Hollywood’s striking actors might finally be reaching their breaking point.
This summer, the Screen Actors Guild joined the Writers Guild of America in the biggest strike Hollywood has seen in recent years. The move has brought to a screeching halt almost all new film and TV productions.
In July, it was reported that major studios and streaming platforms were considering just waiting it out until union members were kicked out of their homes and apartments after not working for a few months.
Now, that is exactly what is beginning to happen.
Hollywood actors who have refused to work for the past few months have obviously seen their income dry up, and now some can’t pay rent.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a record number of Hollywood workers are facing eviction and seeking rent assistance.
“They’re being evicted from their apartments and they’re not paying their mortgages so eventually they will lose their homes as well,” said Motion Picture & Television Fund president and CEO Bob Beitcher.
“We’re talking to people who are living in their cars, in some cases with their families.”
One SAG member, David Baach, said he hasn’t worked since May. His building extended him a grace period, but early last month he found an eviction notice taped to his door.
This is happening despite the money being shelled out to the striking actors by the MPTF and other associations.
As of Aug. 25, the Entertainment Community Fund had given $5.4 million to film and TV workers, mostly to help with rent, while the MPTF is handing out grants of $1,500.
But that is nowhere near enough to cover the astronomical cost of living in Los Angeles, where the average rent is nearly $3,000 a month, according to Beitcher.
This is a very unfortunate thing for these actors to have to go through, but perhaps it will provide them with some valuable perspective.
During the COVID era, actors and celebrities constantly told us to obey the restrictions and that we were “all in this together,” despite the fact that they were seemingly free to ignore the mandates as they wished.
Now, they are finding themselves in the same situation faced by ordinary Americans at that time who needed to work but couldn’t because they were deemed “non-essential.”
Even in the current economy, millions of American families are constantly worried about making ends meet, paying rent and even affording food.
The difference, of course, is that these actors are simply choosing not to work. They are getting a self-administered dose of reality.
Granted, not all actors are A-listers living lives of luxury. And those who are probably won’t miss a few paychecks.
But perhaps this will bring them down to earth a bit. The studio executives are sticking to their strategy and are apparently willing to let the D-list actors bankrupt themselves.
Are they going to break?
