Which Productions Are Continuing During the SAG-AFTRA Strike? ‘Death of a Unicorn,’ ‘Beneath the Grass,’ and More

As anyone who pays attention to the movie industry knows, SAG-AFTRA is on indefinite strike. And that, combined with the now months-long WGA strike, means that all film and TV productions involving SAG actors, from Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” sequel to the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” film, have halted until the labor dispute concludes.

Well, almost all productions. Unlike the WGA strike, which has been fairly hard-line, some SAG actors are still allowed to work — provided their productions receive a special waiver from the union. Since July 18, SAG-AFTRA has been providing select independent films with “interim agreements,” which allow them and the SAG-represented actors in them to continue production during the work stoppage. The main requirement for a waiver is that the film must be truly independent — with no ties to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents over 350 American and film production companies in their collective bargaining agreements with SAG.

Hundreds have applied for the waivers, but when they were first granted, only 39 movies were given the go-ahead to continue work. Among them were two A24 films (the studio isn’t an AMPTP member). These included “Mother Mary,” David Lowrey’s pop star epic starring Anne Hathaway; and “Death of a Unicorn,” a dark comedy starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd. Other projects with waivers include “The Rivals of Amziah King,” led by Matthew McConaughey; Simon West’s “Bride Hard” with Rebel Wilson; and more. SAG-AFTRA will continue to grant additional films waivers as the strike continues and more applications are reviewed.

The guild explains on its website that the strike order applies to productions made under the Codified Basic and Television Agreements (a contract AMPTP holds with the guild), as well as other agreements the two organizations make for lower budget projects. Producers outside AMPTP can apply for an interim agreement, and once they are vetted, receive the strike waivers. Once a waiver is received, performers are free to act in productions granted the waiver without violating the strike order — aka “scabbing.” Choosing to continue working on a production without a waiver could result in getting fined by the guild.

Here’s a list of every film that has been granted a SAG-AFTRA waiver to continue production during the current strike (so far). SAG-AFTRA regularly adds to its list of films granted waivers; see here for updates.

from Film – IndieWire https://ift.tt/K2k15ra