“Our strike rules will not allow for any form of promotion for television series, streaming series that have been produced under these contracts. My expectation is that it will bring any actor participation in any campaign into a close.”

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers released the following statment upon news of the strike:

A strike is certainly not the outcome we hoped for as studios cannot operate without the performers that bring our TV shows and films to life. The Union has regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.

“Because the AMPTP [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers] remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on key issues essential to protecting the livelihoods of working actors and performers, SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously voted to issue a strike order against studios and streamers,” SAG National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a press conference.

It is the first time since 1960 that both actors and writers have picketed film and television productions.

Tom Murray reports for The Independent from Los Angeles.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland announce the national board voted unanimously for the strike.

The majority of the 160,000 members will walkout from midnight tonight.

An impassioned Ms Drescher stresses the seriousness of the strike and the impact it has and the message it sends to the wider labour movement worldwide.

“The gig is up,” she tells the AMPTP, adding they must share the wealth.

Slamming Hollywood executives she said: “They plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right, when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting — shame on them.”

The cast of Oppenheimer left a London premiere prematurely to “go and write their picket signs” in preparation for the “imminent” strike by the actors’ union.

Inga Parkel reports.

The SAG-AFTRA national board is made up of dozens of members and they will currently be voting on the strike action.

Among the notable names on the board are union President Fran Drescher, Sean Astin, Jennifer Beals, Yvette Nicole Brown, Brad Garrett, Elliott Gould, Dulé Hill, Rosie O’Donnell, Michael Rapaport, and Sharon Stone.