Matthew López's Strike-Solidarity at Red, White & Royal Blue's Muted Premiere
Matthew López, acclaimed playwright and winner of the Best Play Tony Award in 2020, found himself ensconced in the holding rooms of the BFI Imax theater in London's Waterloo. This time, not for a play, but for the special preview: essentially a premiere: of Prime Video’s romantic comedy, Red, White & Royal Blue, a film he directed and adapted from Casey McQuiston’s bestselling novel.
López, a WGA member, declared his ongoing screenwriter strike, deliberately keeping a distance from the red carpet and the paparazzi. He holds his director and playwright roles intact, though, making it clear that the various facets of his artistic vocation are separable when it comes to his stand on labor disputes.
The film's primary leads Nicholas Galitzine (Purple Hearts, Cinderella) and Taylor Zakhar Perez (The Kissing Booth 3, Minx) were conspicuous in their absence, adhering as members of the SAG-AFTRA to the ongoing strike: a gesture appreciated by López who addressed it during his speech as director in the Imax auditorium.
Expressing solidarity with his actors, López praised their irreplaceable talent, then went on to mention the industry's hardship without the presence of professional actors and screenwriters, underscoring the urgency to reach a fair deal with studios and end the crippling strike.
The film preview started with a scant presence on both stage and red carpet. When asked for a portrait shot, López declined on the principle that it wasn't truly a premiere. Instead, he consented to a shot of the back of his head: and so frames the somber climate of the fall festival season ahead.
While teams from Premier PR, Amazon, and Concorde Media managed to fill up the Imax hall, it was a stark contrast to the regular movie premieres. While industry insiders, Amazon executives, and hardcore fans made up the crowd, the absence of actors was glaring.
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Now, let's flip the lid on this strange, strike-suffused non-premiere for a bit, shall we? Is this the new "moth-eaten" red-carpet experience the stars need to shine their light on? As a pathfinder who's braved the tumultuous waves of Hollywood, Addison is puzzled, and also slightly amused.
Indeed, the stars are striking hard in solidarity with their screenwriter brethren. How ironic? The theater lit up by their fabulous performances, now standing dim and lifeless in their absence. Well, lifeless would be an overstatement: after all, a security guard with incredibly well-maintained teeth brought some much-needed cheer, if not star power!
López is a striking figure, figuratively, and literally: with his back turned to the camera. His commitment to the strike, even at a largely non-premiere premiere of his movie, is rather remarkable. It's his way of saying, "I support the film, I'm here to do my directorial duty, but hey, let's keep the spotlight off me."
Interestingly, the movie Red, White & Royal Blue stirs up a sweet royal romance between a British royal and the son of a U.S. president. Their courtship was a result of an intricate game of casting chess played by López, who embarked on a grueling five-month search.
And boy, did he hit the jackpot with Galitzine and Perez. You gotta love that "we-had-chemistry-on-Zoom-so-let's-just-hope-it-translates-on-camera" vibe. But the real zest here is López's personal connection with one of the leads: a shared bi-racial identity that charges the movie with authenticity and heart.
Stepping into the theater, one couldn't ignore the pervasive sense of nostalgia and longing for the days of packed red carpets, flashbulbs popping away, and every starry-eyed dreamer in town in attendance. Those days seem a world away now. But as they say, the show must go on, even if the red carpet is oddly quiet and its resident stars far away on a picket line. For now, López is leading the way in showing us that you can stay true to your guild, your craft, and your art all at the same time, and for that, he deserves a standing ovation: even if the applause echoes in an artist-less auditorium.
