“The situation could go on for quite a while. The leaders of the studios and the platforms will take us to the edge of the abyss. British actor Brian Cox, interviewed on Sky News, is not very optimistic about the quick resolution of the conflict which is paralyzing Hollywood. For the first time in 63 years, the actors joined the screenwriters on July 14, who have been on strike since May 1. The failure of contract negotiations between SAG-AFTRA – the union which represents actors in Hollywood – and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers – the organization which represents studios such as Amazon, Disney, Paramount or Apple – did not leave no more room for doubt. The movement was voted on Friday and the sector was immediately paralyzed. Screenwriters and actors are demanding salary increases, which have been at half mast since the arrival of streaming and artificial intelligence.
The direct effects of the writers’ strike have already had an impact since May: only scripts completed before the start of the strike could be shot as none have been delivered since. In the world of series, where production is continuous, the second season of the Amazon series The Rings of Power, prequel to The Lord of the Rings, escaped script failure. Conversely, the productions of the 5th season of Stranger Things or the 3rd season of Euphoria are down.
With the vote for the actors’ strike, practically nothing can come out of the studios today and even when the films or series are in the box, their release is severely handicapped.
During the strike, all actors, extras or stuntmen members of the union (there are 160,000) are prohibited from passing in front of the camera. The decision cripples films being produced in the United States, but also many of those being shot abroad or even foreign productions. An actor unionized at SAG-AFTRA who works on European projects, for example, is required to stop his activity, under penalty of radiation.
All American-produced feature films with unionized actors are therefore on hold. This is the case of Gladiator 2, directed by Ridley Scott and worn by Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal, although the team is filming in Morocco. Two-thirds of the sequences are already in the box, but the project has come to a halt. In London, filming for Beetlejuice 2, directed by Tim Burton and starring Wyona Ryder, was also not completed. Other blockbusters are also affected such as Deadpool 3, worn by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, or even Spider Man 4 with Tom Holland.
The situation is also critical for television. The sector was also a victim of the screenwriters’ strike, but now it risks finding itself all the more weakened. With a few exceptions though. According to Variety, the filming of season 2 of House of the Dragon in the United Kingdom should be preserved because local legislation, one of the most restrictive in trade union matters, prohibits strike movements in solidarity with movements at home. ‘foreign.
If the actors can no longer film, their obligations are not limited to this: they have no more right to film than to sing, to dance, to do dubbing or voiceovers, to appear in documentaries , to record the audio tape of an audio description or to lend their voice to cartoons or puppet shows. All preliminary stages of a film are also banned during the strike. This includes make-up try-ons, costume fittings, rehearsals, camera try-outs, stunt and action practice, recording of promotional and theatrical trailers, audio descriptive services (unless they are covered by another collective agreement) or even photo shoots.
The previews at which the actors are expected are also banned. On Thursday night, a rare scene unfolded when Oppenheimer first aired in London. Actors of the film Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Demon and Florence Pugh abandoned director Christopher Nolan on the red carpet, in solidarity with the unions. Because at that moment, on the other side of the Atlantic, the actors’ strike was about to be voted on. Added to this is the ban on attending festivals, tours or conventions. It’s certain that there won’t be any stars of the big hit shows like The Boys at Comic Con in San Diego at the end of the week. And concerns are growing for the Venice Film Festival at the end of August. How do you mount a festival without its lineup of American stars? The preview screening of Napoleon by Ridley Scott, strongly anticipated, seems more and more illusory. Just like the poster for the Deauville festival in September. Same concern in the world of series with the September Emmy Awards which could be postponed to better days.
This is not the only constraint. Although actors can use their social networks for personal purposes or for related topics, they can no longer use it to promote their film projects. Additionally, comedians can no longer record podcasts or accept interviews about their latest or upcoming films. The various interviews available concerning Barbie, Oppenheimer or Mission: Impossible 7 were carried out before the start of the strike. This does not prevent Fran Drescher, the very powerful president of SAG-AFTRA, from denouncing the behavior of the studios: she accuses them of having gained as much time as possible in the negotiations to allow them the leisure to promote these three big summer outings.
