Oscars' strikes tributes highlight solidarity, and the possible labor struggles to come
Labor strife remains an issue in Hollywood after two major strikes were resolved, and the Academy Awards didn’t sidestep that
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood has been able to put on a show of happiness and something akin to normalcy as it struggles to shake off the effects of the dual strikes and one of the most tumultuous years in industry history.
Yet Sunday's Academy Awards didn’t sidestep the labor strife that left its screenwriters and actors out of work for much of 2023. The acknowledgment — prominent amid muted acknowledgment of the strikes during other awards shows this season — comes as behind-the-scenes crews could be next to challenge studios, and video game actors may be weeks from their own strike.
In front of an enormous global audience, Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel devoted part of his opening monologue toward vowing to union members and those working behind the scenes that Hollywood’s stars would stand with them — repayment for those workers supporting actors during the strike that brought much of the entertainment industry to a standstill last year.
“We fully support them, obviously, as they did us,” said Fran Drescher, the president of the actors guild, told The Associated Press on the Oscars red carpet.
