Viola Davis presses pause on SAG-cleared film G20 in support of WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Two days after Viola Davis' upcoming film G20 was granted strike exemptions under SAG-AFTRA's "Interim Agreement," the actress has announced that she is pressing pause on the project in support of the writers' and actors' strikes.
"I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike," Davis said in a statement to EW. "I appreciate that the producers on the project agree with this decision. JuVee Productions and I stand in solidarity with actors, SAG-AFTRA, and the WGA."
In the action-thriller, which Davis is also producing, she stars as a U.S. president who must fight to keep her family and fellow diplomats safe after the G20 Summit is taken over by terrorists, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is one of more than 100 "truly independent" movie and television projects that have been granted an exemption since the strike began earlier this month, alongside projects starring Anne Hathaway, Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Ortega, Paul Rudd, and more.
Gisela Schober/Getty Images Viola Davis
Davis' decision comes days after comedian Sarah Silverman slammed actors who are continuing to work during the strike because of those agreements.
"I feel f---ing pissed off, and I know I just must not be understanding something," Silverman said in an Instagram video. "There are like 40 movies being made right now. Movie stars are making movies because they're independent movies, and SAG is allowing it because if they do sell it to streaming, it has to be because streaming is abiding by all the things we're asking for. That's just working. The strike ends when they come to the table and we make a deal in agreement. So, you're just letting people make movies, and movie stars are making movies that you know the goal is to sell them to streaming."
She continued, "Please, explain to me why I shouldn't be angry, because people are making real-deal sacrifices. People, writers, actors, crew people, all these people are sacrificing their livelihood for this cause. It's called 'union strong,' where we are all together. And when SAG joined the strike, we should see every movie star out there striking along, because you have insurance because of your union and you get residuals because of your union. All of these things you get because of your union and you can't stand with your union?"
The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists — which represents more than 160,000 performers including actors, announcers, DJs, dancers, broadcast journalists, and more — is currently on strike after the union failed to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) earlier this month. It is demanding better working conditions, compensations, and protections for its union members amid large-scale industry shifts related to streaming services and the use of artificial intelligence.
Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.
Related content:
