Writers, actors, and pets alike picketed together in Burbank for Hollywoods historic strike.
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The ice cream is something of a necessity.
With temperatures in the low 90s, Burbank is under a heat advisory.
Like its sister guild, SAG-AFTRA isnegotiatingfor wage increases, better health care, and clearer guidelines around AI.
Additionally, SAG actors want to establish rules around the expensive and time-consuming COVID-19-born trend of self-tape auditions.
The vibe is fantastic, said Deric A. Hughes, a WGA board member and writer on shows likeArrowandLegacies.
Weve been doing this [for] 74 days.
This is the first time the actors have been out here.
Now were, unfortunately, celebrating having thousands of people join the fight.
Energy was high and bolstered by things like ice cream, flowers, pets, and familiar faces.
At Warner Bros., two women brought dozens of bouquets and handed them out indiscriminately.
One man brought his chameleon, for whom hed fashioned a little picket sign.
Both the chameleon and a turtle met Bill Nye the Science Guy at the Disney picket.
Hands off my daughters face, said Janine, mother to Australian actor andGreys Anatomystar Adelaide Kane.
Its not theirs, it will never be theirs.
They dont get to just own someone in perpetuity.
Janine was in town visiting her daughter.
When even the mums are mad, you know its bad.
The scanning of background actors that theyre talking about today is just the beginning.
And this is just the beginning of how labor will deal with AI.
And this is just the beginning of our fight.
Well continue until we get a fair deal.
Im saying very generic things, but I fully believe them.
You dont need the whole ecosystem of production that actors provide for everybody else.
The WGA and SAG want to get ahead of AI better than they did with streaming negotiations.
Hughes pointed out that the studios didnt want to discuss streaming residuals in 2007.
It was like, Oh, dont worry about the internet.
We dont have to talk about it right now.
The studios said, Well get around to it.
Lets talk about it in three years time.
And we were able to get a foothold.
The day after the strike ended, Hulu launched.
Day 101, they launched Hulu.
Theres all these things that theyre doing to take away positions in the industry.
Whos coming to watch movies?
Before I came here, I dropped my daughter off at a camp nearby.
Ironically, shes doing a filmmakers camp, saidVeeps Brian Huskey.
I was like, Oh boy, are you sure?
Just look out the window.
And just like World War II, joining the troops are movie stars.
Across industries, people are having conversations about what we can change and what we should change.
It was, what, 1980, the last time my union had a strike?
I grew up around that kind of poverty so getting insurance was key.
I was able to get it for my uncle.
He was a featured background actor for three days, and he has health insurance because of that.
Thats the nitty-gritty stuff that were fighting for.
WriterRyan Pereznoted that, as historic as this WGA/SAG team up is, it could have been even bigger.
But Perez isnt daunted.
The WGA did wipe the floor with the agencies.
That should serve as a motivation.
We can win a labor movement.
