Ebony Star Parson, a makeup artist living in Atlanta, planned to start work this week on a new season of the BET sitcom «Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.» The scripts were finished before Hollywood writers went on strike in early May, she said, giving the crew permission to start filming.
But on Thursday, after thousands of movie actors went on strike, Parson learned that production on «House of Payne» was shutting down. The show’s producers told Parson and his colleagues to stop by the set and pick up their makeup kits. The lights went out for the moment.
Parson said he fully supports film and television actors on the pickets fighting for better basic compensation, safeguards against the use of artificial intelligence and other protections. But he also faces the painful prospect of an immediate future without stable employment.
“We stand in solidarity with our talent, because they are the reason why we can work. But we’re also affected here, so it’s bittersweet,» Parson said. “We understand why it is happening, but it hurts. We are taking a hit.»
She has no other job on hold and is still trying to come up with an «action plan» in case the SAG-AFTRA strike drags on until the end of the year. She is praying for guidance.
Parson is one of thousands of everyday entertainment industry employees whose livelihood hangs in the balance as the Hollywood assembly line grinds to a halt. They are known in the industry as “below the line” workers, a category that includes hairdressers, costume designers, cameramen, carpenters, gaffers, truckers, and other professionals.
In practical terms, the dual work stoppages by SAG-AFTRA, the screen actors union, and the Writers Guild of America mean physical production on the vast majority of studio-backed movies and TV shows is on hold indefinitely. , from late-night talks. shows and network sitcoms to high-profile projects like «Gladiator 2» and the eighth installment of the «Mission: Impossible» film series.
The strikes pit SAG-AFTRA and WGA against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, a trade association that represents major studios like Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as tech giants like Amazon, Apple and Netflix. . (The group represents Comcast, the corporation that owns NBC News.)
Neslihan Arslan, 39, an assistant art director who worked on the HBO drama «Succession» and the A24 movie «Past Lives,» filed for unemployment benefits three weeks ago after production halted on a series of Apple TV+ that I was working on. She’s pregnant, expecting a girl in September, and increasingly unsure how she and her husband will fare this year.
“We were careful with our money and we managed to survive the whole pandemic, which also affected our jobs… but we are going to have a lot more expenses,” said Arslan, whose spouse works in the industry as a wristband.
Arslan is considering moving into a «back-up» profession in event design, though at the moment he is «too old to work» at something that would be physically taxing. Arslan’s husband could drive for Uber to help pay the bills, he said.
“But there is no question,” he said, that they both support striking creative talent.
In an impassioned speech Thursday, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher acknowledged the broader ramifications of the work stoppage, saying in part that the «seriousness» of union leaders’ unanimous vote to strike «was not I missed it.»
“This is a very serious thing that affects thousands, if not millions, of people across the country and around the world, not just members of this union, but also people who work in other industries,” Drescher said. , who was previously best known for his starring role in the sitcom «The Nanny.»