Hollywood has been a source of entertainment for over 100 years now and it’s only lately have we seen the quality and film and tv decrease. One of the most recent and biggest reasons is the ongoing strikes with the Actors. The writers' strike has finally ended after being on strike for 148 days straight. The strikes began on Tuesday May 2nd and they have gained the support and sympathy of the public eye.
The writers have been attempting to gain better pay and more stable work as streaming services have become the epitome of home entertainment since the Covid 19 Pandemic which saw Netflix hit 200 million subscriptions and Disney Plus hit 100 million.
During the strike, Actors union ‘ SAG-AFTRA’ went on strike as well on Friday 14th July as Hollywood began using artificial intelligence (A.I) on shows such as Marvel’s ‘Secret Invasion 'to create the opening intro. The use of A.I will mean less need for actors as A.I is evolving at a rapid pace and people believe soon, there will be no need for actors as A.I can generate anything your mind can think of.
If Hollywood continues down this road, it will mean companies will be making billions more without the need to pay actors and productions, putting thousands out of a job.
The strikes have impacted Hollywood hard as the writer's strikes means no show or movies can be written and the actors strike puts all movies currently in production to a halt and cannot continue until the strikes end.
Both strikes at once terrify all major studio’s as their 2023/2024 tv schedule scrambles to find shows to put in, meaning no new show will be broadcasted at the correct slot anymore, costing studios millions. The actors strike impacts movies as it will mean millions of dollars to reschedule shooting times and release dates.
It also means the actors cannot promote any of their upcoming films and shows and that will result in lower ratings for shows, which will end in cancellation and poor box office results for films which will cost studios millions in loss.
The writers strike ended as of Tuesday 27th September 2023, going strong for 148 days straight. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been tough during the strike, rejecting multiple offers thrown their way as they believed there were loopholes in the offers that would have continued to screw over the writers. After 146 days, the studios and the WGA came to an understanding and on the 148th day, was the deal finalised, meaning shows can continue to write now.
The downside still is the actors are still on strike, meaning nothing can be filmed until the actors needs are met with a satisfactory conclusion in which the actors get what they deserve.