Hollywood has ground to a halt with actors and writers on strike over earnings for the lower paid with streaming and AI technology shifting the goalposts in favour of the studios’ coffers. What broke the camel’s back and brought matters to a head was the suggestion that extras “should be able to be scanned and paid for one day’s pay and their companies should own that scan…and to be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation.” Surreal.
Having lurched out of the covid shut down, the prospect of a deadlock is causing despair amongst workers and will hit profits. But the feeling is that a complete revision of the financial underpinnings of the business need to be reached, which could take months.
The Hollywood chart, 1 February 1887, has a ruthless Mars square Pluto with a hint of megalomania thrown in from Neptune Pluto; with an autocratic Saturn square Uranus. As well as an expansive Aquarius Sun square Jupiter and trine an innovative Uranus. With a creative and seductive Venus South Node square Neptune Pluto.
The Hollywood Mars square Pluto this year is being blocked by tr Saturn in Pisces conjunct the Mars and square the Pluto as tensions grew earlier this year and those influences return late September/October and December. A previous Writers Strike of 2007/8 intriguingly occurred with tr Saturn in early Virgo also in aspect to the Hollywood Mars Pluto. Further back another strike in 1960 led by Ronald Reagan occurred when there was a Mars in early Pisces opposition Pluto in Virgo – just past the exact aspect but still rattling up Hollywood’s stony-hearted Mars square Pluto.
The Screen Actors Guild, 12 July 1933, technically ceased in 2012 as it merged with the television union but the original chart does work well. It has a determined Sun Pluto in Cancer square Uranus – and is certainly in a rebellious mood this year with tr Pluto square the Uranus until November. There are hints of cheer from mid November though some sagging moments thereafter.
The relationship chart between SAG and Hollywood hints at an ongoing, long-drawn-out tussle through 2023/24/25 with tr Pluto square the composite Saturn Sun.
SAG-AFTRA, 30 March 2012, has its showbizzy Mars in Virgo opposition Neptune in Pisces tangling with the Hollywood Mars square Pluto and is having a tough slog this year till late on.
Fran Dreschler, former actress leading SAG, 30 September 1957, is a gutsy Sun, Mars, Jupiter in Libra sextile Uranus in one side and sextile Saturn on the other. Her Uranus opposes the Hollywood Sun as she disrupts the status quo; with her robustly confident Jupiter Sun Mars triggers the autocratic Hollywood Uranus square Saturn. Most pointed of all her determined Pluto opposes the Hollywood Mars – for a full-on fight.
Scrape off the glitter and what’s underneath is greedy and black-hearted.
Add On: The studios are represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which evolved from early beginnings in 1922, incorporated on 11 March. That gives a Sun Venus in Pisces with an innovative and tough-minded Pluto trine Uranus square Saturn and inconjunct Mars. With a showbizzy Mars trine Neptune sextile a fortunate Jupiter. At the moment there is a pushily confident Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the Jupiter. But there will be a disaster of two late this year in November and December and an uncertain, high-anxiety set of influences running till early 2025. 2024 looks ratchety and ill-tempered – but that is probably par for the course.
On the synastry – the Screen Actors Guild Mars is in a fractious conjunction to the MPA’s Saturn and square its Pluto – for ongoing aggro. With Neptune crossovers to add evasion to the dream business.
The relationship chart has a composite Taurus Sun square Neptune. In 1960 when Ronald Reagan led a six month strike tr Uranus in Leo was exactly square the composite Sun – and this time round tr Uranus is conjunct the composite Sun. A fall out was on the cards – and confusion may continue into 2024 even if the strike folds.