Cynthia Nixon on why the actors and writers strikes are critical for the future of creative artists

one uh hi I'll give you a few minutes to hop on um I'm sure you heard the sad news about my friend and everyone's favorite singer Tony Bennett who passed away um we're actually going to have a conversation not about Tony although I'm going to be posting a very extensive interview we did hi everybody a while ago but the reason why I'm joining you now is we're going to be talking about the writer strike friend Cynthia Nixon hi Cynthia I'm fine thank you we really appreciate you hopping on this Instagram live Cynthia because I know it's been one week and I wanted actually to cover this on the first day but I think it's great to be able to get your perspective about what's going on and sort of how Hollywood is responding to it really I wouldn't say unprecedented but it hasn't happened I guess Cynthia since 1960 when the actors and the writers went on strike so I thought it would be super helpful to my followers to talk to you and to have you kind of explain some of the issues that were at stake for both writers and actors um but before we kind of get into the nitty-gritty Cynthia what has the last week been like what has the response been like now that Sac aftra has joined the writing field um because of course we love writers we you know they're our friends there are creative Partners um and we also know that exactly the issues that they were striking about were issues that we were very much experiencing too um and so I mean nobody let's be really clear nobody wants to strike the writers don't want to strike the actors don't want to strike but we feel that we have been um pushed so far up against the wall um that if we don't if we don't stand our ground now and and fight for these things that um that should have been given to us a long time ago um that are you know that that both of our professions writing for television and film and acting on television and film um except for the very very top you know people is is you know being destroyed as a profession because it's become exponentially harder for journeyman actors and journeyman writers to to earn a living to support their families to pay their rent let's talk about sort of some of the main issues because I think Cynthia my understanding is there is a lot of overlap between What hap has happened to writers and in some ways what has happened to actors with the Advent of streaming um and so can you explain some of the things that have happened as a result of streaming and how it's changed the equation for things like residuals and things like long-term employment which by the way there was an interesting article in the New York Times this morning that talked about how this was really illustrative of what's happening in the labor market writ large but let's focus on you right now and uh actors and writers anyway I saw this article you know my daughter is a TV writer and I thought oh gosh I wonder if Ellie has seen this and this was the article Cynthia this morning and I'm sure you read it how TV writer have PV writing became a dead-end job I was like oh good lord but um talk about the answer if you could my original question about how streaming right how changed one of the things that you it's important to know about writers and actors um is that we don't in our professions go to work every day five days a week right that we have jobs we we are trying to get jobs all the time and we have jobs that exist for a certain period and then they don't and then we have to find another job or we have to wait for that till that season comes back so first of all we need things to sustain us in between employment um and residuals were a really important um part of that and residuals are like for example if you make a TV show um you get paid for that initial time that you make it for your and then when it airs when it continues to air you get residuals which are payments each time in errors and those payments go down and down and down the more time it airs and just as a funny side note there used to be maybe there still is a bar in Los Angeles called residuals and if if you can bring in a residual check that's less than a dollar they'll give you a free drink and you know people are always you know we all get checks for like 19 cents whatever but at least initially when things started to air there was there was substantial you know money that helped sustain you while you were in between jobs um and and that would be true if you made a motion picture too that the that you would get paid to make the movie but then when it aired on ABC or whatever for the first time and this you know you would get you would get checks there's like royalties for a musician or royalties for a you know an author for writing books um so what's happened with streaming it well it sort of initially happened when we broke out of when there started to be all these cable channels and it was like it's the wild west these are fledgling companies we're not going to demand residuals from them we're going to let them you know find their footing well it's been it's been a number of decades since you know that was true and now arguably they have superseded the the standard traditional network channels um but we don't get um any residuals from from that work we do in television and and including if we do uh you know now you do a movie in the movie theater it doesn't then premiere on network TV it streams so that very important sustaining Revenue that that actors really depended on um has just vanished and and it you know and obviously the the the streamers are making money hand over fists and there is a lot of Revenue and the writers and the actors in This are saying the same thing which is like we are the people creating these shows and these movies um what we are asking is is to me very small we are asking that two percent of the revenue from these shows be given to us the actors and us the writers that are that are creating this content and the studios and the you know the the the people that we're fighting against or they just they just like put their fingers in their ears and they pretend they're not hearing us and they say well there's no way to do that no we're not even going to talk about that is part of the issue Cynthia the fact that the number of people who watch any given show has been yes secrets we have the Nielsen ratings right and it's very clear to everybody how many people watch this particular show on this particular night um and so the you know the amptp who are the the the structure that we're fighting against the the you know the studios kind of the their their organization um they're saying well we have no idea how many people are watching well and that's obviously not true because it's very clear to them which shows are successful you know and when you when you go to to stream something you're considering watching something and they say it's a 98 match for you meaning we know exactly what you watch and how often you watch it and when you watch it and that's why we're suggesting this other show why do you think that why have they kept that data so secret and not allowed people to have any kind of knowledge of it I'm just curious we're seeing very clearly now that if that information was published we would say yeah this is what we're talking about this is what we need residuals for um in terms of in terms of both viewership and and also you know some some share of you know we can see what's subscriptions you know go up when particular shows are being what people are joining to watch those shows let's let's talk about you know a lot of people I think are critical because they they think of these Superstar actors that are paid millions and millions of dollars and they don't have a ton of sympathy and yet that's obviously not representative of the industry as a whole first of all can you talk about sag-aftra because I know they it represents 160 000 people and can you also talk Cynthia and by the way if you all have questions please put them in the question section can you talk about the fact that that's a very small percentage of actors who are bringing home those Mega sounds I mean right it's 160 000 people and you know in order you know we get actors we get our health insurance through the union but we don't just automatically get health insurance through the union we have to earn a certain amount of money to even get the lower tier of insurance and the amount of money you need to earn as a as an actor in the union to qualify for getting health insurance is twenty six thousand dollars a year now only 13 of the people in our Union make that Mark that means 87 of people who are in the union and are working and are you know it's not like they're they're working every once in a blue moon these are people who are working but it's a sign of how low the pay has become and how you know particularly in the last you know I guess three years there's been a like 13 inflation so you know the the money that we are asking for also in terms of you know kind of base level salaries is really just to catch up with um with inflation like what the what the amptp is offering us now if we took their offer um you know even three years from now when the contract that they're offering is still in effect we would be in 2026 making less money than we made in 2020. and again we we people are not able to pay their rent and put food on the table and uh you know uh acting acting is um again as you said you know there are these very celebrated very wealthy famous people that we know but they're really like the tiny tiny tip of the iceberg and so many of um journeyman actors earn their living working as as background as the people who in in movies and TV who don't have lines um and one of the really scary things that we're looking at now both for the writers and the the actors is the threat of A.I and so what has been happening to a lot of our background people is they come in to work on a show that they've been hired for and they are asked um will they agree to do a body scan and it seems like if you don't agree to do a body scan you're not going to be hired to be a background during that particular particular episode for a half a day they scan your body and then we keep hearing from these actors I was in this one scene and then I watched that show and I'm in every scene in every episode all year so with what what they're trying to do and this is a a big thing that we're trying to regulate um is you know not allowing um the the producers to steal people's images and then use them in perpetuity without any um any compensation you know you know you know Cynthia I saw uh I don't have all the details but a number of AI companies are getting together to self-regulate has sack after had any conversations with these AI companies at all or you know that I couldn't tell you you know we're really um we're we're we're very you know frightened by it in terms of I mean I don't know about you but when I see a movie and I see you know a crowd of people I can immediately tell whether those are real people or those are an image much less you know a scene in a restaurant where you know which we had insects in the city all the time or and just like that you know people passing and like you know life like that's a that's a that's a real that's a real skill you know to actually look like to to not detract from the main action that's happening but actually look believable and like you're having lunch and like you're having a conversation or like you're out you know it it's that kind of level of life that you know lends a veracity to the to the TV show or the or the movie that you're watching and again you can't we have 160 000 people in our Union because it can't always be the same you know 30 people it's like we have to have a you know a great variety of people depending on what the film is and what the scene is and what's called for and these people have a way to sustain them I want I want to mention that in additional to per in addition to professional actors these are announcers broadcast journalists dancers DJs news writers news editors program hosts puppeteers recording artist singer stunt performers and voice over artists so this is a huge segment of the industry that is part of South Africa the the threat of AI I mean is is you know the Mind reels when you start to think where this could go I mean talk about you know people in in your profession you know talk about broadcast journalists you know you think about Walter Cronkite being you know woken up to announce the Kennedy assassination because the nation needed to hear that information from a person that we all felt not only comforted by but was you know a a pillar of Integrity well with AI you could take yourself Katie or or even you know somebody like Walter Cronkite is no longer with us you mean you wouldn't do that because you wouldn't want to fool people but you could use that person to announce news that wasn't true I mean it's you know the line starts the the mind starts to reel so I think it is very important certainly from what we're talking about which is making sure that people are compensated for their image and their labor um but also put some some limits on what can happen so the public isn't fooled about who's saying what you know the recent thing with Joe Biden you know you know saying I can't even remember what it was but something yeah deep fakes and things like that yes it's very scary and disinformation is is terrifying just to a lot of people I'm certainly one of them I wanted to ask you about hours too Cynthia let me just explain what I understand about writers and then you can explain how it affects actors so I guess writers were involved throughout the process previously The Writer's room and then they would go on the set they would continue writing they would work with actors they would work with producers and they would be part of the creative process from Soup To Nuts and now I guess after the writer's room is done and they delivered the scripts not many of them are allowed to go on set and this actually taught Young Writers how to be show Runners how to be like in charge and also it was very helpful in making the quality of the show even better because it was collaborative and the people who wrote the scripts were a part of the production that has changed I I understand it's because these streamers are trying to cut costs and be more quote unquote efficient so how has the streaming schedule I do think it's so important what you're saying you know television shows let's say a sitcom or you know would have like 26 episodes a season I mean that's a full it's not 12 months of work but it's a full kind of year of work and to produce that much content in a short space of time um you needed a you know a robust writer's room and that writer's room would have people of every 11 you know the most experienced the mid-career people and the newbies who were starting up and soaking it all in and learning and um and you could in a formerly in a season like be be be trained enough and experienced enough that you know after a season you could go on to the next level of being a writer well now shows sometimes they're only for Eight Episodes or ten episodes and it's not like they come on every year the same time it can be you know two years in between uh you know when when a particular season of a show airs so yeah it's it's much harder for for people for writers who are starting out to get both the Practical experience and all the sort of the the hours and the credentials to to move up to the next level um and that's very and for senior writer Cynthia I imagine it's hard for them to work enough days that that you know throughout the year or through a couple of years that they can actually support themselves and their family the thing is you know people on the very very top don't understand how important the The Writer's room is it's not an Indulgence It's actually an incredibly fertile situation that creativity and Brilliant shows come out of um and when you're endlessly cutting Corners with this you you you see it you see it right away both in terms of you're not you're not building your bench um but also the the people who are the more seasoned people um are really strained to the to the to the breaking point and this is very true of actors too in terms of you used to get on a show and you know the show may not go on forever but like wow a season of shows 26 episodes that's then that then also is gonna you know rerun and I'm gonna get residuals like you can have some level of comfort and build a life around that as opposed to well there's eight episodes of this show oh and maybe that's it and maybe in two years they'll make some more I mean it's it's it's it's um it's very wild Westy and and you were talking at the beginning about you know that this is happening in other Industries and I think the bottom line is um jobs that used to be full-time jobs with Benefits that one could burn a living you know maybe buy a home start a family um pay for college all those sorts of things we're just seeing this in every profession that every the the people on top want to turn everybody into a gig worker right right into contract work or freelance because then they don't have to pay benefits and then you know they say and what it just and again it's not because the industry is hurting I mean the streaming systems are are making it just seems that just frankly the people at the top the more and more and more money that is being earned by them the less and less desire they have to actually share even a small part of that Revenue with the people who are actually doing the work I want to give uh get your reaction to some quotes from some of these you know top dogs in the industry but first I wanted to ask you about streaming for actors because the article I mentioned how TV writing became a dead-end job also said this extreme levels of efficiency management that's a euphemism if I've ever heard it had led shows to break roles into smaller chunks and compress character story lines Cynthia somebody who's not in the business I don't quite understand what they mean I understand it either I mean guess what they mean is rather than giving an actor a juicy role that you would you know want an actor of a certain stature and and talent um that then that person could demand more of a salary you would instead want to create lesser roles that you could get lesser paid people for or shoot them shoot the the action or shoot that actor in a small in a shorter amount of time so you don't have to pay that actor as much because smaller chunks and compressed character story lines I guess I don't know I guess that I I'm not sure what that means let me ask you about Bob iger's comments he said recently on CNBC that writers and actors have unrealistic expectations when it comes to their demands um what was your reaction Fran drescher's was he's making seventy eight thousand dollars a day what is your reaction and it flashed his salary which was like 46 million dollars yeah you know it's actually we looked we we looked it up actually this morning to see what his annual salary was and and um 27 million dollars but but I I think it's more than that but I'm not sure is getting bonuses that are like their bonus is 500 times their salary you know um things are not unrealistic if you ask for them and and demand them and again what we are we're asking for two percent of the enormous Revenue that is you know is being we are the people doing the labor we are the people doing the creating we are the people that that the viewers tune in to see we are the people who are writing the lines and the thoughts and creating the characters that people are fascinated by which is why they subscribe and why they turn on their television so why do you think uh the industry is being so um unwilling to to kind of work with you all to give you what you want I know that one of my followers asked why David zaslaw is so disliked the head of Warner Brothers Discovery and and again I think Bob Iger got a lot of criticism when he made that remark so what do you think is motivating them is that the stock price is it understanding there's only a finite number of subscriptions that they can get or money they can get and they can't pay for all this content what what is their motivation as far as you can help with it for a long time um and they don't want to give even two percent of their revenue um but the fact of the matter is they've just squeezed the writers and the actors squeezed it squeezed us squeezed us until there's you know you can't get blood from a stone at a certain point and that's what they've what they've what they've done and we can't we can't keep up with inflation our our work is being stolen by Ai and the residuals that were for that were sustenance to so many of us are are a thing of the past in in most cases um and so it's why it's why these two unions have as as you say it's been a very long time since we went out on strike together and you know we love our jobs actors love to show up and act writers love to go and write like that's it's one of the great things about going into these professions is that we love going to work every day um but we're we're seeing our not only our livelihoods destroyed but sort of the future of these professions as professions except for a handful of a handful of super famous people you know all sorts of projects have been put on hold Deadpool 3 Gladiator two Mission Impossible Wicked House of the Dragon um so do we know if shows and movies that were scheduled to come out in the next few weeks are going to push back their premieres obviously actors aren't promoting movies uh the Oppenheimer actors walked out and um you know what's gonna happen to these projects as far as you know you know I was at the pick and you know one of them said you've you know already more money has been lost just since the strike started then you know we're asking for um people were saying on the picket today and I have no idea if it's true that you know Barbie which I think open last night has already or more money than we're asking for 12 hours or whatever it is um yeah if you if you got in a room with Bob Iger and David zasloff what would you say to them I would say you have enough money you can't take it with you you know what is this money for we are your we are creating all your content without us there is nothing and you can't just you know we can't just strike and you can replace us you know at the drop of a hat having said that Cynthia I remember reading when the writer strikes started that they claimed they had enough in the pipeline um you know how long do you think that pipeline will last you know the thing that I have been hearing is that if it goes you know into September they're really going to be in trouble in terms of you know there's nothing new to watch on TV to stream nothing new in the movie theaters um yeah a lot of people are gonna you know you subscribe to a to a a Channel or a streaming service because you're excited to see the new stuff they have on if if there's nothing new coming out that you're waiting for or a second season or third season of a show you're devoted to you're just going to drop that subscription and again it we're we're the people who are really really hurting financially so much so that we are willing to go out on strike two percent you're you're not gonna feel it and neither are and and and and neither are your stockholders you know but they are going to feel it if month after month after month we're not you know we're not coming back to work two two quick questions someone asked if you know of anyone or if we know of anyone who is crossing the picket lines uh I don't I don't know personally but I'm not it's not like I'm particularly uh the that's where my focus is so I honestly know yeah yeah understood someone said is there some level of culpability this is Christopher wensley is there some level of culpability from Megastar actor salaries taking away from the ability to offer better wages than other actors I mean I don't I mean that's a whole other conversation about people who earn 50 million dollars per movie but no I mean again it's not like the money isn't there and it's not like the profits aren't growing and growing and growing and it's not like the the Baseline sag salaries are not shrinking and shrinking and shrinking due to inflation and due to you know not revisiting like the the for example just as a small example like we're not so small but just as an example the The Producers contributions to our um our health care and our pensions and health insurance those haven't the caps on those haven't been Revisited in 40 years Cynthia someone asks are there Assistance programs for actors who are unemployed and also for writers I'm a I think there are I asked my daughter this and I think there are funds uh that have been set up to help fun kind of stuff but I but yeah on the screen after skilled level I don't know a lot of people are asking how they can help support sad workers and also people in the wga I added that yes I think writers are so important too I mean the more you can um you know support us you know talk about us talk about us on your social media talk to your friends about it um and I have to say as I I was at the picket today and you know so many people who walk by or drove by you know gave us a honk and gave us a cheer and said we're with you and that stuff really matters someone said how long will the actor Strike last and what deal can be agreed to to end this mess I guess that's that's the big question right he was just telling me that um the SAG after a foundation fund is a is a is okay and people can I I'll write this I'll write the name of the funds under this interview Cynthia so people can contribute if they want uh sorry someone's named Stevie news says how long will the actor Strike last and what deal can be agreed to to end this you know I don't know how long but it's like so many things you know sometimes we I don't know when we're at War you know we think we can invade a country you know you think about the American Revolution and it seemed like we were so outnumbered but the people here were the people that really that it really mattered to that it was life and death for them for the British they could just go home right I that's how I feel about yeah the amptp you know they are really determined to save that two percent but at the end of the day if we can't pay our rent and feed our kids We're Not Gonna We're not gonna stop you know it's interesting Cynthia someone said I feel like canceling our subscriptions to this training services would be the only thing that would give the studios incentive to negotiate why is no one calling for a boycott of the studios it's a very interesting idea it's a very interesting yeah yeah interesting um anyway well listen I I so appreciate is there anything else uh Adriana that you feel like I should ask Cynthia that I have and I think we've though maybe just in closing sorry uh someone said what are the three top issues that are that that sag aftra um has not uh you know that that is keeping you all from going back you know one is increase of of minimum pay which is so which is we're so far behind um because of because of inflation and other things that how long it's been since it's been Revisited and number two is participation in streaming that we are that we really need to actors and writers both need to participate in the vast Revenue that is uh that is coming from these streaming services and that is just uncaptured by us in a way that doesn't doesn't work for us to pay our bills but also doesn't work traditionally you know know we have a since the very first television show was on in the 40s you know there were residuals right there from the get-go it's a it's a it's baked in um and the third thing is AI you know the the real threat of AI for writers and for performers and the need to have that have that regulated and contained and controlled and to have us have some say um yes put some guard rails on on that yes well that's something I think that is concerning to a lot of people not just people in the entertainment industry in terms of the role that's going to play in the future for all kinds of jobs Cynthia I know you're you're taking off you're taking a trip so I so appreciate you spending a few well more than a few moments uh almost 40 minutes with us explaining this thank you so so much thank you so much for inviting me I love getting to hearing from you and that was just just a wonderful idea you had so thank you

Channel: Katie Couric

Views: 18,272

Keywords: Katie Couric, Katie, Celebrity, Entertainment

Id: xPBdp2DhgQI

Length: 36min 23sec (2183 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 21 2023