Bryan Cranston was among the latest to step up in the SAG-AFTRA strike to directly address Disney CEO Bob Iger, who is among the main targets of the protest groups.
The SAG-AFTRA protest started because of a dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). It also coincided with the WGA strike, which has seen screenwriters go on a lengthy hiatus.
One of the main agendas of this strike is the use of AI to replicate images of actors. According to reports, studios have also recently been planning to own the images of actors to create AI-generated content.
In the rally today, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston passionately spoke out against the possibility of this practice as he addressed Disney's Bob Iger directly. Cranston said in his speech:
"We’ve got a message for Mr. Iger...I know, sir, that you look [at] things through a different lens. We don’t expect you to understand who we are. But we ask you to hear us, and beyond that to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living. And lastly, and most importantly, we will not allow you to take away our dignity! We are union through and through, all the way to the end!"
He further elaborated on the changes in the industry and how its evolution may jeopardize actors in the future.
"They want us to step back in time. We cannot and we will not do that."- Bryan Cranston on the changing industry and the actor's resolve
Bryan Cranston also lashed out about the prospect of the changing industry and how actors will have to strive in order to survive. He also emphasized how the changing industry is the only thing that the big studios and the striking actors have in common.
Bryan Cranston elaborated:
"We are not in the same business model we were even 10 years ago,...And yet, even though they admit that is the truth in today’s economy, they are fighting us tooth and nail to stick to the same economic system that is outmoded, outdated! They want us to step back in time. We cannot and we will not do that."
Today's strike saw a huge turn-up, with many prominent actors like Steve Buscemi, Wendell Pierce, Christian Slater, Christine Baranski, Stephen Lang, and Titus Burgess, among the crowd.
The SAG-AFTRA strike marks the first time that actors have gone on strike since the early 1980s. It is also the first time two Hollywood strikes have coincided since the early 1960s, marking the biggest interruption in the working of Hollywood since the pandemic.
The union that has gone on strike has approximately 160,000 media professionals and entertainers. This has resulted in widespread disruption of shooting and production.
This means that many ongoing projects, especially the planned ones from big studios like Disney, are going to be indefinitely delayed until a resolution is reached.
More details about the SAG-AFTRA strike will unravel in the coming days.
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