• On Thursday, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) announced that it will join picket lines with the Writers Guild of America in their first double strike since 1960. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• The announcement comes after negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and major Hollywood studios broke down on Wednesday. Last month, 98% of the Actors Guild members voted in favor of strike action if a deal couldn’t be reached. Deadline
• The Writer’s Guild has been striking since May 2 over pay and work conditions, while the Actors Guild is seeking a fairer split of streaming profits and restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence. USA Today (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group negotiating on behalf of Hollywood studios and streaming platforms, claims that SAG-AFTRA dismissed its “offer of historic pay and residual increases,” including a “ground-breaking AI proposal.” BBC News (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• The strike — which reportedly has the backing of A-listers including Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence — will likely prevent top Hollywood actors, including Robert Downey Jr and Emily Blunt, from promoting Hollywood’s upcoming releases. BBC News (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• While the Writer’s Guild strike has already shut down late-night TV productions, the SAG-AFTRA strike could affect the fall TV lineup and films slated for release next summer if the impasse is not ended by autumn. New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)

Narrative A:

• This once-in-a-generation double strike, which shows that little progress is being made on Hollywood’s labor disputes, will directly affect thousands in California and Los Angeles. Writers’ and actors’ pay has been severely eroded with the streaming revolution, while artificial intelligence threatens to replace creative professionals. Hollywood studios must pay their writers and actors a fair share of their shows’ and movies’ success.
  Los Angeles Times

Narrative B:

• Hollywood studios and streaming services have been losing money in their bid to gain subscribers and a foothold in the industry’s digital future. The writers’ and actors’ guild must understand the difficulty of balancing spending and profitability with attracting and retaining subscribers in an uncertain economy. The unions should end their strikes — entertainment companies are not as powerful or lucrative as they used to be, yet still offer contracts that are as competitive as possible.
  Bloomberg (LR: 3 CP: 5)

Nerd narrative:

• There’s a 50% chance that an original, wholly AI-generated feature film will rank #1 on a popular streaming service by January 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)