
Hollywood Crews Struggle as Industry Seeks Post-Strike Normal
By Movieguide® Contributor
Though studios have been able to film again since the actors’ strike ended in December, crew members have found it’s been a slow return as the industry navigates the implications of the new contracts.
“There hasn’t been any real work,” said a location manager based in L.A. “The industry is not back. What’s back is a few things that are doing pickups or needed to restart from things that were shut down before May.”
“We were expecting, especially with the resolution of the strikes, production to be rampant out here. And unfortunately that hasn’t happened,” said Corey Moore, a business agent for IATSE Local 80.
“I literally can count on two hands how many people I know that are actually working right now,” added a set decoration buyer. “That’s now. In January, it was even less.”
This problem stems from the higher expenses of making a movie under the new rules and a major backlog of content from strike-related delays. These factors allow studios to be picky with the projects they work on.
Hollywood Teamsters head Lindsay Dougherty, whose union represents drivers, location managers, casting directors and more, revealed that only 42 productions are currently ongoing with her crew when there are normally well over 100 at this time of year.
“Everyone’s kind of waiting to see what the new normal is, knowing that there is a contraction in the industry and knowing that the streaming bubble has popped and that the studios and production companies are spending less money than they have in recent years,” Dougherty said.
However, not everything is doom and gloom in the industry. Production has started to return slowly, beginning with projects cut short by the strikes. Studios are resuming work on shows and movies that were halfway done or already approved before the strikes shut down the industry.
“It’s either a series that was already greenlit before, or a show that was already in the middle of production when the strike happened. That’s really all we’re seeing,” said prop master Alicia Haverland.
Studios have also begun announcing new productions that will start soon, such as the group of 15 movies that recently qualified for the California Film Commission’s tax cuts, which will employ over 2,200 crew members.
These projects are providing a light in the industry and giving hope that a stable job market will once again emerge in the future.
Crew members aren’t the only ones feeling this crunch, as actors also struggle to find new projects to work on.
Movieguide® previously reported:
While Hollywood is back in full swing after last year’s dual strikes, actors who did not already have projects lined up are finding it harder than ever to land roles.
The entertainment industry has undergone an immense overhaul since the end of the writers and actors’ strikes last year. To comply with the new rules concerning actors’ pay, studios are bringing on fewer actors as regulars on shows.
“Fewer series regulars, more pressure to cast actors in recurring guest roles without series options, casting more local actors if the show is shooting in Atlanta, New York, Chicago or Canada to save money,” a casting director told Deadline.
“In many cases, when the series spends a lot of money for their series star(s) who anchor the show, that leaves very little money for the rest of the ensemble cast,” the casting director continued.