Actor Young Mazino, whose popular comedy-drama web series 'Beef' has earned over seven Emmy nominations, is caught in a funny situation.
On one hand, his show has received many Emmy nods, including one for himself where got the nod for Best Supporting Actor, but on the other hand, he is also an ardent supporter of the SAG-AFTRA strike, which he said "feels even better the nomination because it's addressing a symptom of a larger problem."
Speaking to 'Variety', Mazino said: "It's a weird feeling of being Emmy nominated one day and then the next day, there's a strike going on. I think this (the strike) feels better than the nomination because it's addressing a symptom of a larger problem. I got lucky getting in on 'Beef' right before this all went down but there's a whole community that relies on things like residuals."
Mazino's viewpoint was also reinforced from the remarks of Mario Bello who is another big time, experienced actor. She emphasised on the importance of residuals in a profession where a steady income is hard to come by.
Moreover, in the wake of streaming platforms, the residual fees have steadily reduced, which has been one of the causes of the strike.
"On streaming, a lot of us get paid a lot less than they would on network TV, and we don’t get residuals," said the 'NCIS' actress. "Guest actors on network TV used to get residuals. So our bank accounts are getting less and less. And yet the corporations and studios are getting richer and richer."
Bello and Mazino both went on to add that the rise of artificial intelligence and the overreliance of studios, producers and distributors on it is a topic of big concern for the future livelihood of actors, particularly background players and extras.
According to 'Variety', Bello said of herself and Mazino, "With AI right now, it’s very, very complicated, Some of the folks here, the background actors in particular, would take an image of their face and use it in perpetuity. These actors would be out of work. We’re both very lucky that we’re working actors, but a lot of the other actors — we’re here with them in solidarity".
"We're making art. You can try to use AI and make the art and see what happens," Mazino said.
"The writing's been on the wall, but if they don't see it, we'll be here."
SAG-AFTRA called a strike against Hollywood studios and production entities that began July 13, one day after the 75th annual Emmy Awards nominations were revealed. Much of the strike's focus lay against the over reliance of studios and distributors on increased use of AI as well as reduction in pay, and their cold and uncaring attitude towards workers.
