REPRESENTING 160,000 TELEVISION

AND FILM ACTORS WILL GO ON

STRIKE STARTING AT MIDNIGHT,

AFTER FOUR WEEKS OF FAILED

NEGOTIATIONS.

JEFFREY BROWN FINDS OUT WHAT'S

BEHIND THE DECISION AND HOW

HOLLYWOOD WILL BE AFFECTED.

IT'S PART OF OUR ARTS AND

CULTURE SERIES, CANVAS.

>> YOU SHARE THE WEALTH BECAUSE

YOU CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT US.

THANK YOU.

JEFFREY: THE ANNOUNCEMENT CAME

THIS AFTERNOON.

THEY WILL OFFICIALLY STRIKE AT

MIDNIGHT TONIGHT ALREADY, ACTORS

ARE LEAVING SETS AND EVEN

PREMIERES.

AND MANY MORE WILL BE ON PICKET

LINES STARTING TOMORROW.

>> THE ENTIRE BUSINESS MODEL HAS

BEEN CHANGED BY STREAMING,

DIGITAL, AI.

THIS IS A MOMENT OF HISTORY, A

MOMENT OF TRUTH.

IF WE DON'T STAND TALL RIGHT NOW

, WE ARE ALL GOING TO BE IN

TROUBLE.

JEFFREY: AMONG THE UNRESOLVED

ISSUES, DEMANDS FOR HIGHER

WAGES.

THE INCREASE OF RESIDUALS AS

STREAMING SERVICES COMMAND MORE

OF THE MARKET AND NEW

PROTECTIONS FROM THE USE OF

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

FOR ITS PART, THE ALLIANCE OF

MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION

PRODUCERS REPRESENTING

TRADITIONAL STUDIOS SUCH AS

UNIVERSAL, PARAMOUNT, AND

DISNEY, ALONG WITH NEWER TECH

GIANTS LIKE APPLE, NETFLIX, AND

AMAZON ABOUT BLAMED THE UNION

FOR WALKING AWAY FROM MAJOR

CONCESSIONS, SAYING IN A

STATEMENT THE UNION HAS

REGRETTABLY CHOSEN A PATH THAT

WILL LEAD TO FINANCIAL HARDSHIP

FOR COUNTLESS THOUSANDS OF

PEOPLE WHO DEPEND ON THE

INDUSTRY.

IN AN INTERVIEW THIS MORNING,

BOB IGER SAID THIS.

>> THERE'S A LEVEL OF

EXPECTATION THAT THEY HAVE THAT

IS JUST NOT REALISTIC.

THEY ARE ADDING TO THE SET OF

CHALLENGES THAT THIS BUSINESS IS

ALREADY FACING THAT IS QUITE

FRANKLY VERY DISRUPTIVE.

JEFFREY: THE MOVE ALL BUT GRINDS

HOLLYWOOD TO A HALT AS ACTORS

JOIN THE WRITING GUILD WHOSE

MEMBERS HAVE BEEN ON STRIKE

SINCE MAY OVER SIMILAR ISSUES.

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME BOTH

UNIONS HAVE BEEN ON STRIKE SINCE

1960 WHEN ACTOR AND FUTURE

PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN HEADED

UP THE ACTORS GUILD.

A PERSON WHO COVERS THE INDUSTRY

FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES --

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

-- ANOUSHA SAKOUI WHO COVERS THE

INDUSTRY FOR THE LOS ANGELES

TIMES.

I MENTIONED TO SOME OF THE

ISSUES AND WE WILL COME BACK TO

THAT BUT I AM STRUCK I HELD BOTH

SIDES SEEM TO BE FRAMING THIS IN

EXISTENTIAL TERMS.

ARE YOU HEARING IT THAT WAY?

ANOUSHA: FOR SURE.

LIKE YOU SAID IN THE PACKAGE,

THIS IS SIMILAR WITH THE DEBATE

WITH THE WRITERS, THAT THE

STUDIOS ARE SORT OF SAYING THAT,

YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE ISSUES OF

TERMS OF RESTRUCTURING.

WE WERE SEEING THE STUDIOS

LAYING OFF THOUSANDS OF

EMPLOYEES AND NOW, THERE HAS

BEEN THIS SHIFT IN THE STREAMING

MODEL WHERE THERE'S BEEN A

PULLBACK IN PRODUCTION AND MANY

STUDIOS ARE SEEKING COST SAVINGS

AND TRYING TO CUT BACK.

SO OBVIOUSLY, THAT DOES NOT

ALIGN WITH UNIONS WHO WANT TO

GET PAID MORE.

JEFFREY: AND WHAT ARE THE MAJOR

STICKING POINTS AT THIS POINT

THAT YOU SEE THAT LED TO THE

BREAKDOWN?

ANOUSHA: IT SEEMS THAT THERE WAS

A STICKING POINT AROUND

STREAMING RESIDUALS WHICH ARE

THE ROYALTIES PAID WHEN A TV OR

FILM IS REPLAYED.

IN THE ACTORS WANTED A SORT OF

SHARE OF REVENUE LINKED TO THE

MOST SUCCESSFUL SHOWS AND THAT

SEEMED TO BE A BIG NO FOR THE

STUDIOS.

THEY ALSO WANTED GREATER

PROTECTIONS AROUND ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE THAN THE STUDIOS

SEEM TO BE OFFERING THEM AND

THEY ALSO WANTED BIG INCREASES

IN WAGES TO COUNTER THE IMPACT

OF INFLATION AND OBVIOUSLY, THE

TWO SIDES WERE NOT ABLE TO COME

TO AGREEMENT ON THOSE NUMBERS.

JEFFREY: WHAT ABOUT THE RESPONSE

FROM THE INDUSTRY? THEY PUT OUT

A LIST OF 14 PROPOSALS THAT THEY

SAID THEY HAD PUT ON THE TABLE

IN RESPONSE TO THE UNION.

YOU SAW BOB IGER'S COMMENTS

TODAY.

WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM THE

INDUSTRY?

ANOUSHA: YOU KNOW, I THINK WHEN

YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU HAVE TO LOOK

AT THE FINER DETAILS.

IT'S NOT THAT EASY A THING TO

SORT OF COMPARE ONE VERSION OF A

PROPOSAL AND WHAT THE ACTORS ARE

SAYING.

YOU KNOW, YOU SORT OF GET TWO

VERSIONS OF THE SAME STORY.

I THINK A LOT OF THE TIME, IT

IS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING INTO THE

FINER DETAILS OF THE OFFERORS,

AND YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THERE TO

SAY EXCEPT THAT THERE'S GOING TO

BE A STRIKE THIS WEEKEND?

PEOPLE ARE VERY CONCERNED ACROSS

THE INDUSTRY ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS

FOR LIVELIHOODS, NOT JUST OF

ACTORS AND WRITERS WHO ARE ON

STRIKE BUT ALL THE OTHER WORKERS

WHO THE CRAFTSPEOPLE,

HAIRDRESSERS, MAKEUP ARTISTS,

COSTUMERS, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE

THAT WORK ON FILM AND TV THAT

WILL HAVE THEIR WORK STOPPED AND

THEIR PAY STOPPED.

AND ALSO THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE

DEPENDENT ON FILM AND TV ACROSS,

YOU KNOW, MANY BIG FILMING HUBS

ACROSS THE U.S.

IT'S NOT JUST SOUTHERN

CALIFORNIA AND LOS ANGELES BUT

NEW YORK, NEW MEXICO ABOUT,

GEORGIA HAVE -- MEXICO, GEORGIA

HAVE HUGE FILM INDUSTRIES.

JEFFREY: TELL US A LITTLE BIT

MORE ABOUT THAT.

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THIS THAT

GOES BEYOND THE UNION WORKERS,

GOES BEYOND THE STUDIOS, GOES

BEYOND THE HOLLYWOOD INDUSTRY TO

L.A. AND BEYOND, AS YOU WERE

SAYING.

HOW BIG AN IMPACT WILL IT HAVE?

ANOUSHA: THE ONE THING THAT THE

SAG AFTRA STRIKE WILL DO IS THAT

IT WILL STRETCH THE REACH OF

THESE WORK STOPPAGES TO OVERSEAS

SO SO FAR, IT HAS BEEN CONFINED

TO THE U.S.

NOW BECAUSE SAG AFTRA HAS A

GLOBAL REACH, THEIR MEMBERSHIP

IS ACROSS THE WORLD.

PRODUCTION SENT HAVE BEEN

ONGOING IN THE U.K. OR

AUSTRALIA, YOU KNOW, IGHT NOW

HAVE TO COME TO AN END.

THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT STUDIOS

MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FALL

BACK ON TO KEEP PRODUCING

OVERSEAS.

SO THAT IS ONE THING.

HERE AT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES,

WE HAVE BEEN REPORTING ON WHAT

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ESTIMATING WILL

BE THE ECONOMIC FALLOUT BACK IN

2007, 2008, IT CAME TO $2.1

BILLION AT THE TIME, THE

ESTIMATED COST FOR SOUTHERN

CALIFORNIA AND THE LOCAL ECONOMY

THERE.

BUT EXPERTS HAVE BEEN ESTIMATING

THAT THIS TIME, THE FALLOUT

COULD EXCEED $3 BILLION.

JEFFREY: WHAT ABOUT THE IMPACT

ON PRODUCTION OF COURSE FOR

FILMS AND TV AND ALL OF US IN

THE AUDIENCE WHO WANT TO KNOW

WHAT WILL HAPPEN, WHAT WILL WE

BE SEEING?

ANOUSHA: ALREADY, YOU KNOW, I

CAN TELL YOU THAT PRODUCTION ON

SCRIPTED TELEVISION, THE BIG

DRAMAS THAT WE LOVE TO BINGE AND

WATCH AND CATCH UP ON ON A

SUNDAY ON HBO, MANY OF THOSE

HAVE STOPPED FILMING OR THEIR

PRODUCTIONS HAVE BEEN DELAYED

FOR THEIR NEW SEASONS.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE NETWORKS, THE

BIG NETWORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN

PRESENTING THEIR FULL SLATES,

THEY ARE VERY HEAVILY DOMINATED

BY REALITY TV AND REPEATS.

IT ABC HAS ABBOTT ELEMENTARY.

THEY WILL ONLY BE SHOWING

REPEATS ACCORDING TO THEIR

PRESENTATIONS A FEW MONTHS AGO.

SO YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT SHOWS

LIKE THAT, NETFLIX'S STRANGER

THINGS, WILL BE DELAYED

INTRODUCING NEW SEASONS BECAUSE

THEIR CREATORS HAVE SAID THEY

ARE NOT GOING TO WORK DURING THE

WRITERS STRIKE.

THE QUESTION NOW IS ALSO THINGS

THAT ARE ONGOING.

THAT HAVE NOT BEEN STOPPED BY

THE WRITERS STRIKE BUT ALSO WILL

BE -- BY ACTORS GOING ON STRIKE

AND THAT LOOKS VERY LIKELY SO WE

COULD SEE A GREATER IMPACT OF

THE SLATE BUT ALSO DELAYS IN THE

RELEASE OF MOVIES.

JEFFREY: IN OUR LAST 30 SECONDS,

DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF HOW LONG

THIS CAN GO ON? DO YOU HAVE A

SENSE OF THE RELATIVE STRENGTH

OR WEAKNESSES OF BOTH SIDES?

JEFFREY: THAT -- ANOUSHA: THAT

IS THE BIG QUESTION EVERYBODY

MUST ANSWER AND IT'S REALLY HARD

TO PREDICT.

OBVIOUSLY, THE LAST WRITERS

STRIKE WENT ON FOR 100 DAYS AND

THAT WAS NOT THE LONGEST.

SO YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN FOR A

LITTLE BIT OF TIME STILL TO GO

BECAUSE MY EXPECTATION IS THAT

THE STUDIOS WILL PROBABLY SEEK

TO RESOLVE THE DISPUTE WITH THE

ACTORS AND THEN MAYBE SEEK THE

WRITERS THERE'S ALTERNATE VIEWS.

SOME WRITERS SEEM TO THINK THE

ACTORS GOING ON STRIKE MIGHT

BRING BOTH STRIKES TO A SOONER

CLOSE SO IT'S HARD TO PREDICT.

JEFFREY: MUCH MORE TO COME.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ANOUSHA: MY PLEASURE.