Clooney, Hanks oppose SAG strike

By Staff

Washington (ANI): More than 130 Hollywood celebrities, including George Clooney and Tom Hanks have signed a letter discouraging members of the Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) from striking. The SAG wants to strike over what it sees as an unfair contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), reports Contactmusic.

Studios were alarmed by SAG's public support for the striking Writers' Guild of America (WGA) during their three-month industrial action. However, with the economic climate uncertain, many high-profile actors are resolutely against a strike.

Among others endorsing to vote no against a potential strike authorisation are Matt Damon, Alan Alda, Jason Alexander, Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell, Billy Crystal, Cameron Diaz, Sally Field, Morgan Freeman, Jeremy Irons, Helen Hunt, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Kevin Spacey and Charlize Theron. They said a strike would worsen the economic situation of many actors and stressed that uniting with the writers'' and directors' guilds would allow for improved contracts in the future.

"We feel very strongly that SAG members should not vote to authorize a strike at this time. We don''t think that an authorisation can be looked at as merely a bargaining tool. It must be looked at as what it is an agreement to strike if negotiations fail," the letter said.

"None of our friends in the other unions are truly happy with the deals they made in their negotiations," in reference to the deals made between the AMPTP and the writers' and directors' unions. "Three years from now all the union contracts will be up again at roughly the same time. At that point if we plan and work together with our sister unions we will have incredible leverage," the letter added.

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