George Clooney Speaks Out on SAG-AFTRA Strike: 'This Is an Inflection Point'
George Clooney is speaking out about the SAG-AFTRA strike.
One day after the actors' union officially ratified their strike, with performers walking off sets and out of promotional events for their upcoming projects, Clooney issued a statement to ET, calling the strike a major turning point in the history of Hollywood.
"This is an inflection point in our industry," the actor and director said in his statement. "Actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living. For our industry to survive that has to change. For actors that journey starts now."
Negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), which represent the majority of actors in film and television, and major Hollywood studios, who are being represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), fell through after the Wednesday, July 12 deadline of 11:59 p.m. Pacific time passed without resolution.
Actors joined writers on the picket lines starting on Friday morning -- members of the WGA have been picketing since May 2, following the breakdown of their own negotiations. This will mark the first time the actors and writers will be striking at the same time since 1960.
Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director/chief negotiator, made the strike announcement at a Thursday press conference following a national board meeting to approve the work stoppage. Crabtree-Ireland said talks with the AMPTP left the union "with no choice" but to move forward with a strike.
"It came with great sadness that we came to this crossroads. We had no choice,” Drescher said in a passionate speech. “We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. I am shocked by the way the people we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things. How they plead poverty that losing money left and right while giving millions to CEOs. It’s disgusting, shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this moment."
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