Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Decades before Christopher Nolan set his sights on a movie about J. Robert Oppenheimer, a science-obsessed BBC executive ventured to America in 1979 to make a $1.5 million TV show about the father of the atom bomb. Peter Goodchild began his career at the BBC in radio drama, but eventually migrated to the storied “Horizon” science unit to put his chemistry degree to some use. The division began experimenting with factual dramas in the 1970s, and after delivering a hit series on French-Polish physicist Marie Curie, Goodchild set his sights on the New York-born Oppenheimer. “I’d seen a play on J. Robert Oppenheimer at the Hampstead Theatre Club way back in 1966,” the 83-year-old tells Variety from his home in Exeter, southwest England, where his Zoom background reveals a room teeming with books on heaving shelves.
U.K. Actors Union Equity Readies Guidance for SAG-AFTRA Strike (EXCLUSIVE)
13.07.2023 - 11:47 / variety.com
Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International U.K. actors union Equity is preparing advice for its members as SAG-AFTRA gets ready to take strike action on Thursday. Variety understands that the union, which has 50,000 members, has agreed a basic position with its U.S. counterpart. These rules will apply to U.K. productions, and the two groups are in the process of hammering out the finer details. Equity is asking members to check its website for the specific advice around 8 p.m. U.K. time on Thursday, which coincides with a SAG-AFTRA press conference in Los Angeles at noon Pacific time that will officially announce the actors strike.
Sources indicate that the U.K.’s strict union laws prevent an extensive show of solidarity from Equity, which can’t legally call a strike to support SAG-AFTRA due to restrictive British legislation.
The London-headquartered org is the 12th largest trade union in the U.K., and represents actors, singers, dancers, designers, directors, stage managers and voice artists, among others. As the profile of British talent has grown in Hollywood over the last decade, so too has Equity’s power. The U.K. actors union has so far stayed quiet on advising members. This is largely because working out the rules of play during a strike is an extensive process, mired in the legalities of a specific jurisdiction. Equity general secretary Paul W. Fleming held meetings in Los Angeles with SAG-AFTRA last month to discuss the unions’ shared agenda, and the executive told Variety in late June that Equity wouldn’t “undermine” its American counterpart in any way. SAG-AFTRA’s contract expired on June 30, but the union extended negotiations with Hollywood’s collective bargaining agent, the Alliance of Motion
Brian Cox, Rob Delaney to Speak at London Rally in Support of SAG-AFTRA Strike
Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International “Succession” star Brian Cox and “Catastrophe’s” Rob Delaney are among the confirmed speakers at a London rally in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike. U.K. actors union Equity revealed plans earlier this week for two major demonstrations on Friday in solidarity with the actors strike. Twin rallies will take place at noon local time in London’s Leicester Square and in Manchester’s Media City. Speakers so far scheduled for the London rally include Cox and Delaney as well as “The Pact” and “Alex Rider” star Rakie Ayola, Equity general secretaries Paul W. Fleming and Lynda Rooke, and Bectu boss Philippa Childs. Member of Parliament John McDonnell is also set to speak.
Hulu & Netflix Star Explains How MOST Actors Don't Make Enough To Get By Amid SAG-AFTRA Strike
Another actor has come out in support of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike — and is opening up about why it matters to him.
How SAG-AFTRA Strike Could Help the Cause of Italy’s Embattled Actors and Dubbing Industry Workers
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent In March, several months before SAG-AFTRA actors went on the warpath in Hollywood, Italy’s dubbing industry workers staged a protracted strike demanding higher wages, less frenzied work conditions and protection against artificial intelligence. The Italian dubbing industry workers – many of whom are voice actors – returned to work after three weeks as local unions entered a phase of negotiations that seemed promising enough, even though their issues are not yet resolved. Cut to the present day. Italian unions representing the country’s film and TV industry workers are at “a very critical, almost historic juncture” in a broader labor dispute with the country’s motion picture association ANICA and other industry trade orgs, according to Sabina Di Marco, leader of SLC CGIL, the biggest union at the bargaining table.
UK Actors Union Equity Gear Up To Protest In Solidarity March With SAG-AFTRA On Friday
Lights, camera, solidarity.
U.K. Actors Union Equity to Hold London and Manchester Rallies in Support of SAG-AFTRA Strike
Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International U.K. actors union Equity has planned rallies in London and Manchester to support the SAG-AFTRA strike. The org revealed on Tuesday that it will hold a demonstration in London’s Leicester Square and Manchester’s Media City at 12 p.m. on Friday (July 21). Speakers at the London rally will include Equity general secretary Paul W. Fleming, Equity president Lynda Rooke and MP John McDonnell. The events will also feature “speakers from the entertainment industry and trade union movement.” “In our sister union’s fight we stand in unwavering solidarity, and we will not allow the U.K. to become a back door to undermine the strike,” said Equity in a statement.
UK Actors Union Equity To Protest In Solidarity With SAG-AFTRA On Friday
UK actors union Equity is to rally in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA later this week in London and Manchester.
‘Haunted Mansion’ Premiere: Director Justin Simien Addresses SAG-AFTRA Strike As Disneyland Event Takes Place Without Actors
The Haunted Mansion world premiere at Disneyland was the first major movie premiere affected by the SAG-AFTRA strike. None of the on-screen talent was at the event but director Justin Simien did address the elephant in the room.
Dispatches From The Picket Lines: Timothy Olyphant, Sean Astin, Allison Janney & Michelle Hurd Join Thousands Of Actors On First Day Of SAG-AFTRA Strike
It’s Day 1 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 75 of the WGA strike.
Stage Actors Urged To “Proactively And Aggressively” Avoid Breaking SAG-AFTRA Strike: Equity President Says “The Other Side Will Try To Pit Us Against Each Other”
Actors’ Equity president Kate Shindle is urging stage actors to “proactively and aggressively avoid breaking” the SAG-AFTRA strike by inadvertently accepting struck work.
‘House Of The Dragon’ To Proceed Filming In U.K. Under Local Union Regulation Amid SAG-AFTRA Strike
Fortunately for HBO, “House Of The Dragon” is permitted to carry on with season two filming in the U.K., despite the SAG-AFTRA strike.
‘Oppenheimer’ Cast Ghosts UK Premiere in Preparation for SAG-AFTRA Strike
#Oppenheimer left the premiere to ‘go and write their pickets’ and join the strike pic.twitter.com/rc2SaSxcfkSAG-AFTRA formally announced its first film and television strike since 1980 at a press conference at its Los Angeles headquarters on Thursday.“From the time negotiations began on June 7, SAG-AFTRA staff and the members of our negotiating committee have worked overtime devoting their evenings, weekends and holidays to achieving a deal that would ensure a sustainable future for the acting profession,” chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said.
Dispatches From The Picket Lines, Day 73: Actors Join Writers Ahead Of First Official Day Of SAG-AFTRA Strike After Talks Collapse
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher will be doing a tour of Hollywood picket lines tomorrow morning, after her rousing speech saying they were victimized by the AMPTP, which she called a “very greedy entity” and that the studios were on the wrong side of history.
Lawmakers Weigh In On SAG-AFTRA Strike: Senate Rivals Adam Schiff, Katie Porter Among Those Backing Actors In Pending Walkout
Lawmakers are weighing in on the strike called by SAG-AFTRA, scheduled to start on Friday just after midnight.
'House of the Dragon' Can Continue to Film Amid SAG-AFTRA Strike Due to U.K. Union Rules
Exciting news for House of the Dragon fans.
Actors’ Equity Supports SAG-AFTRA Strike; Broadway Shows Won’t Be Impacted
Actors’ Equity Association, the union representing stage theater actors and stage managers, expressed solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA actors strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, saying “Nobody should step in front of a camera fearing that today’s work will be mined, manipulated or repurposed in the future without consent or compensation.”
Helen Mirren Gives Shoutout To “My Tribe Of Actors’ At Jerusalem Film Festival As SAG-AFTRA Strike Hits: “Actors Are Wonderful People”
Helen Mirren dedicated a Jerusalem Film Festival life-time achievement award to actors around the world on Thursday, just an hour before a looming SAG-AFTRA strike was made official.
AMPTP Responds To SAG-AFTRA Strike: “Union Has Regrettably Chosen A Path That Will Lead To Financial Hardship For Countless Thousands”
The group represents Hollywood’s studios has responded to SAG-AFTRA’s strike call today.
‘House of the Dragon’ Can Continue Filming in U.K. Amid SAG-AFTRA Strike Due to Local Union Rules
House of the Dragon” can continue filming in the U.K. despite the SAG-AFTRA actors strike, Variety can reveal. Just as the U.S. actors union announced a strike Thursday, sources confirmed that production is planned to proceed as scheduled on the second season of the “Game of Thrones” prequel. The HBO series’ cast is composed of primarily U.K. actors who are working under contracts governed by the local union, Equity. As such, the series is technically allowed to continue filming because Equity members aren’t legally allowed to strike in solidarity with the U.S. union.
U.K. Actors Union Equity to Support SAG-AFTRA Strike by ‘All Lawful Means’
Naman Ramachandran U.K. actors union Equity is supporting the SAG-AFTRA actors strike by “all lawful means.” The two bodies released a joint statement on Thursday that said: “”Equity U.K. stands in unwavering solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and its members in their effort to achieve a fair and equitable contract, and for the good of performers working around the world. Equity U.K. will support SAG-AFTRA and its members by all lawful means. Because of existing anti-trade union laws in the U.K., SAG-AFTRA members currently working under an Equity U.K. collective bargaining agreement should continue to report to work. Equity U.K. will support SAG-AFTRA’s refusal to issue new Global Rule One addenda that undermine the strike during the pendency of the strike. Standing together, we will work to achieve the wages and working conditions that all performers deserve.”