Stephen Amell and Tatiana Maslany both broke through with leading roles on genre TV series, the former on “Arrow” and the latter on “Orphan Black”.
More recently, they’ve been the stars of Starz’s “Heels” and Marvel’s “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” shows, respectively. Both appear to have quite different takes on the actor’s strike currently hitting the film industry.
Amell has become one of the most high-profile actors to speak out against the strike. During an appearance at Galaxycon in North Carolina this weekend, Amell gave his take (via THR) and says he doesn’t support striking as he sees it as a ‘negotiating tactic’, but he stands by his SAG-AFTRA union:
“I support my union, I do, and I stand with them, but I do not support striking, I don’t. I think it is a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating. And I think the thinking as it pertains to shows like the show that I’m on [Heels], that premiered last night, I think it’s myopic.”
There’s a slightly different take from Maslany, who has joined criticism of Disney’s CEO Bob Iger over his comments saying the respective demands of the actor’s and writer’s unions were “just not realistic”.
Speaking with the same outlet on the picket lines in New York, Maslany responded to the Iger comments saying:
“I think he’s completely out of touch. He’s completely out of touch with the workers who make his shows happen, who make people watch these shows, who bring viewers to him and him money. Having worked on a Disney show, I know where people fall through the cracks and where people are taken advantage of and it’s outrageous the amount of wealth that is not shared with the people who actually make the show. That’s crew, cast, writers.”
The comments come as a new report at Bloomberg Law claims at least two major studios are getting lobbyists to “watch over legislation” in New York State. Said legislation could stop the studios from receiving lucrative state tax breaks if they use artificial intelligence to displace workers in their film and TV productions.
The bill was introduced in June according to the report and, if approved, it could be a model for other states to follow.
