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.
As Marjorie writes, the Hollywood chart has “a creative and seductive Venus South Node square Neptune Pluto.”
I was interested to see that Venus, now in Leo (showbiz glamour?), is currently forming a transiting Yod with Pluto in Capricorn (power and money) sextile Neptune in Pisces (films and illusions). Tr Venus is on the Hollywood North Node, as the Yod brings up questions and tensions about Hollywood’s direction, alliances, and lessons to be learned perhaps? Venus will turn retrograde at 28 Leo on 23rd July. Lights, Camera, Action!
The first Hollywood film studio was the Nestor Film Co. 27 October, 1911. I’ve been messing around with this chart for a while, and it seems quite sensitive. It has just had a Nodal return, with Nodes 0 Taurus. It has Pluto 28 Gemini, so July’s Yod is saying hello there too. And the 28 degrees zone crops up again in the planets for the first talking feature film. That was ‘The Jazz Singer’, premiere on 6th October, 1927. It had Neptune at 28 Leo, Jupiter 26 Pisces, Uranus 1 Aries. Probably worth noting that Fran Drescher’s own Neptune sextile Pluto is at 1 Scorpio and Virgo.
The first talking feature film was a massive upheaval for the film industry, with a strange transition phase seeing both silent and ‘talking pictures’ released until around 1930. Some silent stars couldn’t make the transition, which more or less ended their careers.
Currently, Hollywood itself is also in transition now, with the threat of AI, and the many changes happening because of streaming services like Netflix. It is curious to see that Netflix, 29 August, 1997 has Neptune 27 Capricorn, square Chiron 29 Libra. Back in 1911, Nestor Film Co had Neptune 23 Cancer, opposing Uranus 25 Capricorn. Considering the widespread cultural influence of Hollywood in the 20th Century and onwards, it’s worth thinking about how the USA’s own Pluto, 27 Capricorn, and Mercury 24 Cancer fits into all this.
Wow Jane, impressive connecting of the astrological dots again.
Most governments just borrow money. Often with disastrous consequences for the tax payer.
Through the centuries business and industry always welcomed the advent of any technology which overcame the need to employ people, from Luddites and the Industrial Revolution till today. Are there any Astro significations in that? Pluto perhaps? Will we eventually reach the stage globally of huge numbers of unemployable people supplanted by AI, living downtrodden hand to mouth lives, with a small, mega rich elite? Dying planet, mass migrations, food and water scarcities, little tax paid to maintain necessary services. Pretty grim.
As governments make most of their money from income taxes, with fewer employees they will get less money, and it will prevent countries from functioning. Governments will have to start taxing companies for things like worker robots & AI to maintain their income and keep countries running.
Then they will need to give a basic standard income to its citizens. So instead of us paying income tax, the government pays us from the money the technology pays them (which companies can afford from what they saved on employee wages)
Anyway, thats my crackpot idea of how society can still function with fewer jobs 🙂 Actually this may be a good plot for a novel on a future distopian state.
Belle, What if the govt itself is AI controlled…? So the AI corporations are effectively in control..
Blimey! Then we will be kept as pets for vastly superior AI beings, like we keep cats & dogs. With some of us being abandoned at shelters. I think I saw that plot on The Twilight Zone.
Pets cost money…..cue T Zone theme….
Archetypically … automation is the classic Aquarius vs Taurus dilemma …
Aquarius invents stuff to make everybody’s life easier. In theory the machines could do all the work to create enough food, clothes and stuff for everybody to have comfortable lives.
Taurus comes along and says “I can use this to put more money in my own pocket. I don’t give a toss about anybody else or society”.
But Taurus could also be saying, ‘Keep it real and down to earth…. Real people matter !?’ Couldn’t it?
Archetypally, Taurus is only interested in itself; you have to get to Libra to actually begin considering others. Taurus is a simple, straightforward soul which isn’t interested in thinking beyond the piece of work in front of it. Obviously if you can give it a labour-saving device it may go for that; but that also means learning how to use it and this is where Taurus can be resistant to change. Unless they can see a benefit to themself with no threat of loss of security for themself, they will resist it. If it threatens their income then they’ll fight it – probably passive-aggressively.
So, on reflection, technology vs exploitation may be more of Aqua/Scorpio issue because Scorpio as an emotional sign has no direct ability to do stuff. It has to exert power and get stuff through other people. In a shadow place, it exploits others without giving anything back.
Whichever way it is … Aqua as an air sign thinks about how to make life easier for everyone. Taurus/Scorpio want to know how to make money out of it. This is the tension of squares.
As I say, this is all archetypal – not how actual people act – because actual people have a mixture of the signs present and potential they grow e.g. Taurus learns from Scorpio how to consider what other people want, not just get stuff for itself.
Hollywood is losing out no matter the technology. If they don’t use it, others will. Movies are made around the world and in your own backyard. The entertainment industry is changing and Hollywood is behind the times. Greed will blind them until it’s too late.
I don’t understand how Fran Drescher can have Mars in Libra. I’m less than one year her senior and my Mars is in Aries.
? Mars moves fairly quickly. Was in Aries in Jan 1957
Mar’s revolution around the Sun is approximately 687 (Earth) days. So it changes sign approximately every 57-60 days.
It is the further planets that spend months and years in the same sign. Jupiter spends approximately a year in each sign, Saturn two and a half years, Uranus about seven years per sign, Pluto a decade and a half per sign, etc.
How do these charts compare to AMPTP, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers? That’s the national organization who the actors and writers are bargaining with. These strikes are always about the money.
Signed, former Hollywood bookkeeper.
Thanks for this. Will look tomorrow. At quick glance 1924 is only date offered but must be a detailed one somewhere.