Hollywood actors (SAG) and writers (WGA) are on strike. When people hear this news, they have two primary questions.
First, why can’t Hollywood use non-union employees (actors and screenwriters outside SAG and the WGA)? Well, they can, but it is
complicated. In a few months, these strikes will end. They always do. What do you, think happens next?
The WGA and SAG will blacklist every non-union actor and writer that worked on Hollywood projects during the strike. Why? Because they essentially undermined the strike, reducing its impact on the American film industry. As a result, they will never work in Hollywood again.
Most non-union writers and actors are unwilling to take that risk.
Secondly, the SAG strike will have an immediate effect on Hollywood because studios can shoot movies without writers, but they can’t proceed without actors. Which projects will suffer as a result?
Deadpool 3 is among the first victims. The film made headlines a little while ago after revealing photos of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in a comic-accurate costume. Now production on the film has stopped. If you watched the latest Mission Impossible, you know that Dead Reckoning was the first part of a two-part story. You might be surprised to learn that Christopher McQuarrie (director) already shot most of Part Two.
Production was only halted because the cast left to promote Part One. Naturally, McQuarrie must wait for the SAG strike to end before putting the finishing touches on the 8th installment in the franchise. Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 had a rocky start when a fire injured six crew members during a stunt in June.
Fortunately, the victims sustained non-life-threatening burns, and production on the film eventually resumed. But now, the project is paralyzed because of the strike. Gladiator 2 is a sequel to Russel Crowe’s Oscar-winning movie from the 2000s. The sequel features Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal.
I had no idea Venom 3 had even begun shooting. But it looks like production has been underway since the end of June. If the strikes persist for the next few months, the studio may reconsider the movie’s proposed October 2024 release date.
I don’t know how many of you know that Clint Eastwood is not only alive but still making movies at 93 years of age. Juror 2 is supposedly the director’s final movie, and it follows a juror (Nicholas Hoult) that discovers his connection to the murder trial he is expected to adjudicate.
Did I mention that Eastwood is 93 years old? He can’t afford to wait. And yet, that is what he must do because filming has stopped. It is worth noting that films can secure exemptions from SAG that allow actors to continue their work despite the strike. The TV show The Chosen got one such exemption, which is why filming for the fourth season continues.
Don’t expect any of the movies above to secure any such waiver. Luckily, negotiations between Hollywood producers and SAG are
still ongoing. So, they may secure a deal sooner rather than later.
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Source: The Observer
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