LA Board Urges Studios to Resume Strike Discussions with Actors

In a significant move, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday exhorted the leading studios to resume negotiations with the striking actors. The decision emerged amidst the 85th day of the Writers Guild strike and the 10th day of SAG-AFTRA strikes against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Earlier in the impasse, the board had passed a similar resolution to rally behind the writers.

The board decision follows Supervisor Lindsey Horvath's profound statement, post the vote, "The people who power Los Angeles are on strike and deserve a fair deal." She lamented that the AMPTP is disregarding negotiations, thus leading to serious consequences such as people losing their homes and livelihoods and threatening the sustainability of small businesses.

Horvath, along with Supervisor Hilda Solis, brought forward the motion imploring the AMPTP to engage in discussions and resolve the ongoing strike by reaching a reasonable agreement with the 160,000-member strong actors union. In a simultaneous move, the board green-lighted a second resolution by Horvath and Supervisor Kathryn Barger to identify ways to support small businesses affected by the strikes, while evaluating the economic impact on the employees and freelancers servicing the extensive entertainment industry.

The ripple effect of the ongoing strike in the entertainment industry is adversely impacting several small businesses who are struggling to stay afloat due to an unforeseen drop in clientele and revenues. Echoing this sentiment, Barger opined, “The pandemic demonstrated that we can use county resources effectively to assist small business owners. This crisis presents another occasion for us to develop unconventional strategies to bolster the small business community.”

In a stepping stone to curb the fallout, the county’s Department of Economic Opportunity is set to organise a webinar for industry workers and businesses impacted by the strikes.

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Now, onto the Hollywood Dynamic Spin. Go fetch your popcorn.

It seems like the Entertainment Capital of the World is being schooled in how to entertain. Or rather, in how not to be entertained. The LA County Board of Supervisors' letter to big studios reads like a disciplinary note to a room full of wayward schoolboys: “Classes are dismissed. Time for some serious talks.”

Folks, it's happening in the heart of Hollywood, a titanic tussle between the glittering studios and the real building blocks of showbiz: the striking actors and writers: who, quite literally, are the script and the action unfolding on the silver screen. A strike, as Lindsey Horvath puts it, merely asks for a 'fair deal'.

The AMPTP, it seems, chose to shadowbox instead of pulling up a chair and dusting off the old negotiation table. Forgive my long sigh here, but while the showbiz loves a gripping tale of conflict and resolve, this is one saga we're all hoping to see resolved soon - preferably without a cliffhanger.

Taking the support show on the road, the board's put on the MacGyver cap to delve into their resource toolbox to support the strike-impacted businesses. The move is a wet towel on a hot day to the small businesses. You know, the ones whose existence and livelihood are tied to the ebb and flow of Tinseltown.

The devil lies in the details, they say. In the midst of this reel-life drama, the LA County's webinar seems like an extra in the grand scheme of the narrative. Let's see how this subplot unfolds.

In the backdrop of it all, our popcorn bucket feels a bit empty, doesn’t it? Here’s hoping the board's note rings some intermission bells and brings everyone back to doing what they do best - creating captivating content and letting the Hollywood Dream factory chug on. Haven’t we all had enough of real-world drama?