How Would a SAG-AFTRA Strike Affect the U.K. Entertainment Biz?
variety.comManori Ravindran Executive Editor of International If you ask most people in the U.K. industry how business is going right now, they’ll likely tell you it’s been agonizingly “slow.” It’s meant to be boom time for production, but this summer, the U.S.
writers strike combined with a cost of living crisis is brutally squeezing unscripted and scripted projects. This week, as the clock ticks away on negotiations between American actors union SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s collective bargaining agent, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the prevailing thought will be: is all of this about to get much worse?
A number of British actors Variety has spoken to say they’ve yet to hear from local actors’ union Equity with any guidance about their situation.
That’s likely because it’s being worked out in real time. Paul W. Fleming, general secretary for Equity, has been in Los Angeles for discussions with SAG-AFTRA, which is optimistic about its negotiations with the AMPTP. (He’s also visiting New York to meet with theater union Actors’ Equity.) In a June 23 video update to members, president Fran Drescher said, “We’re standing strong and we’re going to achieve a seminal deal.” The union’s contract will expire at midnight on June 30, though it’s believed that negotiations could extend beyond that date in order to reach an agreement and avoid strike action.
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