At the London premiere ofOppenheimer, the new feature film by Christopher Nolan, the actors (Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt or even Matt Damon) left the room in full screening of the film. The reason ? Show their solidarity with the general strike, which has just been voted in Hollywood and which is already hitting the most famous American television programs like the late night shows. A historical situation.
What are the origins of this general strike?
Faced with the failure of negotiations with the studios on subjects such as streaming revenues, the use of artificial intelligence or even the operation of castings, the main union of Hollywood actors (SAG-AFTRA) went on strike Thursday, July 13. “If we don’t all stand up now, we will all be in danger.“, said Fran Drescher, the president of the union, known for her role in the series A nanny from hell.
For the first time in 63 years, actors, screenwriters and other film professions have come together to defend their fates. In the coming weeks, many protests are expected to emerge from the west coast to the east coast. It remains to be seen which artists among the 160,000 unionized professionals will take part in this blackout total that upsets the 7th art.
Some of them have already spoken: Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Rami Malek or even Ben Stiller… All signed an open letter on June 28 indicating that they were ready to go on strike if the demands were not listened to.
Did you know ? The biggest cinema strike dates back to 1988. It lasted 153 days.
The consequences to come
All over the world, dozens of film and series shoots are being set up. stand-by. Indeed, the actors are invited not to play, but also not to participate in meetings with the press or attend the previews of the productions of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the organization representing the largest studios, such as Disney, Netflix, Apple, Paramount or even Amazon.
From next year, many consequences should be felt on our screens. Among the most anticipated films, Gladiator 2 (Ridley Scott) Beetlejuice 2 (Tim Burton), Avatar 3 (James Cameron) or even Deadpool 3 (Shawn Levy) have their release dates pushed back. This is also the case for the live action of lilo and stitch or the musical film Wicked with Ariana Grande.
What about TV series? Euphoria, Emily in Paris, Stranger Things, Yellow Jackets, The Mandalorian or The Last of Us are likely to be affected by significant delays. Also, season 2 of house of dragons will continue to be shot, as the British cast is not represented by the American union.
Movies, but not only…
This strike could also have consequences for the holding of major cultural events, such as the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, the San Diego Comic Con, the Venice Film Festival or the Deauville American Film Festival. For the moment, we do not know how long this renewable strike will last. But one thing is certain: the whole industry will be profoundly changed.
LR