Current:Home > NewsMedia mogul Barry Diller says Hollywood executives, top actors should take 25% pay cut to end strikes -TrueNorth Finance Path
Media mogul Barry Diller says Hollywood executives, top actors should take 25% pay cut to end strikes
View
Date:2025-04-14 17:34:03
Washington — Media mogul Barry Diller suggested top Hollywood executives and the highest-paid actors take a 25% pay cut "to try and narrow the difference" between the highest and lowest earners in the industry as TV and movie actors joined screenwriters on strike.
"Everybody's probably overpaid at the top end," Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia, told "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
- Transcript: Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia, on "Face the Nation"
Diller served as the chairman and CEO of Fox, Inc., in the 1980s as it created the Fox Broadcasting Company and its motion picture operations, another turbulent time in the industry. Prior to Fox, he served 10 years as chairman and chief executive of Paramount Pictures Corporation.
Actors represented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike Friday amid concerns about artificial intelligence replacing jobs and the impact of streaming services on actors' residual pay. Writers represented by the Writers Guild of America walked out in May over similar concerns. It's the first time the two Hollywood unions have been on strike simultaneously in six decades.
Diller said "the perfect storm" led to the current issues in Hollywood which faces an industry-wide shutdown.
"You had COVID, which sent people home to watch streaming and television and killed theaters," he said. "You've had the results of huge investments in streaming, which have produced all these losses for all these companies who are now kind of retrenching."
Diller said it will have a lasting consequences on the industry if the strikes carry on until the end of the year. In fact, he said the strikes could potentially cause an "absolute collapse" of the industry if a settlement is not reached before September.
"Next year, there's not going to be many programs for anybody to watch," he said. "You're going to see subscriptions get pulled, which is going to reduce the revenue of all these movie companies, television companies. The result of which is that there will be no programs. And it just the time the strike is settled, that you want to gear back up, there won't be enough money. So this actually will have devastating effects if it is not settled soon."
But, he said, it's going to be hard to reach a settlement when both sides lack trust in the other.
"The one idea I had is to say, as a good-faith measure, both the executives and the most-paid actors should take a 25% pay cut to try and narrow the difference between those who get highly paid and those that don't," he said.
Diller also said he thinks the concerns over AI in the industry have been overhyped and he does not believe the technology will replace actors or writers, but it will be used to assist them.
"Most of these actual performing crafts, I don't think in tech are in danger of artificial intelligence," he said.
Kara Swisher, co-host of the "Pivot" podcast, told "Face the Nation" on Sunday that Diller's pay cut proposal won't go anywhere and the industry is facing a "Rubicon moment" as it shifts to streaming.
"This shift to streaming, which is necessary and important, is expensive," she said. "Nobody's figured out how to pay for people. Now, the actors are correct as they should get a piece of this and figuring out who values and who's valuable is going to be very hard. But there is a real strain on these companies at this moment in time."
Some CBS News staff are SAG-AFTRA members. But they work under a different contract than the actors and are not affected by the strike.
- In:
- Hollywood
- Strike
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hausofcait
TwitterveryGood! (787)
Related
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Minnesota seeks unifying symbol to replace state flag considered offensive to Native Americans
- A 2-year-old's body was found in trash, police say. His father's been charged with killing him.
- Inflation is easing and a risk of recession is fading. Why are Americans still stressed?
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Love Is Blind’s Shaina Hurley Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Husband Christos Lardakis
- See Michael Jackson’s Sons Blanket and Prince in New Jackson Family Photo
- Chiefs’ All-Pro TE Travis Kelce hyperextends knee in practice for opener vs Detroit
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Steve Harwell, former Smash Mouth singer, dies at 56: 'A 100% full-throttle life'
Ranking
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- University of Arkansas gets $2.5 million grant to study exercise and aging
- Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson Dance the Night Away at Beyoncé's Tour After Romance Drama
- Trump’s comments risk tainting a jury in federal election subversion case, special counsel says
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Georgia can resume enforcing ban on hormone replacement therapy for transgender youth, judge says
- Zendaya and Tom Holland's Love Is On Top After Date at Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour
- Jimmy Buffett died from Merkel cell skin cancer. What to know about the rare skin condition.
Recommendation
New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
Arizona superintendent to use COVID relief for $40 million tutoring program
Kia, Ford, Harley-Davidson among 611,000 vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
Lili Reinhart and Sydney Sweeney Prove There's No Bad Blood After Viral Red Carpet Moment
Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
Domestic violence charges dropped against Arizona Coyotes minority owner Andrew Barroway
New Commanders ownership has reignited the debate over the NFL team’s old name
NFL head coach hot seat rankings: Ron Rivera, Mike McCarthy on notice entering 2023