SAG-AFTRA Defends Indie Productions as ‘Vital’ Part of Strike Strategy

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA announced Monday that it will no longer grant interim agreements to independent projects that were written under a Writers Guild of America contract. The union has already given permission for 207 independent projects to continue to film during the strike, including ones with stars like Jason Bateman, Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey. SAG-AFTRA argued that the agreements supported the strike because they involved independent producers who agreed to all of the union’s demands.

SAG-AFTRA on Thursday named NEON’s Michael Mann-directed Ferrari as one of its latest recipients of an interim agreement for publicity.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer In her most forceful comments to date about the Hollywood strikes, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass called Friday on the unions and studios to reach a deal “immediately” to get the industry back to work. Bass, who has largely remained on the sidelines thus far, said she is willing to get personally involved to help bring the strikes to an end.

Luc Besson’s DogMan has become one of the first films to receive a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement that will allow talent to do press during the upcoming festival season. Actors will be allowed to promote the pic at its upcoming premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. With dual strikes currently underway, it’s an uncertain time for actors – and this is a profession that is used to uncertainty. Many aren’t just wondering about when their next job will be, but how they can afford rent, utilities and health care.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Film workers who have been unemployed during the strike will get some help in maintaining their health insurance, the industry plan announced Monday. The Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans will extend eligibility to certain participants who otherwise would not have enough hours to qualify for benefits. The MPIPHP also announced that members will be able to take a one-time “hardship withdrawal” from their defined-contributed retirement plans.

Sophia Scorziello editor Viola Davis is stepping away from producing “G20,” announcing the decision in a statement signaling support for Hollywood’s ongoing strikes. Like over 100 other independent films, the upcoming action thriller received an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA to continue production through the ongoing actors strike. But Davis won’t move forward with filming, setting a precedent for A-list talent negotiating the prospect of continuing work as the actors’ guild and AMPTP wait to reach an agreement.

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.

G20, an action-thriller from Amazon and MRC that Viola Davis was set in November to both produce and lead, has been granted an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA, the guild revealed via its website on Friday.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Two unions are on strike and there are no plans to restart negotiations with either of them, leaving Hollywood in limbo for the foreseeable future. The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have both said they are open to talking, but that the studios refuse to engage on their core issues. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, meanwhile, has said that the unions have been unwilling to drop items that are non-starters, like a demand for a share of streaming revenue and a minimum staffing level for TV writers.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Prince Royal, an actor in Los Angeles, was working as an extra on “The Flash” when he was directed to a tractor trailer to “take pictures.” Inside were hundreds of cameras. He stood with his arms up as the operators took a 3-D scan, which he was told would be used for continuity and special effects. “We were told if we didn’t do it, we’d be sent home without pay,” he said.

SAG-AFTRA will hold a mass rally in Times Square on Tuesday morning. It’s expected to be the biggest rally in NYC since the strike began on July 14. Celebs scheduled to attend the “Rock the City for a Fair Contract” rally include Bryan Cranston, Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater, Lauren Ambrose, Christine Baranski, Matt Bomer, Tituss Burgess, Liza Colón-Zayas, Gregory Diaz, Jennifer Ehle, Nancy Giles, Danai Gurrira, Jill Hennessy, Marin Hinkle, Stephen Lang, Arian Moayed, Wendell Pierce, Corey Stoll and Merritt Wever.

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.

Editor’s note: Almost a week into the first joint strike by the actors union and the writers guild since 1960, there are picket lines all over LA and NYC. Yet there are no new negotiations planned between SAG-AFTRA or the WGA and the studios and streamers. Despite the silence and divisions between the parties, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland insists that a pathway to a new contract and a better future for all is possible.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA has granted approval to 39 independent productions to shoot during the strike, after confirming that they are not tied to AMPTP companies. The list includes two projects from A24, the independent production company: “Mother Mary,” starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, and “Death of a Unicorn,” starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, which is set to begin shooting soon in Hungary. A24 is not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said a spokesperson for the company. The projects also include “The Rivals of Amziah King,” starring Matthew McConaughey and “The Chosen,” a TV series about the life of Jesus.