Actors are on strike in Hollywood. But the curtain will not fall on the famous Broadway stage, in New York. The parties in the sector have signed an agreement and announced it today in a joint statement.
The International Alliance of Theatre Employees (IATSE), the Broadway League, which represents theater owners and producers, and Disney Theatrical, a subsidiary of the entertainment group, have reached an agreement. But the agreement still needs to be ratified by the approximately 1,500 IATSE members concerned by the text. They will decide in the coming days, according to the statement.
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29 shows in New York, as well as 17 others currently on tour in North America, would then have been concerned, for an industry that sold 12.3 million tickets during the 2022-2023 season, for a turnover of $ 1.6 billion.
First strike in 63 years
A threat of strike that would have come in addition to that, effective this one, actors in Hollywood, a first in 63 years. Indeed, last week, 160,000 actors of series and cinema stopped work there because of the lack of agreement with the production studios, joining the scriptwriters, themselves on strike for several weeks.
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Both trades are demanding a revaluation of their remuneration, at half-mast in the era of streaming. They also want guarantees regarding the use of artificial intelligence, to prevent it from generating scripts, or cloning their voice and image.
Hollywood almost at a standstill
Since May, the only productions that have decided to shoot have done so on the basis of scripts already completed in the spring, without being able to modify them. This is particularly the case of the prequel of "Lord of the Rings" funded by Amazon, "The Rings of Power". But without actors, filming is simply no longer going to be possible.
Only a few talk shows and reality shows will be able to continue. The actors also have the power to freeze the promotion of blockbusters expected in theaters this summer, such as "Oppenheimer" or "Gran Turismo". And without their presence on the red carpet, the industry may have to postpone the Emmy Awards ceremony scheduled for September 18.