Credit: Inside The MagicWith the SAG strike now underway alongside the WGA, things have started to really heat up in Hollywood. As the writers and actors join forces, the PGA (Producers Guild of America) has voiced their support of the strikes while the DGA (Directors Guild of America) quietly negotiated and accepted their contract back in June.
It’s become clear that, to the AMPTP and the studios under its umbrella, the actors are the more important figure in the fight for Hollywood, while the writers have been left on the picket lines for three months. Both guilds have cited similar fighting points, including increased wages, increased streaming residuals, and refusing to allow AI into the industry. Executives from Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, and Apple met earlier this week in an effort to try and resolve the SAG contract before it expired on July 12.
While it failed to produce any results, thus leading to the strike, it was a clearly concerted effort by the studios to try and avoid an industry-wide strike. In contrast, a studio insider revealed the AMPTP’s plans for the WGA writers–essentially saying that there aren’t any. The comments were leaked by an unnamed source, who explained that the studios weren’t planning to meet with the writers until October, or whenever they started “losing their apartments and their houses,” hoping that the threat of a cold and quiet winter would cause them to be more willing to meet studio demands.
The quote has caused tons of commotion in the industry, apparently even within the studios themselves. In fact, it angered one actor so badly, he took to social media to threaten the executives right back. In a now-deleted video, Hellboy (2004) actor Ron Perlman addresses the unnamed executive.
“Listen to me, motherf***er. There’s a lot of ways to lose your house. Some of it is financial, some of it is karma, and some of it is just figuring out who the f**k said that. And we know who said that…and where he f***ing lives. There’s a lot of ways to lose your house. You wish that on people, you wish that families starve, while you’re making $27 f***ing million a year for creating nothing? Be careful, motherf***er. Be really careful, ’cause that’s the kind of s**t that stirs s**t up.”
Ron Perlman on the studio exec that wanted the strike to drag on until union members lose their homes:
“There’s a lot of ways to lose your house. You wish that on people, you wish that families starve while you’re making 27-fucking-million a year.” pic.twitter.com/BWBNeervml
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 14, 2023
Perlman’s video has gone viral, although it’s been deleted from his personal social media accounts. Although he doesn’t name the executive that made the comments, many are speculating that the actor is allegedly referring to Disney CEO Bob Iger, who’s recently come under fire for saying that the demands of the strikers are “not realistic.” Meanwhile, Iger has reportedly received roughly $27 million since returning to his position with The Walt Disney Company. The CEO was originally only expected to resume his position temporarily after Bob Chapek was outed, but it was announced earlier this week that Iger will remain in his position until 2026.
Perlman is just one of many actors speaking out against studio executives, although he may be the most menacing so far. The situation is revealing some clear tensions between the guilds and the executives, and many are hoping that this will tip the scales of Hollywood completely.
What do you think of Ron Perlman’s heated message? Share your thoughts in the comments below.