‘Already vulnerable’: UK film and TV workers feel the pinch from US strike
UK film and TV workers have spoken about the devastating effects of the Hollywood strikes on their jobs and livelihoods, with many saying they are struggling to keep afloat.
The industrial action by members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Sag-Aftra union which began on 14 July have disrupted the film and television industries for the past month, bringing global production to a standstill and delaying the release of a number of high-profile movies. The focus has been on residuals – the payments that performers receive for repeat showings of films and TV shows – as well as issues over actors’ likenesses being reproduced by artificial intelligence.
It is the first time in 60 years that Hollywood actors have joined their colleagues from the WGA on the picket line, with Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Jennifer Lawrence, Joaquin Phoenix and Jamie Lee Curtis among the famous names backing the action. Many Equity members in Britain also belong to Sag-Aftra and a lot of British films are co-productions, meaning UK workers have also been affected by the strike.
Speaking to the Guardian, Ian Heard, a 39-year-old location scout based in Sussex, said he expected to barely earn anything for the rest of the year.
“Covid blew all my savings, just keeping afloat,” he said. “You’ve got to pay your tax bill, pay your mortgage, and then you’ve got higher food prices, you’ve got higher energy bills, everything is higher and there’s not really anywhere you can cut … Everyone’s going to suffer.”
Heard added that crew workers were not represented in the strikes by actors or writers, which made it hard for some of them to support the action. “Crew know that when everything is back to normal, their conditions won’t improve,” he said.
Eleanor Ventress, a 28-year-old costume designer based in London, said better pay and protection against AI was something that was “worth fighting for”, but added: “Obviously it does have knock-on effects for us.” Ventress said she had a project postponed at short notice and did not know when she would work again.
“It’s definitely watching the pennies now,” she said. “It’s all about trying to find side hustles at the moment.”
For instance, Ventress has taken on work two days a week outside the film and TV industries, and is considering selling items on the online craft marketplace Etsy.
Jonathan Bickerdike is a 53-year-old physical and mechanical special effects technician based in West Sussex. “My income has completely switched off, but my overheads are the same,” he said. “I’m just living off my cushion at the moment.”
Bickerdike, who has a seven-yearold son, said he worried about the uncertainty of having no income for potentially months. “These people going on strike impacts an enormous range of people,” he said.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), an industry trade association, continues to be unwilling to discuss overhauling residuals, maintaining a bullish line that writers and actors will run out of money before its members do. Last month, an unnamed studio executive reportedly said: “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.”
Anthony Boys, a 44-year-old editor for TV series such as Veep and The Great who works with a lot of US clients, said he “couldn’t be more in favour” of the fight to secure better payment residuals and protections against AI.
Boys said he was lucky to have built up some income, as he did not expect to work until 2024, but added that not everyone in the industry would be in his position.
“There are other symptoms going on that are affecting the UK industry,” he said, such as Brexit, the fallout from the pandemic and “the current government’s unwillingness to invest in culture. It’s creating a bit of a perfect storm.”
Helena, a 31-year-old costume professional in London, said it was incredibly tough for film and TV workers lower down the food chain. She had a week’s notice of a job ending – “my income’s gone to zero” – which was a big financial hit after Covid, during which she did not get furlough money.
“Lots of people have been playing catchup after that,” she said. “When you’re already vulnerable, then it’s these moments that can be quite hard.”
On Thursday, it was announced that the 2023 Emmy awards would be pushed back four months to 15 January 2024, reflecting the mood in Hollywood that a deal between Sag-Aftra and the WGA with the AMPTP is unlikely to be imminent.
In July, a host of British actors including Brian Cox, Imelda Staunton, Naomie Harris and Simon Pegg joined a demonstration in London in solidarity with the Hollywood strike.
Speaking to the Guardian at the time, Spencer MacDonald, the national secretary of the Bectu trade union, said thousands of crew members in the UK had been suspended from productions. “They’re still under contract but they’re not being paid and can’t work for another employer,” he said. “They need to be released from their contracts or compensated.”