The ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes have caused significant disruption in Hollywood. After affecting the production and filming schedules as well as release dates of upcoming films and TV shows, it looks like it will impact the Emmy Awards next.
The National Television Academy of Arts & Sciences recently announced the nominees for this year’s Emmy Awards. The awards show is originally scheduled for September 18 but the ongoing Writers Guilds of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) may prevent the show from pushing through until the matter is resolved.
The Television Academy and Fox are reportedly debating the schedule of the annual awards ceremony. The TV Academy is reportedly considering postponing the event until November while the network wants to delay the awards show to January 2023.
The SAG-AFTRA strike has made events in Hollywood virtually impossible. A-list celebrities including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon left the premiere of Oppenheimer in London just as the strike began in a show of solidarity.
It is highly likely that the awards show will be pushed back to January next year and beyond should the negotiations take longer than expected. According to a recent report, studios may be playing hardball with writers and actors and plan to return to the negotiating table in October. If the reports are true, then holding the annual awards ceremony this year will be unlikely.
Work stoppage in Hollywood
Production of TV shows and movies has ground to a halt as a result of the strikes. Deadpool 3 is one of the few movies that started filming amid the writers’ strike but on the condition that actors strictly adhere to the script. The production reportedly stopped when actors joined the work stoppage last week.
While the exact demands of writers and actors have not been revealed, sources have said that better pay and benefits are at the center of the negotiations. Writers and actors reportedly want royalties from streaming services to be equal to movies released in theaters.
Actors are also against plans by studios to use Artificial Intelligence in movies. Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan recently spoke against the use of AI in films.
“The rise of companies in the last 15 years bandying words like algorithm – not knowing what they mean in any kind of meaningful, mathematical sense – these guys don’t know what an algorithm is,” Nolan said earlier this month. “People in my business talking about it, they just don’t want to take responsibility for whatever that algorithm does.”
He adds, “Applied to AI, that’s a terrifying possibility. Terrifying … Not least because, AI systems will go into defensive infrastructure ultimately. They’ll be in charge of nuclear weapons. To say that that is a separate entity from the person wielding, programming, putting that AI to use, then we’re doomed. It has to be about accountability. We have to hold people accountable for what they do with the tools that they have.”
Currently, it is uncertain how long the strikes will continue. The parties have not yet resumed talks and it will likely be a while until we receive positive updates. As for the Emmys, the TV Academy has yet to issue an official statement regarding its plans for the awards show.
