SAG-AFTRA’s National Board is expected to vote Thursday to authorize a strike, marking the first time that actors and writers have both been on the picket lines since 1960. The ripple effects of a complete Hollywood shutdown will affect businesses all across Los Angeles.
“It’s really a precarious situation for us,” Jen Kasle, CEO of L.A.-based booking agency The Talent, told KNX News.
The Talent books celebrity guests for TV shows and events including American Idol, The Talk, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Kasle said one of the shows her company was working on shut down in May, when the writers’ strike began, putting the entire crew out of work.
“There were two writers on that show, and obviously we stand behind what they’re trying to accomplish, but there were producers, associate producers, PAs, sound, lighting, set design, editors, post house, hair, makeup. The list goes on and on and on,” she said.
Some so-called “below the line” workers have already had to sell their homes and move out of Los Angeles, Kasle said. Even non-industry businesses, like restaurants and childcare, are being impacted by the sudden lack of business from the entertainment sector.
Kasle’s own staff reduced their hours by 30% and pay by 20% starting in May. She worries that if all production shuts down, “it’s gonna be even harder decisions that we have to make.”
“It’s terrifying, and I think we’ve all been prepped for it, but now that it’s here, we’re all just hoping this is very quick,” she said.
Even if the actors’ strike is resolved quickly, there are indications that the WGA could be on the picket lines for several more months. More than 70 days into their strike, Hollywood studios have so far refused to return to the bargaining table, and a top producer told Deadline Tuesday that they have no plans to resume talks until late October.
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