Hollywood strike spills into Germany

Emmanuel Thomas I Saturday, July 15, 2023

 

BERLIN – After more than 60 years, actors and screenwriters in the United States are simultaneously on strike for the first time – and the work stoppage is already being felt in Germany.

Hollywood stars Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie will not attend the Berlin premiere of their film “Barbie” on Saturday and they stayed away from promotional appointments. There will be no press conference following the film.

The movie’s Germany debut will still take place on Saturday at the Berlinale Palast theatre. The film’s regular German run starts on Thursday.

The stars have expressed their solidarity with many of their much lower-paid colleagues.

At a premiere of “Barbie” in London, Robbie said she “strongly supports all unions,” according to media reports. Director Greta Gerwig said she “really wants them to stay strong and win their fight.”

The actors’ strike was officially decided on Thursday after weeks of negotiations failed to produce an agreement with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

The German Federal Association of Actors supports the actors’ strike, board member Hans-Werner Meyer told dpa on Friday.

“From us they get full solidarity . We have the same problems in the German industry.” But he said the situation for German actors has not yet come to such a head, as the union is still negotiating.

“We are not yet at the point where we would have to go on strike.”

Still, Meyer did not rule out an eventual German strike, as German actors are growing dissatisfied with salaries and the question of how to regulate artificial intelligence is brewing.