Media mogul Barry Diller has suggested Hollywood’s highest-paid actors and executives take a 25 percent pay cut as he warns of a devastating fallout for the industry if the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes are not settled soon.
The former Paramount and 20th Century Fox CEO, who now heads media conglomerate IAC, appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday, where he weighed in on what he called a ‘perfect storm’.
‘Everybody’s probably overpaid at the top,’ says Diller. ‘I had an idea that, as a measure of good faith, both executives and the highest-paid actors should take a 25 per cent pay cut and try to reduce the gap between those who are highly paid and those who are not. .’
Among the highest paid in the industry is Tom Cruise, whose latest Mission Impossible film was shut down due to a strike. According to Forbes, Cruise has earned over $1 billion during his career and has an estimated net worth of $600 million as of 2023.
But it’s not just screen talent. $1.4 billion was earned by Hollywood executives in 2021, up a staggering 50 percent from 2018. Topping the list is Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav, who earned more than $498 million from 2018 to 2022.
The strike is the first time film and television actors have taken industrial action since the 1980s, and the first time since the 1960s that Hollywood’s two major unions have gone on strike at the same time.
Media mogul Barry Diller has suggested that Hollywood’s top-earning actors and executives face a 25 percent pay cut as he warns of a devastating fallout for the industry if the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes are not settled soon.
Filming on Tom Cruise’s latest Mission Impossible film has been halted in the UK amid a transatlantic strike by Hollywood actors. Photo: Tom Cruise makes a surprise theatrical appearance on July 11 to celebrate Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One.
Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav has topped Hollywood’s highest-paid list with nearly $500 million over the past five years.
The last time actors and writers joined forces against Hollywood executives was in the 1960s, when Marilyn Monroe was at the height of her power and Ronald Reagan was head of the actors’ union.
Under a strike rule, SAG-AFTRA members will not be able to film a movie or TV series, attend any press or film premieres or promote anything at this month’s San Diego Comic-Con.
On Sunday, Diller told host Margaret Brennan that unless the strike is resolved soon, the entertainment industry will face an ‘absolute collapse’ and people will start pulling their streaming subscriptions because ‘there will be nothing to watch.’
‘What happens is, if it’s not actually settled by Christmas or before, then next year, there won’t be much programming for anyone to watch,’ he said, adding there should be a settlement deadline. September 1
‘So, you see subscriptions being pulled, which is going to reduce the revenue of all these film companies, television companies, which will result in no shows. And just at that time, the strike is settled that you want to rise again, there will not be enough money.’
Diller also called the current challenge a ‘perfect storm’.
‘You had Covid, which sent people home to watch streaming television and killed the theatres,’ Diller said. ‘You’ve got the result of huge investments in streaming that have created all these losses for all these companies which are now like layoffs. So at the moment, it’s kind of the perfect storm.’
An image of the picket line from the last Hollywood writers strike in 2007
Cruise’s latest Mission Impossible film has been shelved in the UK amid a transatlantic strike by Hollywood actors. Photo: Tom Cruise and film director Christopher McQuarrie
Disney CEO Bob Iger was one of only a handful of top-earning executives to earn more in 2018 than in 2021.
In the first major event affected by the actors’ strike, Disney held a premiere on Saturday for the upcoming live-action movie ‘Haunted Mansion’ without stars Tiffany Haddish and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Hollywood was plunged into chaos on Thursday when SAG-AFTRA members walked out — and as a result, the red carpet laid out in front of the theme park’s Haunted Mansion ride was notably star-studded.
Instead of having actors like Danny DeVito, Lakeith Stanfield and Rosario Dawson on the red carpet, Disney brought in their theme park characters to make the rounds. Dan Levy, Hasan Minhaj, Marilou Henner, and Lindsay Lamb were also scheduled to be at the event in Anaheim, California — but didn’t while on strike.
Their picketing halted production across the entertainment industry, plunging it into chaos.
The incident comes three days after Bob Iger slammed the actors for being ‘not realistic’ and ‘disruptive’ to the industry.
Director of photography Jack Chairs and his son, actor Wyatt Chairs, 11, attend a rally of Strike Writers and Actors outside Netflix studios on Friday, July 14 in Los Angeles.
Park guests line up outside the world premiere of Disney’s ‘Haunted Mansion’ on Saturday
People dressed as Maleficent, Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Snow White’s evil Queen Grimhild posed and walked the carpet instead – while cast members stayed home in solidarity with the strike.
An empty red carpet was seen at the world premiere of Disney’s ‘Haunted Mansion’ on Saturday. Actors and screenwriters did not walk the red carpet due to picketing that halted production across the entertainment industry.
Disney boss Bob Iger has condemned the striking actors
Iger, who earns $27 million a year for his role at Disney, accused the striking actors of being ‘not realistic’ with their demands.
Speaking to CNBC’s David Faber Thursday morning in the network’s squawk box, he said: ‘It’s very disturbing to me.’
The 72-year-old added the strike would have a ‘very, very damaging effect on the whole business’ and compound the effects of the ongoing Writers Guild strike on the economy.
Such a ‘dual strike’ by actors and writers has not been seen in Hollywood since the 1960s, and it will shut down almost all US film and television production, Iger claimed.
In his remarks from the so-called ‘billionaire summer camp’ in Sun Valley, Idaho, Iger slammed SAG-AFTRA for being ‘disruptive’ in an already difficult time for the entertainment industry.
‘We’ve talked about the disruptive forces in this business and the challenges we face, the recovery from Covid, which is ongoing, it’s not quite back,’ he told Faber. ‘This is the worst time in the world to add to this disruption.’
He went on to say that ‘the desire of any trade union member to work is to get the most compensation and to be fairly compensated based on the value they pay.
‘We have managed, as an industry, to strike a very good deal with the Directors Guild that reflects the value of the contribution directors make to this great business,’ Iger noted.
‘We want to do the same thing with writers, and we want to do the same thing with actors.’
But he claimed: ‘They have a level of expectation that is not realistic. And they are adding to the set of challenges that these businesses are already facing.
‘That is, quite frankly, disruptive.’
The Disney CEO, whose $27 million-a-year contract was extended Wednesday through 2026, discussed the pending SAG-AFTRA strike with CNBC’s David Faber on Thursday in the network’s squawk box.
‘It’s so disturbing to me’, the 72-year-old claimed, that actors like Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence are ‘not being realistic’ about compensation benefits.
Meanwhile, $1.4 billion was raked in by Hollywood executives in 2021, up 50 percent from 2018.
Topping the list of the highest paid was Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav, who earned more than $498 million from 2018 to 2022.
His most profitable year was 2021, when he earned a titanic $246 million. The debacle came even before its landmark merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery in a deal worth more than $40 billion.
Zaslav’s haul that year was only beaten by Ari Emanuel, CEO and director of the sprawling media conglomerate Endeavor Group Holdings, for $308 million. 2021 was also the year Endeavor hosted a successful IPO, which boosted its compensation.
Emanuel’s salary tops $346 million over the same five-year period from 2018 to 2022, owning several sports media companies, including the UFC, through ownership of Hollywood’s largest talent agency.
The Hollywood Rich List data comes from an LA Times analysis of research compiled by Equilar Inc. The research center also found that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings earned $209 million so far in 2018, followed by Disney chief Bob Iger at $195 million.
Iger was one of only two of the list’s top 10 earners who made as much in 2018 as they did in 2021 during the height of the pandemic, at $65 million and $45 million, respectively.
The Fox dynasty’s Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan each earned $174 and $171 million, respectively, beating out another Netflix executive, Ted Serandos, on $192 million.
SAG-AFTRA was demanding higher wages to combat inflation and guarantee their future livelihoods.
In addition to a salary while they’re actively working, actors earn money called ‘residuals’ every time a film or show they star in airs on a network or cable – which is especially helpful when the actors are in between projects.
Under a strike rule, SAG-AFTRA members will not be able to film a movie or TV series, attend any press or film premieres or promote anything at this month’s San Diego Comic-Con.
This will affect Disney’s Avatar and Lion King sequels, as well as shows scheduled to return to television in the fall, such as The Simpsons.
SAG-AFTRA was demanding higher wages to combat inflation and guarantee their future livelihoods.
In addition to a salary while they’re actively working, actors earn money called ‘residuals’ every time a film or show they star in airs on a network or cable – which is especially helpful when the actors are in between projects.
SAG-AFTRA Strike Rules
All covered services and performance must be withheld under the direction of SAG-AFTRA, including but not limited to:
The main functions of the camera, such as:
Acting Singing Dancing Stunt performing On-camera Flying Puppetry Performance capture or motion capture work
The main functions of off-camera, such as:
ADR/Looping
TV Trailers (Promos) and Theatrical Trailers
Voice acting
Singing NarrationStunt Coordinator and Related Services Stand-In WorkPhoto and/or Body Double Fitting, Wardrobe Test, and Makeup Test Rehearsal and Camera Test Scanning Interviews and Auditions (including via self-tape)
Publicity/publicity services for works under TV/Theatrical contracts, viz:
Tours Personal Appearances Interviews Events Fan Expos Festivals Panels for Your Consideration Events Premieres/Screenings Awards Shows Junkets Podcast Appearances Social Media Studio Showcases
Negotiating and/or entering into and/or consenting to:
A contract to perform future covered services Any new contract related to merchandising in connection with a covered project The creation and use of digital copies, including the reuse of prior work performed in a trailer of a struck production or other ancillary content connected to a struck production
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