Ahead of the premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in the UK, notable actors like Cilian Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon staged a walkout on Thursday, expressing solidarity with the Hollywood writers who have been on a protest for several weeks now. The decision to boycott the event, held at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, came after trade union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) announced the same day that they would be going on strike. Owing to the call given by the Actors Guild, the actors cannot promote or involve in any type of publicity for their films.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) first went on strike on May 2 against the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP). AMPTP represents major film and TV studios in Hollywood. The strike was initiated after AMPTP and the WGA engaged in lengthy negotiations but failed to reach a consensus. AMPTP was negotiating on behalf of various streaming and production platforms like Amazon, Netflix, Apple TV, Liongate, Walt Disney, Warner Bros, among others.
The writers stated that the residuals (financial compensation for actors, directors and others involved in a TV show or a movie from reruns, DVD sales or from streaming platforms) taken by AMPTP has resulted in lower pay for writers. The writers also wanted Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT to only facilitate the writing process and not replace them. According to reports, during the strike, writers are not allowed to do any “writing, revising, pitching, or discussing future projects with companies that are members of the AMPTP.” If they did, they could be fined by the WGA or even banned from it.
Similar to the writer's demands, the SAG-AFTRA also wanted guarantees that AI generated faces and voice tools will not replace actors and voiceover artists. Actors from the SAG-AFTRA have also demanded greater residual payments. In light of the strike, the AMPTP issued a statement saying that the union had chosen “a path that will lead to financial hardship to thousands of people who depend on the industry.”