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Top Hollywood actors offer $150 million to help end strike (www.reuters.com)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by girlfreddy@sh.itjust.works to c/news@lemmy.world
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Their offer, confirmed by Clooney's spokesperson on Thursday, would provide the union an extra $150 million over three years and could help fund improved health benefits.

Clooney also said top stars would only collect residuals once lower-paid actors received theirs.

"A lot of the top earners want to be part of the solution," Clooney told Hollywood publication Deadline, which first reported the news. "We think it's fair for us to pay more into the union."

A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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[-] ZeroCool@feddit.ch 146 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

"A lot of the top earners want to be part of the solution," Clooney told Hollywood publication Deadline

Look, this is a super swell offer but George fucking Clooney shouldn't be bailing major studios out of their obligations. They can afford to settle the strike all on their own they just choose not to. Frankly, I think George should stop trying to score points for his generosity and grab a picket sign and make himself useful. He isn't the problem but he's not the fucking solution either.

[-] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 28 points 1 year ago

The "top stars" are also hurting. They are more likely to be invested in films, or expecting big paydays to pay their big mortgages. So George and company may be willing to kick in some pocket change to clear the logjam.

[-] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 15 points 1 year ago

Big actors are also producers/executive producers of everything they work on (unless is something like marvel I guess) and pretty sure the real money come from that. They have a conflict of interest on the strike.

[-] MargotRobbie@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Just because you personally benefit from the existing system doesn't mean that you should accept it as OK the way it is, or that it is not capable of being changed to something better, and rejecting the existing system is always a choice. (I thought we went over this in the movie already!)

So, having a production company (I just want more of me on the credits OK?) doesn't mean that I shouldn't to march and picket and fight for what's right.

[-] norbert@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

It'd be a beautiful thing if the top Hollywood stars showed some real solidarity and started/used their own production companies to give SAG-AFTRA a fair deal and make some creative, original films. It'd probably scare big studios knowing there was money being made that they weren't getting their cut of.

[-] bitsplease@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 year ago

Yeah, while most big actors have put on an outward show of solidarity with the strikes, let's not pretend they're not basically in the same position as the studio execs

[-] hdnsmbt@feddit.de 3 points 1 year ago

If he can offer 150 million, how bad is he really hurting?

[-] tar_xf@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 year ago

George isn't personally offering 150M

[-] hdnsmbt@feddit.de 0 points 1 year ago

Oh, I see. Thanks for clarifying!

[-] SeaJ@lemm.ee 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That was kind of what I thought. While it's nice he is doing this, he should have done it after the strike. This only serves to let the studios off the hook.

[-] Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

Plus when IATSE is next up to negotiate they're going to get hosed because "not even SAG-AFTRA could get that".

[-] MargotRobbie@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

Just like with tipping or YouTube ads, individual acts of generosity cannot resolve systemic issues but only serve to reinforce the existing system. The only good way to settle the strike is to win.

So please, help keep the strike going, buy a shirt or a mug, every bit helps.

https://www.sagaftra.org/official-sag-aftra-strike-swag-available

[-] Koof_on_the_Roof@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago

It’s easy to be cynical and 150M towards health benefits seems like a good and altruistic offer but shouldn’t the studio be paying health benefits. Is this just a golden strike buster so top Hollywood actors can get back to earning millions while the rest return to crappy conditions.

[-] girlfreddy@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Imo Clooney et al. are hoping to get all the actors back to work because strike oay isn't cutting it. Bribing AFTRA isn't a bad thing at this point as there's already stories of actors loosing housing, etc.

[-] Zaktor@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

$150M added to the strike fund would go a long way to fixing that issue.

[-] iforgotmyinstance@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

The studio should be, but that would have to be in the bargaining agreement.

I don't know of any company that pays for regular health benefits for gig work. I've had contract work at a long term site (government contracts) pay for healthcare but never heard it for entertainment.

[-] argo_yamato@lemm.ee 25 points 1 year ago

That would be great for funding health benefits but what about studios using actor's likenesses via AI and not paying them at all. That is the point that sticks out to me.

[-] Talaraine@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago

While I low key think they're just trying to help and who's gonna be mad at that...

They aren't helping.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

I mean it is...

Clooney is saying people that make as much as he does should pay more into the union then someone whose had a handful of TV commercials over the last decade.

Having union dues be an uncapped percentage of earnings is basically the same as a progressive tax bracket where the more you earn, the higher percent is paid to taxes.

Flat union dues aren't bad for most vocations. But actors have insane income disparities, all of show biz does.

[-] krellor@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

I would agree. From the outside it makes it look like fragmentation within the union.

[-] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 1 year ago

mushrooms and other fungi.

Ah, yes, I understand

[-] money_loo@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Booo they edited it out!

[-] expatriado@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

so was your comment

[-] money_loo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Yeah autocorrect thought boo should be boop so here we are.

[-] LemmySoloHer@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Now I'm picturing a ghost that boops people on the nose and wails out a spooky "boooooop!" when they do it.

[-] newthrowaway20@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Yep makes perfect sense.

[-] qwertyqwertyqwerty@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

mushrooms and other fungi.

This is the kind of AI-shenanigans I look forward to.

[-] money_loo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

AI?

Looks like a human mistake to me. Simple copy and paste error.

[-] girlfreddy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

Copy/pasting and every news site has shit to edit out.

My bad for missing that.

[-] gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago

All good, it was funny is all, not actually detracting from the read!

[-] girlfreddy@sh.itjust.works -1 points 1 year ago

Tbh I saw the first comment and couldn't figure out what it was about.

2 hrs later I got it ... 🤣

[-] atro_city@fedia.io 8 points 1 year ago

Actors shouldn't be paying, studios should. If they can pay the top actors big bucks, they should be able to shift some of that money to the rest.

[-] itsgroundhogdayagain@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

Yes, get the studios used to stars chipping in. That's a great idea.

[-] girlfreddy@sh.itjust.works -2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The money is going to AFTRA, not the studios.

[-] atro_city@fedia.io 6 points 1 year ago

Which means the studios can pay less and expect the stars to pick up the slack.

[-] moody 3 points 1 year ago

He's offering his money instead of the studios' money. They would absolutely love if the union took that deal.

[-] girlfreddy@sh.itjust.works -4 points 1 year ago

The lesser of 2 evils.

this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2023
138 points (94.8% liked)

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