‘Veep’ Actor Nelson Franklin Slams Studios ‘Not Even Pretending’ to Negotiate in Good Faith: ‘The Evil Is Not Hidden Anymore’ (Video)

Actor Nelson Franklin believes the AMPTP is giving itself a “bad rap” for “not even trying” to negotiate with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA as the two unions strike for fair wages, streaming residuals and amended standards surrounding the use of artificial intelligence.

Speaking with TheWrap while picketing outside Paramount studios on Tuesday, the “Veep” and “New Girl” actor shared his thoughts about the double strike — now in its second week since SAG-AFTRA began July 13 — and the studios’ current refusal to come to the negotiating table.

“The longer this goes on, the longer it hurts us and you. This is not helping anybody,” Franklin said. “It’s not helping the shareholders either, which I know is the main thing.”

The actor also reflected on the more big-picture, theoretical implications the strike has, saying it’s reflective of “the sort of late-stage capitalism we’re in” and that ultimately, “it’s depressing.”

“On top of all that, you’re getting a bad rap in the global spotlight, as well. That’s the thing that surprised me the most — I guess it’s the sort of late-stage capitalism we’re in,” he said. “They’re not even pretending. Nobody’s saying like, ‘We’re trying so hard to make this work.’ We know they’re not even trying. They’re just saying, ‘We don’t like to strike and it’s costing us money, stop it.’ The evil is not hidden anymore. It’s depressing.”

While Franklin said the future of the strike is unclear, he pushed for his fellow strikers to keep going with their protest.

“Because of all those reasons, I encourage all SAG members and WGA members to stay strong,” Franklin said. “We’re doing it. We know how to do this. We’ve done this for many, many, many years. So keep it up.”

Much of the strike’s efforts have been centered around low residual payments in the age of streaming and protections against artificial intelligence. Franklin added that actors and writers only want what they feel is fairly owed to them.

“I want to make it very clear that we’re not asking for more money. What we’re asking for is the money that was taken away,” Franklin said. “We’ve been doing business a certain way this whole time, and a lot of our income has been taken away. We’re not asking for more, just what we’ve lost.”

Franklin continued, saying the strike appears to be a mirror image of the writers’ strikes that came before.

“My dad’s been a WGA member for 40-some years now, and this is his third strike,” Franklin said. “It’s been like clockwork — it’s not any kind of a surprise. There was a strike in 1981 because they wouldn’t get residuals on VHS tapes. They strike, they got it. [In] 2007 they wouldn’t get residuals on DVDs — strike, they got it. When it’s 2023, streaming. It’s not like it’s some sort of a surprise for us that this was coming. This is how show business has been going since it began.”

For all of TheWrap’s Hollywood strike coverage, click here.

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