WGA, DGA, Teamsters & Others Weigh In On SAG-AFTRA Walkout: “Greedy Studios Have Brought This Strike On Themselves”

News broadcasters aren’t on strike, but their SAG-AFTRA steering committee is standing behind the actors and performers who are. “The world is watching,” the committee said in a statement Wednesday, and urged a “quick and productive resolution to the strike.”

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.

Hollywood’s superstars are answering the call from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, donating $1 million or more each to help their fellow performers during the ongoing actors and writers strikes.

SAG-AFTRA responded to Sarah Silverman’s criticism over the union allowing certain projects to film amid its strike with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over labor disputes.

SAG-AFTRA has released a statement projects that are allowed to film during the strike.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA has found itself defending its decision to give the green light to more than 100 independent productions to film during the strike. Many members, including Sarah Silverman and Viola Davis, have publicly suggested that working under an interim agreement would undermine the strike. Silverman went so far as to call it “scabbing,” though she walked back her criticism after speaking to union leadership.

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.

Actor-comedian Sarah Silverman is confused about the large volume of projects that have been granted interim agreements by SAG-AFTRA to film during the actors strike. And she is not alone.

The hand-drawn picket signs were, like several of the people carrying them, wrapped in waterproof plastic at a rain-soaked march in New York City on Tuesday afternoon. But a passer-by could still see the images: Bender, the cranky robot from Futurama; BoJack, the half-equine hero of BoJack Horseman; Courage, the pink-hued canine star of Courage the Cowardly Dog; and several more beloved cartoon and animation characters going back the original, Mickey Mouse. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: The Teamsters Union has been supporting the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for the last 75 days across Hollywood and the scribes have returned the favor.