On both sides of the Atlantic, writers, actors, and other film professionals have stopped working as the long-dreaded strike has commenced.
Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, and Cillian Murphy were present at the Oppenheimer UK Premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square.
Despite starting an hour earlier, director Christopher Nolan informed the crowd that the stars were leaving, which has never happened before.
After weeks of negotiations and bitter accusations, the crisis has reached its peak, causing Hollywood to come to a standstill.
This is just the beginning of potential months of disruptions to an already struggling industry, affecting everyone employed in the industry beyond actors and writers.
Nolan shocked the crowd by stating, “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 (the Screen Actors Guild), joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of the unions, and we support them.”
It is likely that all upcoming film premieres and promotional activities will be suspended, with Barbie being the next in line to be affected.
The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Writers Guild of America have come together in a strike, resulting in 160,000 members going on strike.
The actors’ unions are demanding guarantees from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that AI will not replace live actors, while also protesting against low rates of pay for actors compared to the exorbitant wages and bonuses of CEOs.
SAG-AFTRA President (and The Nanny star) Fran Drescher said, “I can’t believe how far apart we are on so many things. How they plead poverty while giving hundreds of millions of dollars to CEOs. It’s disgusting. Shame on them.”
The writers’ guild has been involved in a separate dispute since May 2, primarily pushing for better compensation and working conditions from streaming platforms like Amazon Prime.
This is the first actors’ strike since 1980 and the first combined strike since 1960 when Ronald Reagan was the SAG President.
With the cinema industry still recovering from the global pandemic and the increasing influence of streaming platforms, the implications for the rest of the year are significant as all productions and pre-productions are immediately halted, and promotional work for finished productions is also affected.