Beyond the Picket Lines: SAG, WGA, and the Austin Industry

(l to r) Fantastic Fest Festival Director Lisa Dreyer (photo by Trevor Garza/courtesy of Fantastic Fest), screenwriter R.W. Rushing (courtesy of R.W. Rushing), and casting director Michael Druck (courtesy of Michael Druck): three members of the Austin film community currently navigating the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.

Two dates are burned into the memory of everyone working in film, TV, and commercials. First there was March 13, 2020, when all productions shut down due to Covid. Now there's July 14, 2023, when actors union SAG-AFTRA joined the Writers Guild of America on the picket lines.

However, the strike isn't just affecting actors and writers. The strike impacts everyone who works on any struck project – that is, any project from a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade body representing the major studios and streaming services.

Just as the strike has hit everyone working in the industry, the stoppage hasn't stopped at the production centers of New York and Los Angeles. With its growing film and TV scenes, as well as a large crew base working on commercials, Austin's professionals have been hit too. However, with a large number of independent projects that could potentially continue under a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, as well as non-union projects, the situation is a little different.

We asked film industry professionals from around Austin in a variety of trades and roles how the strike is affecting them, and how they are adapting to a slowdown that could be as impactful as the Covid hiatus.

“I Mostly Just Feel Bad for the Actors and Writers Who Can’t Attend.” – Lisa Dreyer, Festival Director, Fantastic Fest

"We've made two plans – the plan moving forward if the strike is in place, and the plan moving forward if they come to a deal. Right now, we're operating with the assumption that the strike will be in place, but we can pivot really fast to our second plan to accommodate any talent.

"Fantastic Fest is about the movies first. We love celebrities, we love talent, but people just really want to see those movies and support those movies. So for us on the ground, I think the fan experience is going to be pretty similar.

"I mostly just feel bad for the actors and writers who can't attend to celebrate their hard work on these movies. ... Of course with our opening night film (the remake of Toxic Avenger), we really wanted to have Peter Dinklage out, Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, so it's disappointing, but we just want to support all the artists.

"We still do have tons of directors attending, which is great, and also a lot of our films are international so we will have actors from foreign films attending that aren't part of those unions. [Fantastic Fest] in general attracts composers, special effects people, producers, every year, so we'll have other people who work on films apart from directors."

“When the Actors Went, We Were Like, 'Well, That’s Everybody.’” – Ali Hopson, Location Manager

"Before the strike, I was doing a whole bunch of independents and indies because Texas is really well guarded in terms of who can do union work and who can't. Even if you're in the union, there's not really a rotation in my department – it's who you know and who you crew with.

"When we saw that the writers were going [on strike], we were like, 'Oh, god.' We were gauging on what shows had already got their stuff written, and that's who we were targeting to get work. Then when the actors went, we were like, 'Well, that's everybody.'

"Nothing had stopped until right now when our new film season is starting and we can't start. The only things that can start are the ones with these interim agreements. I know our small little production is applying for one for a documentary just so that we can talk to talent, but it seems like the waivers are going to bigger productions with more money. So it's not necessarily about the independents. It's about those that can move their productions forward without a studio.

"At this time, it seems like a lot of stuff that we do try to apply for is lowballing us because they know everyone is really looking for work. ... 'We'll pay you $100 a day' when you're already at a rate of $500. 'Woah, that's really low.' 'Well, take it or leave it.'"

“What They’re Asking for Is Completely Reasonable.” – Tom Santos, Screenwriter/Assistant Director

"I got my MFA in screenwriting in 2021 [and] I'm working to becoming WGA, and I have my sights set on DGA membership .... I was mostly doing PA work in reality TV documentary, some live sports, and more recently I've been into the assistant director realm, because it's what I'm best at [and] it's the best position to learn directing and to wait out the strike.

"This last year's been not great, especially compared to last year. I'm lucky in that I have a good network and I pace the job boards, so my work went up, but it got even drier. I was working a lot less, and I had to take on a lot of catering work.

"There's not a ton of SAG work here unless you work on Walker, so SAG impacted me less than the WGA did, immediately. [Before the strike started] I had two plans. One was to start acquiring reps, agents, managers – although that's not super-likely until you book something – and the other was to work on more scripts and to do more contests, and I had a couple of general meetings on deck. Even though I live in Austin, I still talk with California – or used to – on the writing front, because if you want to do any TV writing, you have to talk to California. Before the strike, I was doing quite well ... and when the strike started I had to stop all of it and completely arrest my momentum.

"I'm still in full support of the strike. What they're asking for is completely reasonable. But it's also hard, because my career was going well and now it's on hold."

“Writing’s a Compulsive Behavior” – R.W. Rushing, Screenwriter

"I've been a member of the musicians union in Austin since the year 2002, so I'm union all the way [and] I'm pre-WGA. It's really hard to get in the WGA – you have to have a bunch of produced films – but if you're pre-WGA you have to file with the WGA, and anyone in the industry will not look at your script if it's not filed for the WGA.

"I've written a franchise, Hell Truck. I've written Hell Truck I-V – it's Grindhouse meets Fast & Furious – and before the strike I was talking to investors and they were interested, but they said, 'Get back to us when you have it finished.' ... Originally my plan [for 2023] was to finish the screenplay, get some investors, and do a writer-director indie film to do my first film. But you have to be legit with the WGA to do that, and I wanted SAG actors. That's going to take a lot more money to do that but the reality is that you get much better actors with SAG actors.

"The scripts [for Hell Truck] are on my hard drive. They're ready to send. But the voice of this old woman, this actress who's a good friend of mine, is in my head going, 'You're gonna get blackballed.'"

"Every once in a while there's a big strike, so I go on the WGA's website and at first there wasn't anything there, so I google it and there's this big article on Variety about WGA strikes and what writers can and can't do. Basically, what it does say is you cannot write. Well, for me, writing's a compulsive behavior. I wake up at 5am, seven days a week, and I write 'til noon. That's my habit as a writer, so when you tell me not to write, that's like telling me not to breathe. [But] they're not telling me not to write short stories or novels. I've written a bunch of novels before – but I'd rather write screenplays."

“There’s Slight Survivor’s Guilt, Slight Pride” – Michael Druck, Casting Director

"Texas is a right-to-work state, and we have a lot of non-union work as well, so in a way I have survivor's guilt right now because my New York and L.A. friends are not working. They're at a stand still, they're protesting, they're doing what they can do to make a living with side hustles.

"Fortunately, I have been able to make a living here in Texas through commercial advertisements and the state public service announcements, and I'm on one of the hundred SAG interim agreements that have been approved, the film Growing Pains. So I'm surviving, and I've been able to employ LA associates who want to be working. I have an assistant right now, she's normally the casting associate for Grey's Anatomy. She's a single mom and I managed to find her on one of my casting groups, and she's been amazing to work with. So I don't feel as guilty, because I'm paying it forward to people who don't have work right now [and] I'll send Starbucks cards to the people striking. "This one's on me today. Here's 10 bucks, here's 20 bucks, here's some donuts from Dunkin'"

"So that's how I feel right now: slight survivor's guilt, slight pride in being able to provide employment for actors.

"Actors are consistently asking casting, 'What is your take? How can we help?' and it's really just being in solidarity. Even SAG sent that list. 'It's still OK to do a spec short film. It's still OK to do commercials.' They want you to keep working because people not working doesn't help their cause. But what needs to happen is for everyone to get fair rates, and making sure that the top 1% doesn't run away with our shirts."