If there is one name that continues to dominate the Hollywood headlines, it’s Dwayne Johnson. For almost a decade, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was one of the most popular wrestlers in the World Wrestling Federation. After he stopped wrestling, he parlayed his fame into a very successful acting career. Johnson has starred in a number of hit films and television shows, including The Mummy Returns, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Ballers, Young Rock, and Red Notice. He was also in a number of Fast and the Furious films, getting his own spinoff film, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. In 2022, Johnson was named the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.
Many Disney fans will know that Johnson has worked closely with Disney more than once. Johnson provided the voice for Maui the demigod in the wildly successful film, Moana. He also starred in the hit film Jungle Cruise, which was based on the beloved Disney attraction. Johnson is currently preparing to reprise his role in the live-action Moana, which was announced back in early April.
Hollywood is currently at a near-standstill, as nearly all actors and writers are on strike. The writers went on strike back in May, with the actors joining the pickets lines in mid-July. With most of the industry on pause, productions are at levels not seen since the height of the pandemic. During that time, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation (a non-profit that is not a part of the union) supported many of its 160,000 actors whose paychecks had stopped. That foundation is hard at work again as the actors work for fairer contracts.
At the beginning of the SAG-AFTRA strike, SAG Foundation president, actor Courtney B. Vance, and executive director, Cyd Wilson, sent out a letter to the union’s highest-earning actors, asking them if they could help SAG’s members financially during the strike. Johnson stepped up, and did it in a big way.
According to a report from Variety, Johnson made a seven-figure donation. It was the single largest donation in the Foundation’s history. When asked about Johnson’s donation, Wilson said:
It’s the largest single donation that we’ve ever received from one individual at one time. And what is amazing is that that one check is going to help thousands of actors keep food on their table, and keep their kids safe, and keep their cars running. And it’s not lost on me that he’s very humble about this, but it is a way to get us started.
For him to step up like this is really going to get us started in the fundraising that we’re going I need to do, because everything we’re hearing and seeing, we feel we have to be prepared that this could go on through the end of the year. We’re going to have to be able to help these people in the long run.
Vance could not thank Johnson enough for stepping up.
I want to thank Dwayne for his tremendous generosity, compassion, and initiative to step up in this significant and meaningful way for our community. On behalf of the thousands who will be helped by his historic donation, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Members of the Screen Actors Guild are willing to remain on strike if the studio continues to refuse some of the union’s most important demands. The biggest issues on the table are residuals, which have tanked since streaming became the most popular way to watch programs. Highly successful and well-known actors have reported receiving residual checks for as little as one penny, and in some cases, even negative dollars.
The actors also want the studios to address the growing use of artificial intelligence. Actors are saying that the studios want to pay actors a minimal amount to scan their bodies, and then use them in any number of films for as long as they want and not have to pay the actors for it.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has found himself in the hot seat with the union after saying many of their demands were not “realistic.” Iger’s comments were called out by SAG President Fran Drescher, as well as Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston. Many in the union are upset with Iger for saying actors were not being “realistic” when he makes approximately $78,000 per day.
