Hollywood A-Listers Lead SAG-AFTRA Strike Rally At Times Square
NDTV
Academy Award winners Brendan Fraser, Jessica Chastain and F. Murray Abraham were among the stars joining the mass of demonstrators
Hollywood A-listers including Emmy winner Bryan Cranston and a group of Oscar winners on Tuesday led a large rally of striking actors and writers in New York's Times Square, as the stalemate with studios and streamers dragged on. Academy Award winners Brendan Fraser, Jessica Chastain and F. Murray Abraham were among the stars joining the mass of demonstrators. Movie and television production has effectively shut down in the United States since thousands of members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) guild walked off the job on July 14, joining writers who have been on strike for weeks.
Both guilds are demanding better pay and job security, as well as safeguards against the threat posed by artificial intelligence as they pursue the first industry-wide walkout in 63 years.
"We will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots," "Breaking Bad" star Cranston told attendees, referring to fears about AI being used to recreate an actor's likeness.