By Sarah Mills
LONDON (Reuters) – “Mission Impossible” star Simon Pegg and Brian Cox from “Succession” joined a rally in London on Friday to support U.S film and television writers and actors striking for higher pay and new terms in the streaming era.
Hollywood actors went on strike at midnight on July 13 after talks with studios broke down, joining film and television writers who have been on picket lines since May and deepening the disruption of scores of shows and movies.
Actors union SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America want increases in base pay and residuals in the streaming TV era, plus assurances they will not be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).
British actors’ union Equity organised the rally in Leicester Square, where movie theatres hosted UK premieres including “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” last week.
While actors on Equity contracts can still work, the union is in full support of the strike and keen to make sure no loop holes are attempted, its General Secretary Paul Fleming told Reuters on Monday.
David Oyelowo, Andy Serkis, Imelda Staunton, Naomie Harris and Hayley Atwell joined Friday’s rally, where supporters held placards saying “Equity stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA”.
“We’re here essentially, initially to support the writers,” Cox told reporters.
“But of course, other things have come into play because we’re also doing our own negotiations, but our own negotiations pale in relationship to AI, because AI is a really, really very serious thing and that’s the thing where we’re most vulnerable.”
(Reporting by Paul Sandle and Farouq Suleiman; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
