According to an association, stunt people in Germany suffered greatly from the Hollywood strike, which has now ended.
“We’re taking the hit because of the strike. Anything that isn’t produced also means we can’t work on the productions. In other words: we have fewer jobs,” said Ronnie Paul, deputy chairman of the German Stunt Association, to the dpa. “Unfortunately this year, a lot of stunt people in Germany had such an impact that they hardly had any work.”
Paul estimated that there were 90 percent fewer jobs for stunt people in this country. In Berlin alone, one or two, sometimes more, larger Hollywood productions are filmed every year. The stunt people sometimes work on two sets at the same time. Because of the strike in the middle of the year, many hardly worked at all. “You may have had a TV job or another film, but a lot of stunt people, especially from Berlin, did very little work this year,” reported the stunt coordinator.
More productions next year
He expects most productions to come back in 2024. As a result, many employees are needed on set – from stunts to lighting or camera. “Many of them will no longer be available, either because they have an oversupply or because they are simply no longer in their job,” said Paul.
The German Stunt Association, based in Berlin, advocates for the interests of the stunt industry – including stuntmen, stuntwomen, stunt coordinators and stunt drivers. According to Paul, there are estimated to be around 300 professional stunt people in Germany.
Entire industry paralyzed
Around 160,000 actors and actresses in the USA went on strike for almost four months this year, and screenwriters also stopped work for months. The unions particularly demanded better compensation when films or series are streamed on platforms such as Netflix, Apple and Amazon. Another central topic was the use of AI.
The strike brought production across the industry to a standstill for almost four months. In December, members of the US actors union SAG-AFTRA ratified a new contract with the film production houses.
