(Culver City) Breaking Bad cast members have come together to demand that Hollywood studios resume negotiations with striking actors.
“We want you to come back to the negotiating table with us,” Bryan Cranston said in a call to the Alliance of Film and Television Producers outside Sony Pictures Studios on Tuesday.
Bryan Cranston has been joined by Aaron Paul, Jesse Plemons and other members of the Breaking Bad universe in an effort to energize the picket lines, more than a month after the union representing the actors, SAG-AFTRA , joined the striking Hollywood screenwriters.
Both guilds seek to address the issues surrounding the dominance of streaming services, which has altered all aspects of production and compensation in the industry.
In its final season, which aired over a decade ago, Breaking Bad was one of the most-watched and highest-rated cable TV shows of all time.
AMC’s hit series has garnered lasting popularity on Netflix, but its crafters say that hasn’t been reflected in their paychecks.
“To be completely honest, I don’t get a penny from Netflix for Breaking Bad and I think that’s crazy,” Paul said. I think a lot of these streamers know they got away with not paying people their fair value and it’s time they did. »
Cranston explained that they chose Sony for the reunion because it’s the studio behind the Emmy-winning series, as well as its spin-off projects, AMC’s pre-sequel Better Call Saul. and the Netflix movie El Camino.
Several other cast members joined the picket lines, including actors from Parks and Recreation and the cult series Jury Duty, establishing a connection between popular series and the goals of the actors’ strike.
Cranston also confirmed recent comments by SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher to The Associated Press that these two Hollywood strikes are galvanizing a broader movement across the country.
“Without an organized union, management will continue to line their pockets. She doesn’t and never will say to herself, “You know what? I don’t think it’s fair to these people. I will pay them more”. They just don’t do that,” he said.
Cast members of Better Call Saul were also on the picket line, including Rhea Seehorn and Patrick Fabian, as well as series co-creator Peter Gould, who is on strike with the writers’ union, the Writers. Guild of America, since May.
