The 'Succession' star warns the dispute between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) can take actors 'to the brink.'
- Jul 15, 2023
AceShowbiz - Brian Cox has warned the Hollywood actors strike could get "very, very unpleasant" and last until the end of the year. The "Succession" star warned the dispute between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) could take actors "to the brink".
Weighing in on the issues over issues including concerns over wages, AI technology, and how the profits of digital streaming on services such as Netflix and Disney+ can be divided, he told Sky News, "It's a situation that could get very, very unpleasant. It could go on for quite some time. They'll take us to the brink and we'll probably have to go to the brink. So it may not be solved... until towards the end of the year."
The 77-year-old actor noted the strike was mainly in support of Hollywood writers - whose union, WGA, has been on strike since early May - because without them "we have nothing". He added, "That's why we have shows like 'White Lotus', like 'Succession'..."
Brian also criticised the low residual payments actors and writers receive in residuals from streaming services compared to broadcast television, which occurs because content is always there so there are no repeat fees, and he said the system was "failing rapidly."
He said, "If our residuals go down it means our health insurance isn't going to be met. In a way, the streaming services have shot themselves in the foot because they've said, 'oh, we're going very well on this front.' And when we called them to task and said 'what about our residuals, what about our money?', everything kind of closes down and … you know, it's not going to happen."
And the veteran actor branded the use of AI in film and TV, to generate scripts or recreate a person's likeness, "unacceptable". He said, "We don't know the extent to which it can operate. It's the boogeyman, it really is the boogeyman. [Streamers] could easily go and create AI, artificial intelligence programs, which would be a nonsense. There would never be an original voice. It would be some kind of copy monkey of the show. And that is unacceptable."
