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David Zimmermann, News Intern


NextImg:Hollywood could face 'absolute collapse' if strikes continue, former industry executive says

Three days after SAG-AFTRA voted to show solidarity with the WGA, a former Hollywood executive warned the film and television industries could see “devastating effects” if both strikes are “not settled soon.”

Barry Diller, chairman of IAC and Expedia Group and former CEO of Paramount Pictures, explained what could happen if the strikes go on longer than intended in an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.

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“These conditions will potentially produce an absolute collapse of an entire industry” if they persist past September 1, Diller said.

Hollywood effectively remains shut down for the foreseeable future, as actors and writers are not allowed to work until a mutual agreement is reached between the studios and the two guilds. The strikes will continue unless labor demands for better compensation and creative protection against artificial intelligence have been met.

If no agreement is reached by Christmas, Diller predicted, there will not be enough streaming and cable programs for audiences to watch next year, which would lead to canceled streaming subscriptions and reduced revenue for the entertainment industry. Without adequate cash flow, the industry can’t revive those programs, he said.

To solve the dispute quickly, Diller suggested studio executives and A-list actors each take 25% pay cuts.

“You have the actors’ union saying, ‘How dare these 10 people who run these companies earn all this money and won’t pay us?’” he said. “While, if you look at it on the other side, the top 10 actors get paid more than the top 10 executives. I’m not saying either is right. Actually, everybody’s probably overpaid at the top end.

“The one idea I had is to say, as a good-faith measure, both the executives and the most-paid actors should take a 25 percent pay cut to try and narrow, narrow the difference between those who get highly paid and those that don’t.”

Other Hollywood experts said they are not optimistic about the situation either, per the Los Angeles Times.

“There’s going to be a lot of blood in the water,” said Jonathan Taplin, director emeritus of the University of Southern California's Annenberg Innovation Lab. “This is not going to end well.”

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“The economics of the industry are very challenging — the worst that we’ve ever seen,” said veteran media analyst Michael Nathanson. “A prolonged strike will only make things worse.”

Certain union members who are represented by SAG-AFTRA, such as news anchors, soap actors, and game-show hosts, are not affected by the strikes as they are under a different contract.