Strike by Hollywood actors expected to affect thousands employed in Toronto film, TV industry
CBC
A strike by Hollywood actors is expected to affect tens of thousands of Toronto residents who work in the Canadian film and television industry, casting directors say.
Union leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted to go on strike on Thursday, hours after their contract expired and talks broke off with the the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The strike is set to begin at midnight PT.
At issue in the dispute is base and residual pay, which actors say has been undercut by inflation and the streaming ecosystem, benefits, and the threat of unregulated use of artificial intelligence.
More than half of Canadian-set film and TV shoots are U.S.-based productions, which collectively employ tens of thousands of local talent and crew across the country. Toronto, in particular, is considered a major hub.
Jason Knight and John Buchan, Toronto casting directors at Buchan Knight Casting, said on Thursday that it's too early to know how exactly the strike will affect the local film and television production industry but it's expected that things will get worse.
They said the city's film and television production industry already took a big hit when Hollywood writers went on strike in May. Now that Hollywood actors have voted to go on strike, they said work is expected to dry up further.
"Just with the writers' strike, we're down 70 per cent," Buchan said. "We're leaning into our lines of credit."
The 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since their own talks collapsed and their contract expired on May 2.
Knight said Toronto relies heavily on U.S. productions that come to Canada to use Toronto to play New York City or Chicago and a lot of those shows have been put on hold because of the writers' strike.
"Summer is our busiest production time for obvious reasons. There's been a real dearth of shows coming and work opportunities which, of course, affects everyone down the line," he said. "There are so many different departments that go into a production."
Buchan said 70 per cent of their work comes from the U.S. but it's likely the strike will shut down many Canadian productions as well because there are shows that are written by Canadian screenwriters but employ Hollywood actors.
"It cuts an even bigger swath into our work," he said.
Both said the timing couldn't be worse.
"You're talking about hair, make up, wardrobe. You're talking about lighting crews, you know grips... accountants. You're turning off a major tap," Knight said.
