With contract negotiations looming amid threats from AI, decreasing job numbers and increasing health care costs, the winner of this year's SAG-AFTRA presidential election -- to be announced Friday -- will face a foreboding Hollywood landscape resembling something out of "The Lord of the Rings."
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In the actors' guild race, Sean Astin, known for his roles in the "Rings" trilogy and "Rudy," is up against Chuck Slavin, a SAG-AFTRA New England local board member, background actor and indie film performer. Whoever wins will succeed actress Fran Drescher as the new president of the powerful Hollywood performers union.
The election comes during an uncertain time for the guild, which boasts about 160,000 members. With the industry still recovering from the 118- day strike in the summer of 2023, many actors are worried about the effects of runaway production, the encroachment of artificial intelligence systems, streaming and other issues.
SAG-AFTRA's new leader will play a crucial role in next year's contract negotiations with the major studios. Drescher, who declined to seek reelection, said during the strike that guild members were being "victimized by a very greedy entity" and warned of the threat posed by artificial intelligence to actors' jobs. Although she helped win AI protections and bonuses tied to streaming viewership, some voters say they want additional gains such as better streaming residuals.
Challenges continue to mount as Hollywood's rank-and-file watch studios moving productions overseas and TV and film work in the Los Angeles area shrinks. Work opportunities appear to be growing in the area of video content for platforms like YouTube and Instagram, but those jobs are often nonunion.
Drescher endorses Astin, who served on the union's national and local boards, as well as various negotiating committees. His mother, Academy Award- winning supporting actor Patty Duke, was a past president of the actors' union.
Ballots were mailed to all eligible SAG-AFTRA members nationwide on Aug. 13, with a return deadline and tabulation on Friday. Election results are expected to be announced for Los Angeles elections that evening.
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