After failed negotiations between the actors’ union and the association of TV and film production companies, Hollywood has come to a standstill. Actors have joined the scriptwriters who were already on strike and have stepped down from their jobs. It is the first such double strike since 1960.
Actors must stop all work covered by their contract with the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the union. The industry magazine “Variety” has published a list of the SAG-AFTRA, which tasks fall under it.
Actresses and actors should therefore not appear in front of the camera to shoot for upcoming productions. In addition to acting, this also includes singing, dancing, stunt work, puppetry and motion capture recordings, with which the movements of actors are recorded for video games, for example.
Working without a running camera is also prohibited. For example, synchronous recordings are prohibited – for example for audio books or to set animated characters to music. In addition, no rehearsals and auditions should take place, whether on site or recorded by yourself.
Last but not least, the advertising of films is prohibited. Actors are prohibited from using popular promotional opportunities such as advertising posts on social media platforms and participating in podcasts, as well as going on promotional tours and giving interviews about new productions.
Actors should also not take part in conventions such as the popular Comic-Con. Appearance at film and series premieres, at presentations of new titles and at award ceremonies is also prohibited. The cast of the film “Oppenheimer” complied with this request on July 13 at the premiere in London. If stars like Cillian Murphy (47), Emily Blunt (40), Matt Damon (52), Robert Downey Jr. (58) and Florence Pugh (27) appeared together on the red carpet, they left the event before the film screening began , as reported, among other things, by the industry portal “Deadline”.
SAG-AFTRA represents around 160,000 people from the entertainment industry, including actors, dancers, voice actors and stunt men and women. Numerous cast members have previously supported the writers of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), who went on strike in early May.