Signs of the Times: SAG-AFTRA Accelerates Strike Preparation Activity

SAG-AFTRA has granted approval to 39 independent productions to shoot during the actors strike, after confirming that they are not linked to AMPTP companies. The list includes two A24 projects, and Deadline first reported on Monday that faith-based series The Chosen was likely to get one, which now is confirmed.

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.

Fans might be worried about their favorite TV shows like The Voice, Dancing With the Stars, The Masked Singer and Bachelor Nation shows like The Bachelorette and new offshoot The Golden Bachelor amid the SAG-AFTRA strike.

releasing a FAQ on its strike website ahead of San Diego Comic-Con this weekend. The new rules are uncharted territory for Hollywood labor, as this is SAG-AFTRA’s first strike on the TV/Theatrical contract since 1980.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s largest employers are sparring over the terms of the offer that SAG-AFTRA rejected before the union went on strike last week. SAG-AFTRA issued a detailed statement outlining its objections to the deal presented last week after weeks of bargaining with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The AMPTP countered late with a statement that accused the union of trying to “deliberately distort” the terms of the employers’ offer. SAG-AFTRA opened its statement to members by declaring that the union is fighting “against a system where those in charge of multibillion-dollar media conglomerates are rewarded for exploiting workers.” SAG-AFTRA called a strike against AMPTP companies on July 12. The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May 2.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis held a packed union meeting at their Beverly Hills home. Desi Arnaz poured his heart out in an open letter to the industry while Lew Wasserman worked the numbers quietly behind the scenes. And it was none other than future Oval Office occupant Ronald Reagan who led the Screen Actors Guild through the war in 1960, the last time that Hollywood experienced such a season of labor strife with actors and the Writers Guild of America on strike at the same time. And it was already a tumultuous time for the industry. In 1959, Congress and the Justice Department were deep into their investigation of “payola” corruption involving music labels and radio station owners. Congress also held hearings that year on the notorious TV quiz show scandals (see 1994’s “Quiz Show” for a primer).

SAG-AFTRA strike marches on, networks are firming up their plans amid a dramatic downtick in active Hollywood productions with actors on the picket line. While the actors' strike has halted movies and scripted TV shows for the foreseeable future, it doesn't mean everything will be affected. Reality television, for the most part, will largely be unaffected, which will take center stage as the actors (and writers) continue to fight for better compensation, residuals and protective measures against the use of artificial intelligence.In response to the actors' strike, CBS on Monday shored up its fall schedule, relying heavily on supersized episodes of and to take it through the start of fall.

Kimiko Glenn has had many roles over the past few years, including appearing in several seasons of “Orange Is the New Black” as inmate Brooke Soso.

Kevin McKidd and Danielle Savre are supporting the fight for a fair contract at the SAG-AFTRA strike amid their budding romance.

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.

IATSE President Matt Loeb is calling on the studios to provide health care benefits to below-the line workers who might lose them if they fall short of qualifying during the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild strikes, as the companies did during the Covid pandemic.

William Earl The SAG-AFTRA strike has shut down scores of film and TV productions as actors picket. While many sets had already shut down as a result of the WGA writers strike, this will effectively slow Hollywood down to a crawl as negotiations continue. Read Variety‘s list of newly-halted productions below, which will be updated throughout the strike. Beetlejuice 2 The Tim Burton production, with Michael Keaton reprising his role as the crude ghost, is almost done with shooting in London, but was still expected to film one more sequence in Vermont when the strike took place.

William Earl During a press conference Thursday, SAG-AFTRA leadership announced that the union was going on strike, and picketing started up Friday. In New York, the four locations were announced as HBO / Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery / Netflix HQ, Paramount and NBC Universal. In Los Angeles, 8 sites were announced, including Warner Bros., Amazon / Culver Studios, Fox, Paramount, Netflix, Sunset / Gower, Disney and Sony. Corporate greed was at the center of messaging on day one of joint picketing from SAG-AFTRA and the WGA. When the bus carrying SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and the rest negotiating committee arrived outside of Netflix offices, they were mobbed by media and fellow protesters as they inched their way down the sidewalk along Sunset Boulevard.

Actors’ Equity president Kate Shindle is urging stage actors to “proactively and aggressively avoid breaking” the SAG-AFTRA strike by inadvertently accepting struck work.

Production has paused on Deadpool 3 following SAG-AFTRA’s decision to move forward with strike action last night.

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

SAG-AFTRA has announced a list of the rules that actors must follow while the union is on strike.

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.

As SAG-AFTRA prepares to go on strike tonight at midnight and to begin picketing outside studio gates Friday morning, the guild has sent members its strike rules, which order them to “cease rendering all services and performing all work” covered by the TV/Theatrical Contracts.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors, has officially joined the writers on strike against the film and TV companies, setting off the entertainment industry’s first industrywide shutdown in 63 years. Once the strike — which will start at midnight on Thursday, with picketing to begin on Friday morning — commences, the tens of thousands of film and television actors in SAG must cease all work covered by their union contract. Film and television productions will shut down, but the work stoppage has reverberations that extend beyond actors going to set. According to the guidelines, SAG-AFTRA members will not be able to attend premieres, do interviews for completed work, go to awards shows, attend film festivals or even promote projects on social media while the strike is in effect. They are also not allowed to attend conventions such as Comic-Con or 90s Con to promote any past or present work made under a SAG-AFTRA contract.