Hollywood is On Strike: What Does It Mean For Summer's Red Carpets?
Actors have voted to go on the SAG strike alongside their screenwriter peers. Here's what this would mean for the rest of the red-carpet season.
After a few tense months of the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, the Hollywood actors union is joining in the action, after voting to go on strike starting July 14 at midnight. The SAG-AFTRA is a labor union that represents over 160,000 people in the entertainment industry, including well-known film and TV actors. Following a collapse of contract negotiations, Hollywood is going on strike, effectively shutting down the industry for the first time in 63 years.
According to a statement made by SAG-AFTRA, the negotiating committee said that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — the organization that represents major studios including Amazon, Netflix, Disney, Apple, and Paramount — is "unwilling to offer a fair deal on the key issues that are essential to SAG-AFTRA members."
On June 28, actors such as Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Constance Wu, Ben Stiller, Quinta Brunson, and 65,000 other union members signed an open letter saying they were prepared to go on strike if certain residuals such as fair pay, creative freedom, and other protections are not met.
Actor and SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement, "SAG-AFTRA negotiated in good faith and was eager to reach a deal that sufficiently addressed performer needs, but the AMPTP’s responses to the union’s most important proposals have been insulting and disrespectful of our massive contributions to this industry. The companies have refused to meaningfully engage on some topics and on others completely stonewalled us. Until they do negotiate in good faith, we cannot begin to reach a deal."
AMPTP responded to the accusations, stating they were "deeply disappointed" and "this is the Union’s choice, not ours ... rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods."
With an actors' strike about to begin, this then begs the question of what will happen to the industry? Per the strike agreements, actors will not be allowed to film any movie or TV productions, take part in any press junkets or film premieres, or promote anything at SDCC, and will be advised not to attend at all.
In other words: no filming of any kind and no red-carpet showings or promotional events.
This summer we have seen a few successful big red-carpet press tours, including Oppenheimer and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, with the biggest undoubtedly being for the Barbie movie. Nothing has been held pack with the elaborate set-ups and stunning looks, most recently having the Barbie cast throw the internet into a frenzy as they walked the pink carpet at the London premiere.
With a strike now among us, we can expect Barbie and Oppenheimer to be the last big red carpet showing for the summer season, possibly in the fall as well. We can also nearly guarantee this will continue to cause a major setback for numerous release dates, as shows such as Euphoria and Emily in Paris have already been pushed back due to the writers' strike. Additionally, films and scripted TV shows from studios that employ SAG-AFTRA members will immediately shut down.
If ongoing for long enough, the strike will likely affect the 2023 Emmy Awards, which is currently scheduled for September. In May, we already saw the 2023 MTV TV and Movie Awards shut down their red carpet and have the entire ceremony pivot to live stream because of the WGA strike.
There's no telling how long the strike will last or which side will be the first to start conceding, but we certainly know that industry won't ever be the same.
