Today is the first day of the SAG-AFTRA strike, sending Hollywood’s ongoing labor crisis—what with all the writers having already been on strike for months and all at this point—into full-blown emergency mode. And while actors have already been out on the picket lines in force in recent weeks, showing their support for the WGA, they’re now showing up in even more abundance now that their own union is also out on the lines.
Holding signs and shouting slogans, SAG-AFTRA members are making themselves heard on both coasts, pushing back on the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios in the ongoing negotiations with the union. (Which broke down on Wednesday night, leaving the union’s contract with the AMPTP to expire at midnight.) With SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher leading the troops out in force—after delivering a firebrand speech condemning the studios yesterday—protestors have swarmed the hubs of the entertainment industry to let their displeasure with the mega-corps be known.
And, since we likely won’t be seeing any of these performers in TV shows or movies for a minute—at least, once the current glut of already developed material runs out, sending the studios into “reality TV and foreign imports and desperation” mode—we’re just going to have to turn to the picket line itself to get our famous folk fix. So, here you go: A look at some of the biggest names out on the lines so far, in both Los Angeles and New York.
