that we
would know as extras. They're called background actors. And I
think it's an important point. You know, yeah, sure, Matt
Damon's not going to work for a little while, He'll
be fine. This is more about the you know, tens
of thousands of actors in the union who might be
(03:37):
you know, on the fringes.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
These background actors.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Production companies have suggested that they get paid for one
day of work, and then those production companies so you know, Netflix, Paramount,
Warner Brothers, these types, they'll own their likeness in perpetuity,
and they can use their likeness through AI technology in
you know, god knows what kind of scenes and what
kind of films until forever.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
And you're paid for one day, exact, your face will
be used forever.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Which basically wipes out that whole section of the industry,
which is a massive.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
An actor then you know it, you know, and being
an actor is not it's for every brad Pit. There's
a billion other brad pits that could have got there
that never got there exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
And you know, obviously the way that the streaming services
make money is a little bit different to traditional cable
network TV, but it's still a two billion dollar industry.
They're still paying their CEOs between twenty and two hundred million.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
US per year.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And this is sort of what the SAG president, Fran Dresser, Yes,
that Fan Dresser has been saying. You know that the
people that they have been in business for and with
for decades and who they make money for, can treat them,
you know, in this way and be so unwilling to
come to the table to talk about a conversation.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Anyone can do it. It's Jesha I remember she negotiated
that pay rise for mister sef.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
There'll be a giant shortfall of what we watch.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yes, so this is the other thing that it will
probably impact, you know, not immediate short term impact what
we see, but you know, in the months to come,
in the year to come, you'll probably notice a slimmed
down sort of slate of exciting new films and shows.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
What's that show that Daryl Summers did where it was
filmed on a slant that might come back, Brendan was that?
Wasn't there one that was on a slang?
Speaker 3 (05:28):
You were in it, you're back in the room.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
There was one that was filmed. It might have been
Grant Danu who hosted it. We missed that you had
to act out a scene on an angle.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
That's yes, I actually.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Bring it back.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Well, bring that they think that was another show.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Check her out at the Daily Os
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