Actors join writers in strike that could impact MN economy

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Your entertainment options may have taken a hit today. Actors across the country voted Thursday to go on strike, joining writers who walked off the job more than two months ago.

And despite being a long way from Hollywood, the strike could impact the Minnesota economy.

It also might not be long until we notice the impact. FOX announced its fall lineup this week, which is almost entirely reality TV shows and animated series. But all the fan favorites on the Sunday schedule could disappear once they run out of previously made material because, unlike reality shows, they rely on writers and actors.

Homer and Marge are back for season 35 of The Simpsons in October, but the writers and actors behind the show are ready to go nuclear.

The creators joined picket lines in June as a writers strike dragged deep into its second month.

SAG-AFTRA actors will join writers on strike Friday, casting a cloud over the future of TV and streaming shows and movies.

"We may not see an impact immediately, but if the strike continues a lot of shows that we’re planned will stop, will not be made," said local SAG-AFTRA president Peter Moore.

The labor dispute centers around residuals from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Producers say writers and actors are making unreasonable demands.

The Writer’s Guild says streaming deals are so bad its members don’t make nearly as much as they did a decade ago and producers are pocketing the profits.

"The unions were caught a little unprepared by the sudden rise in streaming," Moore said. "It was a technology nobody was prepared for and so we’ve been scrambling to catch up, to create contracts that are fair."

There should be no short-term effect in Minnesota because no productions are underway right now.

But the legislature passed a $25 million tax credit program in May that they’re hoping will generate production.

Nothing can get off the ground during a strike. Moore says that’ll damage local businesses in the not-too-distant future.

"That would have an impact on the union and the towns in general, all the businesses that support a production — all the restaurants and hotels and drivers and shopping and plumbing and electricity, everything is affected," Moore said.

The last time writers and actors went on strike together was in 1960 when Ronald Reagan was SAG president.

That one lasted another three months after actors joined writers on the picket line.