Starting on July 14, 2023, and ending on November 9, actors and writers a part of the actor’s union SAG-AFTRA went on strike. According to TODAY, people working in the film industry who stood in solidarity with the strike were calling for better pay, conditions, and restrictions on the use of AI. As the world of artificial intelligence grows, more ways to use it are created, including attempts to write scripts for movies and TV shows. Writers went on strike claiming that AI could not write scripts and screenplays like a human could, and studios needed to monitor the use of AI so writers could keep their jobs. Actors were striking for increased residuals on the income from their work and better working conditions. Many well-known names in the industry like Meryl Streep supported the strike and were seen walking in protest for the conditions of the strike. At this point, there was another strike going on. The Writers Guild of America, a labor union that represents writers in the industry, went on strike earlier in 2023 and was advocating for many of the same conditions that SAG-AFTRA was regarding pay and artificial intelligence. On November 9, 2023, the strike ended when SAG-AFTRA came to an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that provided actors and writers with the conditions they wanted and the pay needed to sustain their livelihood.
The strike had a substantial impact on the film industry. While actors and writers went on strike in Hollywood, most major film studios stopped production of movies or TV Shows, causing many projects to be postponed to later dates. Marvel announced their release schedule for phases 5 and 6 earlier this year, but certain projects like “Blade” and “Fantastic Four” have been postponed to later dates due to the strike. Fans of the Spiderman franchise can also expect a wait before new films release as “Spider-Man 4” and “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” have both been delayed for an unspecified amount of time. Streaming services like HBO and Netflix have postponed the release of new seasons of many of their popular TV shows. Anticipated franchise films like Dune: Part Two and Avatar 3 were postponed as well. However, it was not just the production and release of films and TV shows that were affected, but many live shows like “Saturday Night Live” and late-night talk shows like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” halted production entirely during the strike.
In the past two months since the strike ended and the film industry has attempted to return to normal, it is clear that it will continue to take a toll on the industry’s flow of production. As studios adhere to conditions that actors and writers protested for during the months of the strike, people working in the film business and audiences alike will have to adjust to the changes that accompanied the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strike.