SAG-AFTRA Strike: The Film & TV Projects Impacted Overseas — Updating
If there was a GIF for the moment, it may be Michael Scott running around like a headless chicken screaming for everyone to “stay calm.”
“Madness,” one leading transatlantic agent messaged yesterday as it dawned that the historic SAG-AFTRA strike would likely be going ahead.
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Indeed, contract negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP broke off last night and the guild’s national board will meet this morning U.S. time to formally approve the launch of a strike. As we reported, it will be the first actors’ strike since 1980 and the first time that actors and writers have been on strike at the same time since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild. Picketing is set to begin Friday morning.
Deadline set out how Hollywood may be impacted by a SAG strike in late June and the impact on an international business already affected by the WGA strike will be significant – with a host of film and TV projects either having to pause or rejigger schedules. As we revealed in May, projects were already being delayed due to insurance concerns raised by the potential SAG strike, while the prospect of reshoots and voiceover will be complicated for anything that has recently wrapped. The likes of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Season 2, HBO’s The Palace starring Kate Winslet are among those to have wrapped in recent weeks, narrowly avoiding the strike. Beetlejuice 2 is still in production in the U.S. but recently finished its UK leg. There are multiple big U.S. tentpoles that might have been filming or in prep by now but have had to push due to the WGA and SAG strikes. At least one of those we know of would have been filming in UK.
UK actors union Equity told us today that it is preparing advice for its 50,000 members. The advice will be posted to its website later. The expectation is that some international actors will strike in solidarity with their SAG counterparts.
Meanwhile, the highly-anticipated Oppenheimer red carpet is taking place later today in London but could be the last big premiere for a while, as the promotion of completed film and TV series around the world looks set to become a major headache. There are big question marks hanging over the upcoming fall festivals and their ability to attract stars for would-be Oscar contenders. Before that, festivals such as Jerusalem, Locarno, Sarajevo and Edinburgh are among those that could struggle to draw U.S. actors for promotion.
Below is Deadline’s evolving list of film and TV projects based overseas which could be impacted by the latest strike. We know some productions such as Apple TV+’s Slow Horses shot SAG member scenes prior to the strike being called, while others like House of the Dragon are contracted under the British not American union. The situation remains fluid.
TV Shows
House of the Dragon: The second season of HBO’s Game of Thrones spin-off features big names such as Paddy Considine and Matt Smith and is being filmed in the UK and Spain. The show, however, can continue filming as it is contracted under UK union Equity, not SAG-AFTRA.
Day of the Jackal: Sky and Peacock’s big-budget Frederick Forsyth remake stars Eddie Redmayne in the lead role and is shooting in London, Budapest, Croatia and Austria. As with House of the Dragon, the show can continue filming as it is contracted under UK union Equity, not SAG-AFTRA.
Industry: The third season of the BBC/HBO finance hit features U.S. actors Myha’la Herrold and Ken Leung in key roles. As with House of the Dragon and Day of the Jackal, the show can continue filming as it is contracted under UK union Equity, not SAG-AFTRA.
Interview with the Vampire: Season 2 of AMC’s Anne Rice adaptation has confirmed that it has paused production, despite the fact it is filmed outside the U.S. with a majority international cast. Rolin Jones’ gothic horror show stars Brits Assad Zaman, Jacob Anderson and Delainey Hayles, and Australia’s Sam Reid, along with Americans such as Eric Bogosian.
Bad Sisters: Creator Sharon Horgan has carried on writing the BAFTA-winning smash through the writers strike (although she has paused American projects) and Season 2 is set to film in Ireland. It stars the likes of Horgan, Claes Bang and Anne-Marie Duff.
Dune: The Sisterhood: Max’s prequel series is set to relaunch production in Budapest anyday now and will continue through the SAG strike as it is contracted under UK union Equity, not SAG-AFTRA. It stars Emily Watson and Shalom Brune Franklin.
Andor: Season 2 of the Disney+ Star Wars drama stars Diego Luna, Kyle Soller and Adria Arjona. The show’s creator Tony Gilroy told Deadline yesterday that SAG-AFTRA and the WGA “are trying to preserve our industry,” as he criticized the AMPTP’s negotiating tactics.
Silo: Season two of Apple TV+’s most-watched drama series was shooting in the UK and has entered an indefinite hiatus. The Rebecca Ferguson-starring sci-fi thriller had planned to take a brief break in the UK as it switched sets but is now expected to pause until further notice.
Alien: FX’s small screen remake of the celebrated franchise from Noah Hawley and Ridley Scott is currently in pre-production in Thailand.
The White Lotus: The highly-anticipated third season of Mike White’s critical darling, which is shifting filming to Thailand, is on pause due to the writers strike. U.S. actors to have featured in Seasons 1 and 2 include Jennifer Coolidge and Sydney Sweeney.
Emily in Paris: As with White Lotus, Season 4 of Netflix’s Lily Collins-starring French sensation has already been pushed back due to the writers strike.
Movies
Paddington in Peru: The long-awaited threequel following the adventures of everyone’s favorite bear is due to start production on July 24. Latest pic will star Ben Whishaw alongside Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, Emily Mortimer and Rachel Zegler.
Amateur: Slow Horses director James Hawes’ pic has been shooting in the UK and stars Oscar-winner Rami Malek, who is also producing. We have been told the movie has paused as of today.
Gladiator 2: The highly-anticiapated Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal-starrer is one of the biggest shoots currently outisde the U.S. and has been filming in Morocco.
The Radleys: The Damian Lewis-starrer was first revealed by Deadline in June and follows a seemingly ordinary family with a dark secret: they are vampires.
Mortal Kombat 2: Martial arts sequel featuring Karl Urban, Hiroyuki Sanada, Damon Herriman and Martyn Ford has been rolling cameras in Australia.
Heads of State: Plot details for the Amazon Studios’ pic have been kept under wraps but the project has been shooting in London and stars Idris Elba alongside John Cena and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
Wicked: One of the largest productions shooting in the UK right now is Universal and Jon M. Chu’s remake starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Michelle Yeoh. The project was being mounted at Sky Studios Elstree and would be a big casualty of any SAG walk-out.
Speak No Evil: Horror experts Blumhouse have also mounted their latest production, starring James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis in the UK. The remake of the 2022 Danish production follows a family invited to spend a weekend in an idyllic country house, which goes from a dream vacation to a psychological nightmare.
Additional reporting by Jesse Whittock, Zac Ntim and Jake Kanter.
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