- Dramatic photos show the abandoned set of Deadpool 3 in Buckinghamshire
- Stars including Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman not working amid SAG strike
Hollywood’s biggest stars ‘may have to go to the brink’ in a transatlantic strike that began yesterday, with their dispute with bosses potentially lasting until the end of the year, Succession star Brian Cox has warned.
‘It’s a situation that can get really very unpleasant and could go on for some time,’ the Emmy-award winning actor told Sky News.
Screen Actors Guild members are striking after their demands for higher wages and protections against artificial intelligence were not met.
Scottish actor Cox said that the industrial action was mainly in support of Hollywood writers, because, without them ‘we have nothing… That’s why we have shows like White Lotus, like Succession.’
Blockbuster Deadpool 3, the majority of which is being filmed in Buckinghamshire, became the first major movie to halt production since SAG/AFTRA announced it had officially voted for the work stoppage.
The Marvel movie, directed by Shawn Levy, was seen being filmed with Ryan Reynolds in the title role and Hugh Jackman reprising his X-Men character Wolverine as recently as Wednesday.
Jennifer Garner is also supposed to be making an appearance while reviving her Elektra role from Daredevil. Also in the cast is Morena Baccarin as Vanessa.
The film is scheduled to hit screens in May 2024, but this date could now be in jeopardy.
Filming on Ariana Grande‘s latest film Wicked has also ceased. Dramatic photos show the abandoned set in Buckinghamshire after the union representing Hollywood stars ordered members to down tools amid a row over how streaming services are pushing down pay and the increasing use of AI in production.
Pop star Grande is set to portray heroine Glinda the Good in the upcoming film, but signalled her support for the strike on Instagram yesterday by sharing news of the protest.
Other productions in the UK, including Beetlejuice 2, Speak No Evil and the next Avatar sequel are also set to be affected.
The strike, coordinated by US actors’ union, began yesterday, prompting the star-studded cast of upcoming Christopher Nolan epic Oppenheimer to walk out of the film’ UK premiere in London.
Stars including Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh were visibly emotional as they exited the premiere early.
Director Nolan later said the cast had left the event to ‘write their picket signs.’
Under the rules of a strike, all Sag-aftra members will not be able to film any movie or TV series – which means that almost every show and film that’s currently in the works will be delayed indefinitely until the problem is resolved.
US networks have responded to the strike by expanding the amount of ‘unscripted content’ for their autumn schedules, including The Masked Singer, The Amazing Race, Survivor and Kitchen Nightmares.
British union Equity, the sister organisation to Sag-aftra, said in a statement that they are are ‘full square behind’ their US counterpart.
However, they said they have been advised that the action is not lawful under UK law, meaning any performer who joins the strike or refuses to cross a picket line in Britain will have no protection if production companies sack them or sue them for breach of copyright.
Sag-Aftra represents more than 160,000 screen actors, broadcast journalists, announcers, hosts and stunt performers.
The walkout affects only the union’s 65,000 actors from television and film productions.
Wicked’s release date is set for November next year, meaning the halt to production could push that back.
The next Avatar film is set to be released in December 2025 so could also be affected, although filming has already been completed.
Speak No Evil is billed for next August, whilst Beatlejuice 2 is meant to be released in September 2024.
Other films that are currently being filmed in the UK include The Radleys, Amateur, and romantic comedy The Gorge, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy.
Filming for Gladiator 2, which started in June, is also partly taking place in UK – as well as in Malta and Morocco – and so could be affected.
A number of TV series being filmed in the UK might also be impacted, including spy thriller The Day Of The Jackal starring Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne and period boxing drama A Thousand Blows with Stephen Graham.
The second series of The Sandman with Tom Sturridge and the fourth series of Slow Horses with Academy Award winner Gary Oldman could also be affected.
However, filming for the second series of House of the Dragon, starring Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy, may continue despite the strike, due to the fact that its stars are working under contracts governed by Equity, according to Variety.
At 07.01 UK time, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), representing around 160,000 movie and television actors, tweeted a black picture alongside the message: ’12:01 a.m. PT That’s a wrap!’
‘This is a moment of history, a moment of truth – if we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble,’ SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher told a press conference, following the union board’s unanimous vote to strike.
‘We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business.’
Writers have already spent 11 weeks protesting outside the headquarters of the likes of Disney and Netflix, after their demands for better pay and guarantees over the use artificial intelligence were not met.
At last night’s premiere of Oppenheimer at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, Sir Kenneth Branagh, who portrays Danish physicist Niels Bohr in the film, said: ‘Everybody is working very hard to make sure it doesn’t happen, if it happens I stand in solidarity with our Sag members.
‘We know it is a critical time at this point in the industry and the issues need to be addressed, difficult conversations, I know everybody is trying to get a fair deal, that is what’s required so we’ll support that.’
Main star Cillian Murphy said: ‘I stand by my colleagues, that’s all I can say to you.’
Meanwhile British actress Florence Pugh said that the cast felt lucky to have got to the Oppenheimer premiere before the strike was announced but also lucky to be standing in solidarity with their acting peers.
She said: ‘It’s been a really, really tense few days for a lot of people, not just actors but everybody in the industry who are going to be affected by this decision but affected by a decision that is necessary.
‘Equally, premieres aren’t just for us, they are to honour a movie, they are to honour a crew that made them so we feel both lucky, that we got to squeeze this in, and also lucky that we get to stand by our peers in a decision that is made.
‘We hope that something comes of it soon.’
In a red-carpet interview with Variety on the night, Pugh’s fellow Oppenheimer star Matt Damon revealed that ‘once the strike is officially called’, the cast is ‘going to walk obviously in solidarity’.
‘That’s why we moved this [red carpet] up because we know the second it’s called, we’re going home,’ he said.
He added to the Associated Press: ‘We ought to protect the people who are kind of on the margins,’ Damon told the AP.
‘And 26,000 bucks a year is what you have to make to get your health insurance. And there are a lot of people whose residual payments are what carry them across that threshold.
‘And if those residual payments dry up, so does their health care. And that´s absolutely unacceptable. We can´t have that. So, we got to figure out something that is fair.’
Speaking on stage at the premiere ahead of the strike announcement, filmmaker Nolan said: ‘I have to acknowledge the work of our incredible cast, led by Cillian Murphy.
‘The list is enormous – Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek and so many more. You’ve seen them here earlier on the red carpet.
‘Unfortunately, they are off to write their picket signs for what we believe to be an imminent strike by SAG, joining one of my guilds, the Writers Guild, in the struggle for fair wages for working members of their union.’
However, ahead of the strike, Disney boss Bob Iger slammed the actors who were going to down tools, saying they ‘are not being realistic’ and are being ‘disruptive to the industry’.
‘It’s very disturbing to me,’ the 72-year-old said, claiming that actors like Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence are ‘not being realistic’ about the compensation benefits they are asking for.
He added that an actors’ strike ‘will have a very, very damaging effect on the whole business’ and even affect the economy’.
He was speaking on Disney’s Squawk Box after his $27million-a-year contract was extended until 2026.
The strike news comes after the US union and Hollywood studios failed to reach an agreement after more than four weeks of negotiations, with actors wanting better pay and increased safeguarding around AI rights among their demands.
Last month Sag-Aftra members voted overwhelmingly to authorise a strike if a new contract with major studios, streamers and production companies could not be reached.
Nearly 98 per cent (97.91 per cent) of the 65,000 members who cast votes were in favour, Sag-Aftra said.
Announcing the strike at a press conference on Thursday, Sag-Aftra president Fran Drescher gave an impassioned speech in which she said it was a ‘very seminal hour’ for the union.
‘The gravity of this move is not lost on me … it’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands if not millions of people.
‘This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall now we are all going to be in trouble.
‘The jig is up AMPTP, we stand tall, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. You cannot exist without us.’
Asked how long the strike would last, Ms Drescher said: ‘That’s up to them, we are open to talking to them tonight.
‘All of this is because of their behaviour, it’s up to them if they want to talk in a normal way.’
Paul W Fleming, Equity’s general secretary, said in a statement: ‘Equity stands full square behind our sister union in their claim, and the action their Board have agreed to take.
‘Equity too is experiencing bullish engagers attempting to undermine its collectively bargained agreements. SAG-AFTRA has our total solidarity in this fight.’
He added: ‘Equity has been in constant contact with our sister union throughout the negotiations at every level – including the President and General Secretary attending in person in Los Angeles earlier this month.
‘We will continue to work closely and collaboratively on advice for artists working in the United Kingdom as the situation develops.’
A statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said it was ‘deeply disappointed’ that the union had decided to ‘walk away from negotiations’.
‘This is the union’s choice, not ours.
‘In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a ground-breaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses, and more.
‘Rather than continuing to negotiate, Sag-Aftra has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods.’
It is now anticipated the strike will affect upcoming award shows, premieres, events and film festivals around the world, including the Toronto and Venice film festivals, and the 75th Emmys.
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