The Hollywood Actors Guild announced Tuesday that it has pulled 39 independent film and television projects out of the strike, including two films from the New York secret company A24, which has become a force at the Academy Awards.
The union, known as SAG-AFTRA, confirmed that it had no ties to the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance, which negotiates on behalf of the major studios, so it claimed the production companies were able to film during the strike. Union and alliance talks for a new three-year contract broke down on Thursday, and tens of thousands of actors went on strike on Friday.
More exemptions may be approved as unions evaluate applications. In order to be considered, productions must temporarily agree to comply with the terms of the most recent proposal put forward by SAG-AFTRA during negotiations. The work is subject to the final agreement between the union and the Studio Alliance.
39 projects haveMariais a soap opera co-funded by A24 and stars Anne Hathaway as a fictional musician and Michaela Cole (of HBO’s “I May Destroy You”) as a fashion designer. His second A24 project, “Death of a Unicorn,” stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, known for her Netflix’s “Wednesday.” This work tells the story of a man and his teenage daughter who crash into a unicorn while driving in a remote area.
A24 worked on Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won an Oscar for Best Picture in March.
A waiver was also granted to Teddy Schwartzman’s crime thriller “Amziah King’s Rivals,” starring Matthew McConaughey and whose father is Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwartzman. The popular religious TV series “The Chosen” may continue in the new season, as does “Bride Hard,” an action comedy about a mercenary band and a lavish wedding starring Rebel Wilson.
Hollywood actors hadn’t gone on strike since 1980. They joined 11,500 screenwriters and in May they went on strike. Both unions said they were fed up with exorbitant payouts for entertainment moguls and worried that they would not get their fair share of the spoils of a mainstream streaming future. Not since 1960 have actors and writers gone on strike at the same time.
No negotiations with any trade unions are planned.
