Australian film royalty Sigrid Thornton is voicing her support for the “brave” Hollywood actors on strike.
While speaking with 9Honey Celebrity about her upcoming feature film Slant, Thornton opened up to commend both the actors and writers currently striking in America.
“Well, of course, it’s an extremely difficult time for actors and I think that they are brave humans to be doing what they’re doing because it takes a lot of guts to go out in force,” Thornton said.
Watch the video above.
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The Writers Guild of America went on strike on May 2 as the writers took to the picket line to campaign for better conditions in the industry. On July 13, the actors joined the writers on strike after the SAG-AFTRA union voted to support the WGA.
Many famous faces in Hollywood have been spotted at the picket line over the last couple of weeks.
This marks the first time since 1960 that both writers and actors in Hollywood have stopped working, with productions shutting down across the country.
“I think that there is no question that actors, you know, usually get into the work for the love of it,” Thornton said. “But there is also no question that they should be able to earn a living and support their families.”
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“Now that’s the kind of thing at that level that’s being fought for by the actors in the states,” Thornton continued, saying the strike boils down to the ability for working actors to be able to support themselves and their families.
SAG-AFTRA is demanding better pay and fairer working conditions that includes the regulation of artificial intelligence taking writer’s jobs.
“I think these are very modest expectations and I wish the actors well,” The Man from Snowy River actress said.
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Last week, Thornton appeared on Today Extra and spoke to hosts David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys about how the strike could affect Australia.
The Prisoner actress spoke about the issue of AI before opening up about the difficulties of the streaming industry for writers.
Thornton said that while streaming has been “absolutely fantastic for the consumer”, it is making it “very very difficult for people to find their niche and their own reward.”
This is an issue that is of course affecting both actors and writers across Hollywood.
However, Thornton urged it is something we need to be “vigilant about in Australia too” by “understanding the value and importance of our local cultural content.”
The SAG-AFTRA strike is currently ongoing.
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