SAG-AFTRA Warns ‘Acting Profession’ May ‘No Longer Be an Option’ Without ‘Transformative Change’ in Contract (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, who is an executive producer on Noora Niasari’s debut film Shayda, will not be attending the pic’s Aug. 12 closing night at the Locarno Film Festival out of support for the SAG-AFTRA Strike. Niasari and the movie’s star Zar Amir Ebrahimi will still attend the movie’s play at Locarno.

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.

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.

Will Smith is speaking out in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike. The 54-year-old actor took to Instagram on Friday to call the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes «a pivotal moment for our profession.»«I wanna talk for a second about ACTING.

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.

Jeopardy! could actually be in jeopardy.

officially went on strike after they were unable to reach an agreement with major Hollywood studios and streamers by the July 12 deadline. Because of this, nearly all productions in Hollywood have been forced to shut down, which have already had an immediate impact in the industry with canceled premieres, axed publicity tours, delayed projects and abandoned sets.Actors like Jason Sudeikis, Susan Sarandon, Olivia Wilde, Allison Janney, Josh Gad, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Mandy Moore, Ben Schwartz and Sharon Lawrence were among those joining the writers — who have been on strike since May 2 — on the picket line beginning July 14.

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.

Disney CEO Bob Iger already made his perspective clear about the ongoing guild strikes last week before the SAG-AFTRA one commenced. Now it’s Netflix CEO’s Ted Sarandos‘ turn.

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.

Anne Hathaway, Jenna Ortega, Matthew McConaughey and others, are still shooting in the U.S. and overseas.

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.

With the SAG-AFTRA strike starting today and the WGA writers strike heading into its 74th day, most of Hollywood comes to a standstill. When will these guild strikes end? When negotiations between both of them and the AMPTP resume.

As the SAG-AFTRA strike begins, multiple blockbusters shut down production. THR reports that several Hollywood tentpoles for the 2024 release calendar have stopped shooting due to the guild’s strike commencing this morning.

Fran Drescher is speaking out in response to the controversy surrounding her recent trip to Italy and meetup with Kim Kardashian.

Fran Drescher got fired up on Thursday when delivering a powerful message about SAG-AFTRA's decision to go on strike.The actress and union president delivered an impassioned speech at a press conference Thursday morning — shortly after news broke that the union voted to authorize a strike — and called out the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for making «Wall Street and greed a priority.»The SAG-AFTRA national board met Thursday to formally approve a strike after negotiations fell apart between the actors' union and major Hollywood studios and streamersThe actors will now join the writers on the picket line, marking the first time since 1960 two major guilds will be striking at the same time. The writers' strike began May 2 and is in its 10th week.Below is the complete transcript of Drescher's powerful address during Thursday's press conference.

What felt inevitable is now official: Deadline reports that SAG-AFTRA‘s national board voted unanimously this morning to launch its first strike since 1980. The strike begins tomorrow, July 14 at one minute past midnight, with picketing to start in front of studios tomorrow.

British acting union Equity will “stand in unwavering solidarity” with its counterpart SAG-AFTRA over the looming actors strike.