Celebrity News August 29, 2023
Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul on What It Will Take to End SAG Strike (Exclusive)
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“Extra’s” Melvin Robert spoke with “Breaking Bad” stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul and writer Peter Gould as they joined picketers outside Sony Pictures in Los Angeles.
Bryan called the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes a “watershed moment.”
He explained, “We have very deeply rooted foundational issues that need to be resolved and, quite frankly, we're just looking for fairness and some honesty coming from the other side to be able to earn a living. The [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers], their focus is on making a lot of money by virtue of using our art, and our focus is to make the art and hopefully make some money by doing so. We're at cross purposes, and we're just hoping that they realize that what we're asking for is a very fair and equitable contract.”
Cranston later added, “Sometimes parents have to sit their children down and say, ‘Work it out,’ and I think there's some vitriol on both sides. I don't want to demonize these people — we work with these people, they're not evil people, they just don't see things the same way that artists see things. We want to create and hopefully make a living and they want to see what's on the bottom line, so we're hoping that they can realize that what we’re asking for is fair and sit down and have a conversation with us. I think we have more things in common than they realize.”
Melvin asked Aaron, “What do you think it is going to take?”
He replied, “We’ve just got to keep doing this, show these people that we’re serious. It's just all about fairness — that's all it is… We're out here fighting a good fight, we're in this together, and they just need to understand that we're just digging our heels in deeper and we're fighting for what's right.”
Peter added, “The ball is in their court, and we’re wondering why it’s taking so long for them to come back to us… The writers, the actors we’re ready to come in and talk, and it is the producers who are being kind of coy.”
Melvin asked if they have a message for the AMPTP, and Bryan replied, “We want to go back to work. We want to do what we do — produce, write, direct, and act — and I think if they see that reasoning and realize that it benefits everyone including the economy as a whole… We encourage them to take a moment, take a deep breath, exhale, and then get back to the tables and talk to us.”
