Hollywood Studios race to avert actors' strike

STORY: Jennifer Lawrence might be about to walk off the set. The A-list star is among actors to say they’re ready to strike if there’s no deal with studios on compensation and other issues. On Wednesday (July 12), Hollywood executives were racing to reach agreement ahead of a midnight deadline set by unions. If a strike does happen, it would run alongside a stoppage by some 11,500 writers, who walked out in May.The SAG-AFTRA actors’ union wants compensation updated for the streaming era. With shows no longer repeated the way they were on network TV, it says actors are losing out on the residual payments they used to get. Actors also want assurances that their digital images won’t be used without permission. And they’re concerned that work could be lost to artificial intelligence technology. If a strike does go ahead it would be the first time that actors and writers have walked out at the same time since 1960. But reaching agreement could be difficult. Disney and rivals have lost hundreds of millions of dollars on streaming over the latest quarter, and are looking to cut costs. At the same time, the rise of online services has eroded ad revenue as traditional TV audiences shrink. Right now, that leaves neither side looking like they’re in the mood for compromise.
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