The actors strike is being felt as far away as Australia, as the country’s production union issued guidance saying a “limited” number of SAG-affiliated productions will have to stop for now.

We hear cast and crew on Mortal Kombat 2 have stood down, while Peacock’s Apples Never Fall has also shut for now.

Production on game adaptation sequel MK2 from New Line Cinema and Warner Bros Pictures has been taking place on the Gold Coast, Queensland, but has stopped after SAG-AFTRA announced its members would begin striking today. Simon McQuoid is directing the film, which is a follow up to hit 2021 action adventure Mortal Kombat, based on the blockbuster video game franchise created by Ed Boon and John Tobias.

Apples Never Fall, starring the likes of Annette Bening, Alison Brie and Jake Lacy, was also shooting in Queensland but local reports say it shut down today. Heyday Television and Matchbox Pictures, which are both part of Universal Studio Group, were producing for NBCU streamer Peacock.

The closures comes as Screen Producers Australia issues guidance following SAG-AFTRA’s strike declaration yesterday. Broadly, it expects the impact to be small and restricted to non-Australian productions.

Interestingly, local productions with “imported SAG members” will be unaffected providing all cast are contracted in accordance with the Global Rule One agreement. This states SAG-AFTRA members must always work under union contracts when working around the globe (unless no union exists in the country).

“SPA anticipates that a limited number of scripted ‘offshore’ (i.e. non-Australian) productions will be affected by the strike, with cast and crew stood down while the strike continues,” said the SPA in a statement.

“However, local scripted productions, produced and controlled by Australian production companies, engaging Australian and Imported SAG members, will remain unaffected by the strike order provided they engage all cast under Australian Industry Contracts in accordance with the Global Rule One Agreement between SAG-AFTRA and the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA).”

In Europe, House of the Dragon, Industry and Dune: The Sisterhood are all expected to continue in production as they are under Equity contracts, rather than SAG-AFTRA. SAG members on such shows could look to boycott in solidarity, though differing anti-strike laws mean that may not be possible in some countries, such as the UK.

Source: Deadline

Alison Brie Source supports the SAG-AFTRA strike.

The nearly 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents all performers on film and television, are going on strike.

On Thursday, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced its national board voted unanimously to launch the guild’s first strike. The news was unveiled by SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland during a press conference, following the expiration of the union’s current contract and a 12-day extension of contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Why are the actors going on strike?
The short answer is because the SAG-AFTRA bargaining committee and AMPTP could not reach an agreement to form a new contract after their previous one expired on June 30.

But the reasons for a strike are many. SAG-AFTRA has faced a host of radical changes as the industry has pivoted away from more traditional models of theatrical distribution and network and cable television in favor of streaming. The issues at hand include the use of AI in generating and perpetuating actors’ likenesses, as well as residuals and data transparency for streaming projects. Other points of conflict are also salaries, particularly for guest stars, costars, and background actors, as rising inflation and the cost of living increasingly prevent many working actors from earning a living wage.

Drescher summed up the reasons for a strike in a press conference speech. “We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us,” she said. “I cannot believe it, quite frankly. How far apart we are on so many things. How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right while giving hundreds and millions of dollars to their CEOS. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment.”

She continued: “The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital, AI. This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall right now, we are going to be in trouble. We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business, who cares more about wall street than you and your family.”

#SAGAFTRAstrong #SAGAFTRAstrike

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