Shortly after the actors went on strike, a Hollywood executive was reportedly heard to say that they were willing to hold out until people were starving and selling their homes.

With both the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA on strike, Hollywood is virtually shut down and while the strike deeply affects both unions; they are not the only people suffering as the results of a now months old strike.

Camera crews, stunt artists, costume designers, makeup artists, set builders, food vendors, and even the support services are all deeply affected by the striking writers and actors.  Like a military town who becomes a near ghost town when the troops are deployed; little of Hollywood is affected by the striking artists.  Even the real estate business is being affected.  If there is no job, there is no money; and not money means no new house.

It has 15 years since the last time the writers went on strike; a strike that lasted for three months.  It is estimated that the strike garnered a loss of over $2 billion. 

This time around, the writers strike has already lasted over 100 days and this time around the actors have joined them; so even if there were scripts available, there is no one to bring them to life.

But in this age of a global village when it comes to Hollywood productions, locations around the world are seeing a hit to their economies; an economy that is just now recovering after three years of Covid and months of shutdowns due to the virus.

Even prior to Covid, Hollywood was taking a hit with the popularity of streaming services who not only aired original programming; but also syndicated older shows but failed to compensate the actors in those shows; or if they did, the royalties were nearly non-existent. 

Those streaming royalties and the new fascination with AI – artificial intelligence – are the main bones of contention for the strikers.

In days past a television season would last 22-27 episodes – taking time off during the summer and for a couple of weeks around the winter holidays.  Today a television series is more likely to last only 10 episodes.  The drop of over half a traditional season has also dropped the amount of money a writer or actor can make which is another big issue.  And when it comes to the writers, they are seeing their writing room shrinking along with the episodes they write.

The Writers and the Producers Guild are back at the negotiation table but the actors have yet to make a return to the table.

Seeing and being seen is nearly as big a business to café’s and restaurants as the actors are to the studios themselves.  With the writers and actors on strike, there is no one going out “to see” or “been seen”.  The results is a hug drop in business…sometimes to the point of going out of business.

And there’s not “bail out money” for the workers this time around.

Some business owners have taken to “Go Fund Me” accounts to try and earn enough money to pay the bills and “keep the store open” until the strike has been settles.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is ready to do whatever possible to “get this done” but has no plans to intervene in any way.