As the WGA Writers’ Strike wraps up its first week on the pickets, one has to wonder just what it’s going to take for the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers to smarten up and pay the backbone of entertainment the wages and residuals they’re deserved. Whatever it is, hopefully, it comes before the next wave of vomit-worthy blockbusters that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen spearheaded back in the day.
And, as it turns out, the lack of streaming residuals isn’t just a thorn in the side for writers. If one fired-up Ginger Gonzaga is to be believed, then there’s just as much work to be done in the sector of actor support as well.
In a series of tweets, in which the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law star lambasted Fran Drescher, the president of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), for the rather meek answer she gave to a question regarding SAG-AFTRA’s own upcoming review with AMPTP, Gonzaga sounded off on the poor compensation for actors on streaming shows, citing her own personal experiences, including one where she and other actors were not paid their due residuals for their work.
She also pointed fingers at SAG-AFTRA for approving “embarrassingly low” contracts, also arguing that the increasing presence of diverse actors may not be terribly coincidental to this situation, either.
She ended the thread with a call to action for actors to educate themselves on their rights and do what’s necessary to protect themselves from unsavory studio practices.
Per Deadline, SAG-AFTRA’s current contracts with AMPTP are set to expire on June 30, and the union has named wages and residuals among their points to be negotiated. Until then, it remains to be seen if SAG-AFTRA will put that money where their mouth is, or if individual actors will have to end up following Gonzaga’s lead and rely on themselves for their own protection.