SAG Strike Has Actors Walking Out of Movie Premieres: Everything You Need to Know
The entertainment industry has not seen a shutdown like this in years after 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA went on strike this Thursday at midnight.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, demands for US television networks and streaming platforms, such as, Netflix, HBO Max, and Fox to split profits more equally and provide better working conditions for the actors who make movies and TV come to life.
This strike may not come as a surprise, considering the Writers Guild of America (WGA) recently acted in a similar manner as they demanded more pay for writers in US film and TV. Writers stopped writing for Hollywood in solidarity of the strike. This left most productions to pause their creations in support of the writers.
In order to ensure that SAG’s strike can end with its ideal outcome, actors are not permitted to appear in films, TV episodes, or promote past movies that have already been released. Though it only began recently, the affects of SAG’s strike have already impacted press tours.
The highly anticipated Oppenheimer, soon to be released on July 21, brought fans and interviewers to the UK premiere on Thursday to see the cast in the flesh. The film stars Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon. The cast left the event early in support of the strike. Director Christopher Nolan addressed this and told the audience, “We have to acknowledge, you’ve seen them here earlier on the red carpet. Unfortunately, they’re off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by SAG.”
At the #Oppenheimer UK premiere, director Christopher Nolan announces that the cast, including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon & Robert Downey Jr., have left the event in preparation for the “imminent” #SAG strike. #SAGAtrike pic.twitter.com/pqvnPpQg2a
— POC Culture 🔜 #SDCC (@POCculture) July 13, 2023
Similarly, Barbie, which is to be released on the same day as Oppenheimer, is also being affected by the strike. Barbie‘s press tour has had stops all over the world and from creating an Airbnb in Malibu of the Barbie Dream House to building a Barbie-inspired phone booth in London, there were no ends to promoting this film until now. Barbie star Margot Robbie and her fellow co-stars will be following the labor union, meaning that this will mark the end of the Barbie pre-release press tour.
While Barbie‘s life is fantastic, life with computer-generated faces, voices, and actions is not. With the upcoming rise of artificial intelligence (AI), SAG is also attempting to secure an agreement that the recent innovation will not replace actors.
It is forthcoming that future productions will be put to a halt as well. This includes fan favorite Hollywood blockbusters like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Gladiator 2, and upcoming Marvel films. The widely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently in the filming process of the long awaited Deadpool 3, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. However, due to the strike, production may have to shut off their cameras for a while.
First Avatar 3 was pushed back a whole year and now Deadpool 3 filming may be halted due to the imminent SAG strike. All of Joker: Folie à Deux’s competitors are being taken out one by one. Venom 3 is next. pic.twitter.com/TMVLw8wiZR
— Fake President (@TaylorKsCalves) July 12, 2023
Even long running series like The Simpsons and Family Guy may be disrupted by the strike. And get ready to wait a little longer for Beetlejuice 2. The Tim Burton production, starring Michael Keaton, had one last sequence to film in Vermont when the strike began. While we are not sure how long this might last and put a pause on filmmaking, Succession star Brian Cox spoke with the BBC’s Newscast and stated, “[I] could see [the strike] going on until the end of the year”.
US networks are not going to stand down right away. They have already responded by multiplying the screen time of unscripted film and TV production like Fox’s The Masked Singer, CBS’s The Amazing Race and Survivor, and other reality series and competitions that do not require actors.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger also spoke in opposition to the SAG strike and said that the demands of WGA and SAG are unreasonable when the entertainment industry is still dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic. In an interview with Variety Magazine, he stated, “It’s very disturbing to me… this is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption.” Actress and President of SAG-AFTRA, Fran Drescher, also spoke to Variety to rebut this. She said, “[Iger] has no clue what is really happening on the ground with hard-working people that don’t make anywhere near his salary.” Many people have taken to Twitter to also express their opinions regarding Iger’s statement.
Bob Iger who makes 45 million dollars a year…and counting said WGA & SAG is being unreasonable with our demands. This is me & my $81.64 residual check being unreasonable. pic.twitter.com/APoccOsz0m
— Shawntay Dalon (@ShawntayDalon) July 13, 2023
Though 2023 is halfway over, there are many long-awaited films and TV series that are set to be released later this year. The Haunted Mansion, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Dune 2, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes are only a few of the films that are expected. The films are still expected to be released on the original dates, however, cinema-goers and box office charts may be negatively impacted.
Some believe this can be resolved in no time, and others see this struggle continuing for many months. Nonetheless, in order for the entertainment industry to resume as smoothly as possible, streaming services and networks must come to an agreement with SAG-AFTRA’s demands shortly.
