#actor strike

A celebration may be in order.

Image Description: Castiel from Supernatural saying “I love you” to Dean. I’m the panel below, Dean Winchester says, “SAG-AFTRA and the entertainment studios have reached a tentative deal granting workers better compensation, better healthcare, and guaranteed protections from AI. Over the next few days, Union members will vote on accepting the new contract. Well done all.”

October 31, 2023 

As the members of SAG-AFTRA arranged a letter supporting the ongoing actors strike, thousands of SAG members including famous stars such as Sarah Paulson, Christian Slater, and Kal Penn, with the resolution of “rather stay on strike than take a bad deal”. Contradicted opinions exist, as stars such as Scarlett Johansson and Bradley Cooper decided to end the strike with their own wills, but others still choose to insist to argue for a fair treatment. 

The actor strike started approximately three months ago. The argument mainly appears on the unfair treatment towards actors, shown on  compensation. Reason of these actors’ feeling of threat mainly comes from the change of streaming model and media form in the contemporary society which largely impact their receivable residuals. Concerns of AI also exist as the rapid development of technology might lead to the tendency of AI substituting human actors, which is huge as it is the essential factor to shift the whole direction and structure of the media market. 

The letter signed by thousands of members in SAG expresses the concern of actors’ future and eager to alternate the situation, as well as the strong solidarity and consistency in continuing this strike regardless of the severe sacrifice made through the process. 

Negotiation continues these days especially focusing on the AI usage of productions, as opposite opinions exist and deals are yet to be made. This significant strike on actors impacted the whole video streaming market as many studios stopped the production progress on media productions, leading to loss on all agencies evolving in the market. Thus, it is expected to end soon before the end of this year, as the whole market needs to start operating again and recover from the loss as soon as possible. 

Greg Frewin is an award winning magician who has had a long and successful career, having once teamed up with Jason Byrne when they both had bird acts to currently performing in his own venue, “The Greg Frewin Theatre” in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. He has appeared on dozens of television shows around the world and Las Vegas showrooms, too. He has even given a Royal Command Performance for Prince Rainier of Monte Carlo. He used to perform with big cats in his grand illusion show, which he is slowly turning over to his apprentice, Christian Mascia.

In this episode, Greg talks about his long and storied career that has taken him around the world on cruise ships, casino showrooms and Royal Command Performances that have won him accolades like First Place for the I.B.M., S.A.M. and FISM. He chats about working with birds and why he started working with large cats until he decided to retire that act. And speaking of retiring, he is slowly going into semi-retirement as he is turning over the reins to his theatre to Christian Mascia, whom we also talk to in this episode.