Media mogul Barry Diller has offered up a simple solution to quickly bring an end to the multiple entertainment industry union strikes.
During an interview with CBS, Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group and former CEO of Paramount Pictures, asserted that Hollywood’s wealthy stars and executives could offer to take a “25 percent pay cut.”
He noted that such an offer would “narrow the difference between those who get highly paid and those that don’t.”
The writers and actors are on strike and Diller says, if they don’t resolve it soon, the entire industry could collapse.
“There’s no trust,” Diller said during an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“You have the actors’ union saying, ‘How dare these 10 people who run these companies earn all this money and won’t pay us?’
“While, if you look at it on the other side, the top 10 actors get paid more than the top 10 executives.
“I’m not saying either is right.
“Actually, everybody’s probably overpaid at the top end.”
“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 percent pay cut to try and narrow, narrow the difference between those who get highly paid and those that don’t.”
Diller also said there would be “devastating effects” if an agreement wasn’t reached by September 1.
Now that actors have joined the strike, TV and movie productions are completely shut down.
Diller warned that failing to reach an agreement quickly would have long-lasting effects on staff and viewers.
“What will happen is, if in fact, it doesn’t get settled until Christmas or so, then, next year, there’s not going to be many programs for anybody to watch,” Diller said.
“So, 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 at just the time, strike is settled, that you want to get back up, there won’t be enough money.
“So this actually will have devastating effects, if it is not settled soon.”
“The truth is, this [Hollywood] is a huge business both domestically and for world export,” he explained.
“These conditions will potentially produce an absolute collapse of an entire industry.”
WATCH:
IAC Chair Barry Diller: “The Top 10 actors get paid more than the Top 10 executives … As a good faith measure, both the executives and 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.” pic.twitter.com/aR8uvDZeVp
— The Recount (@therecount) July 17, 2023
The writers’ strike has been going on for months.
However, now that SAG-AFTRA joined, the entertainment industry is effectively shut down until an agreement can be reached.
READ MORE: Mel Gibson Issues Warning about Hollywood: ‘Worst Nightmares Were Real’
