Hollywood crew concerned over lack of jobs ever since strike ended: Report

Is Hollywood back to normal after the SAG AFTRA strike that ended on November 9? A new report by LA Times shares that several crew members are facing a touch scenario working in the entertainment industry as the work opportunities have dried up. (Also read: SAG-AFTRA reach tentative agreement with Hollywood studios to end strike)

What the report said

The new report added a response by Diego Mariscal, a dolly grip who has more than 25 years of experience, with credits including Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Mandalorian, who said, “Everyone’s just in panic mode and they don’t know what to do.” There was also Jennifer Rose Clasen, a still photographer who has worked in The Flight Attendant and Big Little Lies, who stressed how the lack of opportunities have impacted the mental health of many crew members.

“I constantly have to remind my friends this isn’t their fault because there’s a little trickle of work out there so there’s just enough for people to feel like they’re failing. That, compounded over 10, 12, 14 months, truly takes a toll on people’s well-being,” she said.

More details

The report stated how many members of the crew are feeling unsure of the future given the current condition where many film sets have slashed the number of people working on departments to low numbers. Moreover, they are also concerned about their health insurances, which is directly proportional to the number of hours they have worked on set. This is because of the extensive ripple effect of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, which has been impacting thousands of people working in entertainment and adjacent industries.

Members of SAG-AFTRA walked off the job in mid-July asking for an increase in minimum salaries, a share of streaming service revenue and protection from being replaced by “digital replicas” generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The union said negotiators had reached a preliminary deal on a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in November.