"Actors & writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living”-George Clooney speaks out on the SAG-AFTRA strike

On July 14, George Clooney garnered attention by expressing his support and releasing an official statement to the media regarding the recent decision of the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) to go on strike.

The 62-year-old actor pointed out that the situation had reached “an inflection point”:

“Actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living. For our industry to survive that has to change. For actors that journey starts now."

The statement from George Clooney conveyed a serious message for the industry, particularly because it was made just hours before SAG members proceeded to the picket lines.

This action followed unsuccessful talks and negotiations between SAG, AFTRA, and AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers), which failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion before the July 12 deadline.

SAG-AFTRA Tweeted declaring themselves officially on strike and encouraging SAG members of NYC and Los Angeles to show up at the picket lines in solidarity.

SAG-AFTRA Tweeted calling out to all NYC and LA artists to join the strike (Image via Twitter/ @sagaftra)

The SAG-AFTRA is a combined association that represents at least 160,000 performers, including big names like Meryl Streep, and a host of journalists, dancers, singers, media professionals, and more artists from other creative fields.

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George Clooney and the Oppenheimer cast join the list of SAG-AFTRA supporters

George Clooney showcased his support to SAG-AFTRA by releasing a statement declaring his worried sentiments for the lives of actors and writers when facing the rapid, technological developments that threaten the basic livelihood of the creative industry.

The next name in the list of supporters for artists was Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan and the cast of his upcoming release.

George Clooney and the Oppenheimer cast are among the big names who have voiced their support for SAG-AFTRA (Image via Shutterstock and Getty)

As the Oppenheimer cast prepared for their London premiere on Thursday, they showed their undoubted support by moving the premiere of their film to an earlier hour, so they could walk out in time once the strike was officially announced.

According to Deadline Hollywood, Dunkirk director Christopher Nolan spoke at the premiere and said that he had an "enormous" list of names to acknowledge, and they had all been on the red carpet before but were then proceeding for their support to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

“We have to acknowledge, you’ve seen them here earlier on the red carpet. Unfortunately, they’re off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by SAG, joining one of my guilds, the writer’s guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of their union. We support them.” Nolan said.

Christopher Nolan told BBC that he will not work on another film until the strike ends. (Image via Venturelli/WireImage)

Joining the supporters' league was Matt Damon who expressed his concern to Variety that "it's really about working actors" and that the increased expenses of the modern world were posing a grave challenge to the survival of artists.

“It’s $26,000 to qualify for health coverage and a lot of people are on the margins and residual payments are getting them across that threshold. This isn’t an academic exercise. This is real-life and death stuff. Hopefully, we get to a resolution quickly. No one wants a work stoppage, but we’ve got to get a fair deal.” he noted.

The SAG-AFTRA strike officially began on July 14 and marks the first strike in 63 years where actors and writers are coming together for their profession’s cause.