A24’s ‘Mother Mary’ & Faith-Based Series ‘The Chosen’ Among Indie Projects Given SAG-AFTRA Waiver That Allows Them To Shoot During Strike

Fans of The Notebook and Broadway have something to celebrate: A musical based on the Nicholas Sparks love story is set to premiere in 2024!

EXCLUSIVE: Dakota Shapiro (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), Ben Groh (God’s Time, Mutt) and Oliver Cooper (Project X, Mindhunter) are to star in psychedelic indie movie The Lemurian Candidate after it received SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement approval.

As Hollywood waits to see what may come out of Friday’s meeting between the WGA and the AMPTP, filmmakers and producers at all levels have been engaged in a complex dialogue on the lightning-rod topic that has emerged during the concurrent actors strike: the SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement.

While Viola Davis’ upcoming movie G20 reached a temporary agreement with SAG-AFTRA to continue filming, she is taking a step back amid the ongoing union strike.

Viola Davis is backing away from “G20” in a move that may put pressure on other A-listers.

Viola Davis is backing away from G20 in a move that may put pressure on other A-listers.The EGOT winner says she’s stepping away from the project even after the film got the SAG-AFTRA interim agreement necessary to start production. “I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike,” said the 57-year-old in a statement obtained by ET.

Viola Davis is making a difficult decision.

EXCLUSIVE: In a move that might well set a precedent for other A-listers, G20 star Viola Davis has become the first to publicly back away from a project for the duration of the actors and writers strikes, even after the film got the SAG-AFTRA interim agreement necessary to start production.

EXCLUSIVE: Bella Thorne (Divinity) and Jack Kilmer (Palo Alto) have been set to topline The Tower, one of 102 projects to have been granted a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement following the launch of the actors strike. Also set for the fantastical drama, from filmmaker Adam Sigal (Nandor Fodor and The Talking Mongoose), are Cam Gigandet (Violent Night) and Chris Mullinax (Chariot).

EXCLUSIVE: Tubi has picked up Underdeveloped, a mockumentary from Brian A. Metcalf, starring Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tom Arnold and Mark Pellegrino. It will premiere globally September 8 on Fox Entertainment’s free streaming service Tubi. As an independent production with no direct ties to members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television, it also is one of the latest projects to receive a waiver from SAG-AFTRA amid the actors strike, so filming can move forward.

The Venice Film Festival confirmed to us today it is hopeful that movies with SAG-AFTRA ‘interim agreements’ will bring their casts to the Lido.

The beloved family western drama, “When Calls the Heart,” is set to ride on despite the ongoing strike, thanks to an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA.

When Calls The Heart is the latest show to be granted an SAG-AFTRA waiver amid the strike.

When Calls The Heart, the long-running family western drama from Hallmark Media, is set to continue filming after being awarded an interim agreement by SAG-AFTRA.

SAG-AFTRA has granted more waivers in recent days that give permission to indie projects to shoot during the current strike, including the independent film The Summer Book starring Glenn Close. Other recent projects that will be allowed to shoot include the TV series Underdeveloped and Sight Unseen.

EXCLUSIVE: For those awards strategists wondering whether stars from indie U.S. films can promote at the fall film festival troika, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland says “We’re looking at that issue.”

Following SAG-AFTRA’s clearance of AppleTV+’s Israeli spy series Tehran and New Line’s horror movie Watchers –prolific projects from AMPTP studios that the guild remains in talks with– in their interim agreement process, some producers and filmmakers in town have been miffed.

EXCLUSIVE: Noah Hawley’s Alien FX series has started production in Thailand but without its stars who are SAG-AFTRA members — including the two leads — due to the ongoing strike.

Tehran, the Israeli spy thriller that airs globally on Apple TV+, has become one of the most high-profile TV series to land a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.

After granting its first round of waivers for several films Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA has given another group of films permission to shoot during the strike including Ishana Night Shyamalan’s The Watchers, starring Dakota Fanning, and the Sam Raimi-produced Don’t Move. See the updated list below.