The Actors Are Striking, The Actors Are Striking!
And oh boy don't we know it
When I went to picket at Netflix the other day, there was a change in the air, and it wasn’t just the unbearable heat blanket under which we all toss and turn. It was something that met the high bar of being harder to ignore than the weather. Something faster, louder, and sing-ier. It was the members of the Screen Actors Guild taking the stage in their latest role: no role.
One thing I’ve found about actors (speaking as a card-carrying SAG member) is that they can be, at moments, extremely annoying. And you know what? THANK GOD. We need them! We want to make the prospect of months of picket lines absolutely unbearable for studio executives. We want CEOs greeted every morning by a group of people who could have a serious disagreement over what qualifies as Neil Simon’s best work. We want power players to navigate their way through a “La Vie Boheme” sing-along on their way to a business lunch.
Actors love to be OVER THE TOP—their livelihoods are built on stealing focus. Do you think when the eyes of the world are finally on them they’re going to demure? No. They are always ready for their proverbial close-up, however they get it.
An example: at each picket line, there are captains stationed at each end. You gently tap the sign you’re carrying to the captain’s sign to both boost morale and keep the line evenly spaced. The other day, I approached this checkpoint when the man in front of me wound his SAG sign back like a baseball bat or golf club to prepare for his tap in the process of which he smacked me in the head. Since it was paper, I was uninjured. Much like stunt performers everywhere (who would benefit from SAG’s proposed contract), I’m willing to make a bodily sacrifice to get the shot.
The writers have gotten the message down on paper, and the actors are bringing it home, even when bringing it home means whipping it around and smacking people in the face. Making (good) movies and television shows requires collaboration—something that will bring paper to life with a jaunty swing.
The nice thing about doing it on an actual set, though, is that there are union protections in place to ensure you don’t get smacked in the face.
