Amid the ongoing walkouts that have paralyzed Hollywood, Billy Porter is opening up about the financial cost of work stoppages.
During a recent interview with the evening standardhe Pose star has admitted it has had to make some cutbacks after some of its upcoming projects were put on hiatus when writers and actors joined the pickets.
“I have to sell my house,” he told the outlet. “Because we are on strike. And I don’t know when we’re going back (to work). The life of an artist, until you make money, which I haven’t made yet, is still paycheck to paycheck. He was supposed to be in a new movie and a new TV show starting in September. None of that is happening.”
The actor also referenced a report from Deadline last month that quoted an anonymous studio executive as saying the studios won’t come back to the table with the Writers Guild until “union members start losing their apartments and their houses.”
His response to that Hollywood executive: “To the person who said, ‘We’re going to starve you until you have to sell your apartments,’ you’ve already starved me.”
Porter highlighted how the industry has changed, especially with the addition of streaming, compared to how it was decades ago.
“In the late 1950s, early 1960s, when they structured a way for artists to be properly compensated through residual (payments), they allowed two percent of working actors, and there are 150,000 people in our union, work steadily.” he said. “Then streaming came in. There’s no contract for that… And they don’t have to be transparent with the numbers, it’s not Nielsen ratings anymore. Broadcasting companies are notoriously opaque with their viewing figures. The business has evolved. So the contract has to evolve and change, period.”
He Our son The actor also had some choice words for Disney chief Bob Iger, who faced a wave of criticism following an interview with CNBC last month, where he said the strikes are “very disruptive” and will have a “highly disruptive effect.” very, very damaging around the world.” business.”
“This is the worst time in the world to increase that disruption,” Iger said at the time, adding that he respects “their right and their desire” to receive fair compensation, but also that unions “have to be realistic about the environment business and what this business can offer” and that the strikes will cause “enormous collateral damage”.
In response, Porter said: “To hear Bob Iger say that our demands for a living wage are unrealistic? … I have no words for it, but: fuck you. That’s not helpful, so I kept my mouth shut. I have not committed because I am very angry. I’m glad I was here (London). But when I return, I will join the pickets.”
