by Thinus Ferreira
Kim will keep talking. She's reality. But it's bye-bye to Meryl, all the Chris'es from Pratt and Hemsworth to Evans, as well as Idris and DiCaprio and pretty woman Julia Roberts. They're actors.
While viewers and readers of pop culture and entertainment reporting will very soon notice that the American celebrity drop-in quote stories from gossip sites dry up, that the stars have disappear from TV channels like E! (DStv 124), and that everything from sit-down interviews and red carpets have evaporated overnight, it will of course be natural to wonder why.
The reason is the strike action by American actors who all belong to the SAG-AFTRA union and which started yesterday as actors demand better residual payments for content produced for video streaming services, as well as structural protection from how Hollywood studios might use artificial intelligence (AI).
The fallout of the Hollywood actors who are striking and have joined Hollywood's writers who have been striking for 74 days now will very soon become quite noticeable.
That will not just be because of the absence and slowdown of new TV shows and films coming into the distribution system, but also because of the absence of the promotion of that work through things like red carpet premieres, on-camera interviews and feature articles, photo shoots, attending festivals and even fan gatherings and conventions like Comic-Con.
As part of its guidance to inform actors what they should refrain from specifically doing besides not working as actors, SAG-AFTRA on Thursday emailed its 160 000 members what else they shouldn't be doing and that includes press and promotion of projects and upcoming projects.
The strike by actors and writers is effectively shutting down the machine that's Hollywood, where people make content and then talk about that content, helped by stylists to look beautiful and publicists to arrange it and further armies of industries all set up to facilitate the perpetual motion of the world of motion pictures.
Everything covering Hollywood - all the websites, publications, trades, TV channels and shows, as well as the people who liaise - the publicists and marketers and festival organisers - as the tap is turned off, the water will stop flowing for everything throughout the Hollywood ecosystem.
Forget about seeing any American star on TV or YouTube or Instagram for the foreseeable future. Forget about an actor on the cover of Men's Health or GQ, or reading a new online interview - like bears in hibernation, the American Actor is going away for a while.
There won't be any red carpets, new photo shoots or interviews, no premiere parties, no festival attendance or on-stage Q&A, no press junkets or roundtable interviews, no social media promotion and no moderator interviews at conventions like Comic-Con.
How will 2023's 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on 19 September on M-Net (DStv 101) look? Who knows? It's extremely likely that it might not actually take place at all since actors are now barred from attending any award shows. The chance is very high that this year's Emmy Awards will forcibly have to be postponed.
All of these are now no-nos for American actors according to SAG-AFTRA: tours, personal appearances, interviews, conventions, fan expos, festivals, "for your consideration" events, panels, premieres and screenings, award shows, junkets, podcast appearances, social media and studio showcases.
Not so great news for anyone except those with the surname Kardashian.
